Hand Hair

97-99%[i] of men will grow hair on the back of the hand.  However, this can range from coarse hair to finer hair.  Hand hair is an extension of hair that extends from the back of the forearm onto the hand.  Hand hair tends to concentrate either on the pinky side but can spread to the thumb side or even across the entire back of the hand.  White men tend to have more hand hair than black men – data on other ethnic groups has not been studied. 

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There are four main types of hair growth on the back of the hand in men – bare, pinky side only, lower hand, and entire hand. 

FINGER HAIR

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Finger hair is most common on the lower section of fingers (nearest the knuckles of the hand) occurring in 99% of white men and 97% of black men.  Hair growth most often occurs on either all four fingers or the four fingers and the thumb.  In some cases, hair can grow on some fingers and not others.  

Lower Finger

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The incidence of hair growth on the lower section of the fingers is as follows:

Middle Section

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Hair growing on the middle section of the four upper fingers however is less common – occurring in about three-fourths of white men and only one-fourth of black men.  The most common finger to have hair growth is actually the ring finger.  The least common finger to have middle knuckle hair is actually the pointer finger.  The incidence of hair growth on the middle section of the fingers is as follows:

[i] Am J Phys Anthropol. 1964 Jun;22:143-8.  THE DISTRIBUTION OF HAIR OF THE UPPER LIMB IN CAUCASOID MALES.  SETTY LR.

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