Hand model details how much she actually gets paid, and I’m about ready to quit my job

If you’re entering 2026 looking for a new career path, why not get paid to have hands? Modelling is understandably hard to get into unless you look like Bella Hadid, but surely the bar is much lower for hand models?

Kitty Wan is an influencer and hand model with 52k followers on TikTok. She studied marketing to help brands build the digital content of their dreams, but that’s not the only way she’s getting money in the bank, because she’s also a hand model. Kitty has worked with the likes of Batiste, American Apparel, Nair, Shiseido, and Schwarzkopf.

In a TikTok video posted in December, Kitty revealed how much she got paid for specific photoshoots because a lot of people were wondering.

For the first shoot, which saw Kitty holding an ice-cream, she was paid a solid $1,600 for eight hours of work. That works out at roughly $200 an hour, which is pretty decent for holding an ice cream and getting hand cramp.

@kiittywan

Since a lot you were wondering 💁🏻‍♀️ #model #what #interesting #crazy #handmodel

♬ Big Energy x Fantasy Latto x Mariah – Joy Z.

The second shoot was for a pet brand called Nordic, and it looked like Kitty was dripping some kind of supplement onto her dog’s food. This shoot was also eight hours, and she was paid $1,400.

Mixing it up, the third photoshoot was for a makeup brand of some kind. The hand model was holding what appeared to be a highlight or blush stick, and she was paid $1,250 for four hours’ worth of work.

For a drink brand, which entailed five hours’ work, Kitty was only paid a measly $500. I mean, it’s not that bad, but compared with the other projects, it was basically pennies.

The last two shoots, which were both eight hours and for makeup brands, saw the hand model being paid $1,500 and $1,650, respectively.

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People didn’t care about how much the hand model got paid

@kiittywan

#model #handmodel #cool #work #interesting

♬ original sound – kiittywan

I rushed to the comments to see people’s shock at how much the hand model was paid, but I was instead met with a load of hand pictures – people really wanted a piece of the action.

One woman, who admittedly had stunning hands and nails, asked: “How do I get in the business lol.”

A lot of the comments followed that same structure, but not everyone was born to be a hand model, it seems.

“I delusionally think I can do this and would love it,” someone else said.

Another hand model wrote: “Did it for a bit, hand modelling is where it’s AT fr!”

Literally writing my resignation now. See ya!

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Featured image credit: Kitty Wan