# I have wrinkled fingers, and not the kind of wrinkles you get from soaking too long **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 10, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278 "2015-02-10T04:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/1 "2015-02-10T04:26:39Z")
I’m getting fingerprinted to get a substitute teacher job, and I have to go back because the FBI rejected my fingerprints the first time around. These are grooves that go the length of the finger. Anyone else have these? Any ideas on how to make my fingerprints come out right? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/2 "2015-02-10T06:55:43Z")
I have those as well, mostly between the joints but also a few extending past the 3rd knuckle of my pinky fingers. I would expect that if the same wrinkles show up in the second set of fingerprints, they’d decide that that is just what your fingerprints look like. Trying to make them “come out right” seems counterproductive if any fingerprints they find aren’t going to match the “fixed” fingerprints. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/3 "2015-02-10T13:06:31Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > the kind of wrinkles you get from soaking too long The word you seek for that is _desquamation_. ---
**Author:** ![chachacha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@chachacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chachacha)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/4 "2015-02-10T13:39:35Z")
You might try drinking extra water and more hand lotion for a day or two before getting fingerprinted to plump your digits. Its so easy to be even mildly dehydrated, especially in winter. The skin on your hands is a good barometer of your body’s hydration level. Check out this article for more info. > **[Skin turgor: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003281.htm)** > > Skin turgor is the skin's elasticity. It is the ability of skin to change shape and return to normal. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/5 "2015-02-10T13:49:35Z")
About 90 minutes before the prints are taken, eat a bag of potato chips and drink a glass of water. then another glass of water every half hour. An easy way to check is to look at your tongue in the mirror. If there is a crease down the center of your tongue, you are not fully hydrated. Eat something salty and then drink 8oz of water every half hour until your tongue is flat and smooth. At that point, if the prints are still wrinkled then that’s just what your fingerprints look like. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/6 "2015-02-10T16:53:33Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The word you seek for that is _desquamation_. Actually it’s _maceration_, which describes the process of keratinized skin becoming hypersaturated with water. Desquamation describes how keratinized skin is shed. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/7 "2015-02-10T17:15:48Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Actually it’s _maceration_, which describes the process of keratinized skin becoming hypersaturated with water. Desquamation describes how keratinized skin is shed. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/8 "2015-02-10T18:27:58Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Actually it’s _maceration_, which describes the process of keratinized skin becoming hypersaturated with water. Desquamation describes how keratinized skin is shed. I thought maceration was grinding something up. I heard about it reading about chick culling ☹ I have those lengthwise lines on my fingers now that I’m old. Haven’t been fingerprinted lately though. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/9 "2015-02-10T20:19:34Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I thought maceration was grinding something up. That is one definition, but not the medical usage of the word when applied to skin. [Medical dictionary: Maceration](http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/maceration) > [@](#): > > maceration: the process in which the skin is softened and broken down by extended exposure to wetness or moisture ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/10 "2015-02-10T21:39:49Z")
**TruCelt** : I don’t think I ever don’t have a groove down the middle of my tongue. Now I am concerned. **Qadgop** : so where’s the line between bathtub wrinkles and trench foot? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/11 "2015-02-10T22:16:23Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > That is one definition, but not the medical usage of the word when applied to skin. Maceration is also used to describe soaking fruit to hydrate it or just kind of get the juices moving in and out. So I guess that means you should soak your fingers in rum and sugar 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/12 "2015-02-11T18:31:54Z")
So I did get my fingerprints taken, but it wasn’t the wrinkles that were causing a problem. According to the person taking my prints, the grooves are worn down, from being a programmer for so long. She sees this in typists, data entry people and programmers a lot. Also nurses. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-wrinkled-fingers-and-not-the-kind-of-wrinkles-you-get-from-soaking-too-long/712278/13 "2015-02-11T20:56:48Z")
I have those grooves too, more pronounced on my right hand . . . and they even extend onto my hands in some areas. I never had them when I was younger.