Wax Hands: A unique and creative Alaska State Fair souvenir

At the fair, there are dozens of shops and vendor stands that offer fair goers a chance to find a hidden treasure or unique take-home item to commemorate ad remember their time at the fair. There is the caricature stand, T-shirt stands, photo booths, just about anything one could think of as a souvenir can be found at the Alaska State Fair. So coming across something that

“There are layers of wax to it, and the wax cools as it layers,” said Hannah Lorenz, who has been working for Wax Hands for five years.

The stand has been a fixture at the fair for years, and offers several styles or poses for people to pick from including joined hands, a peace sign, or a candle.

To create the wax hands, it is essentially a dipping process where the visitor firstly selects the hands pose they desire, then dips the hand into cold water. This is followed by a dip into the hot wax. After which a staff member wipes of the excess wax. This process is repeated four times.

As some will say, wax can be quite hot to work with, much like getting into a hot bath, but once the first layer of wax is on, it provides a protective layer, making it easier on the hands to not feel as hot. The real trick is that the hands still throughout the process.

“The kids usually do pretty good with the process, but sometimes they’re shocked by it because it feels funny to them,” says Lorenz.

Once the shape is set, people can pick out up to six colors to make their piece truly unique.

“We do a lot of double hands, single hands, items people can hold, the Spock sign is pretty popular,” Lorenz said. “The most unusual pose I’ve seen this year is the double hands being held backwards. That was an interesting process to go through. People don’t disappoint with their creativity.”