Also called: Skin quality · Fineness and coarseness

Where on the hand: Measured by feeling the BACK of the hand, which is not roughened by work — not the palm.

What it looks like: Fine, smooth and soft at one extreme; coarse, thick and rough at the other. The distinction is felt rather than seen.

Texture is treated as a tuning applied to every other indication: the same mount on a fine-textured hand expresses refinedly, and on a coarse-textured hand crudely. It measures refinement and sensitivity against robustness and endurance.

Western reading: Benham's system makes texture one of the first observations, applied as a modifier across the whole reading.

Read with care: The coarse-texture reading (crudeness, insensibility) is a class-inflected judgement of the old texts; coarse skin usually reflects manual work or climate.