She’s putting everything on paws.
New York beauty Alexandra Berrocal is as hardworking as any other model in the Big Apple — except that a day on the job doesn’t require much heavy lifting for the Brooklyn resident, who earns $30,000 a year simply by showing off her hands.
“It’s a very niche industry,” the 37-year-old told The Post. “There’s not that many people that know it’s even a real thing.”
“A lot of times, I’ll tell my friends like what I did for a gig and they’re, like, ‘What? You got paid to pour coffee into a cup or, like, squeeze product into your hands and rub it around like that?’” she added.
Berrocal started modeling around 2019, meting out her mitts to brands like YSL, Microsoft, Brandon Blackwood, Macy’s, Zales, Shake Shack, Kiss Nails and Serena Williams Jewelry, landing these gigs by finding “parts modeling agencies” to represent her.
“I submitted [my portfolio], and then my agent got back to me in, like, 10 minutes, and I was, like, wow, that’s only the favor of the Lord right there,” Berrocal said.
Although she earns $30,000 a year, Berrocal has a full-time job, too — ironically enough, in the footwear design industry.
Berrocal’s gigs aren’t consistent, but she doesn’t bite the hand that feeds her: She’s made anywhere from $750 for a five-hour shoot to $1,200 for a 40-minute shoot.
“One month can be two to three times, and then another month could be, like, 10 times,” she added. “You never know.”
In the four years she’s been passing her palms around, Berrocal said she learned that brands prefer even skin complexions, slender fingers, nice nail beds and clear skin without tattoos or scars — unless the company is willing to cover it with makeup.
Most importantly, she believes having small metacarpi has allowed her to book more castings.
“I actually have small hands, but I feel like it works in my favor because I mostly do a lot of beauty product shoots. And I think because my hand is so small, I make the product look bigger,” she said.
She has explored other sectors of parts modeling, attending to casting calls for her feet, eyes, arms, legs and shoulders — but it seems she’s already discovered her golden goose, or geese.
“I’ve done two casting calls for feet which I’m not surprised I didn’t get because I don’t think I have nice feet, but my agent asked me to go so I went,” she joked.
Online, Berrocal, who goes by @iamalexberrocal on Instagram and TikTok, is hands-on while showcasing her unique career as a grabbers girl.
“Hand modeling is all about doing the simple actions that we usually do, [such as] picking up a product, putting something down, but making it look pretty,” the New York native said in a TikTok post on Sunday.
As for upkeep, the Brooklynite keeps her nails well manicured and in a short almond shape — unless she is advised otherwise for a shoot.
She protects her money-makers by always staying moisturized.
“Before I go to sleep, I lather on some shea butter and that’s it. I don’t use any special lotions. I just use 100% shea butter,” she said.
And those with their eye on a carpal career, Berrocal says there are some key things to remember, such as wearing gloves when washing the dishes.
“If you wash your hands, make sure to put lotion on immediately after, because your hands are one of the first, places that show aging,” she said.
Berrocal said she works overtime to keep her dainty dukes in pristine condition since she hopes to one day be all hands on deck.
“I would love for it to be my career,” she gushed. “I’d like to do hand modeling for as long as I can.”
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