Why Do We Have Lines On Our Palms?

The lines on our palms are known as palmar flexion creases, and they’re there to help us fold, stretch, squeeze, scrunch and do other such things without excessively stretching or squeezing the skin on the hands.

The lines on our palms are scientifically known as palmar flexion creases. These creases begin to form around the 12th week of gestation (when the baby is developing in the womb), which means we are all born with these lines on our palms.

For your hands to perform all these physical activities, the skin that covers them must be able to adapt to complex positions. Therefore, if you stretch, fold, bend or fist your palms, the skin must be able to follow suit.

If it were not for the lines on our palms, bags of loose skin would be hanging out from under our palms and fingers. Not only would that be a terrible waste of skin tissue, but also a rather unpleasant sight to behold.