In modern society, physical appearance has dictated our lifestyle for decades and continues to do so more than ever through magazines, social media, cosmetic companies, even doctors. Nothing new here. One of the main concerns to always look good in the eyes of our fellow humans is how to fight elastosis, the loss of elasticity in the skin.
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We know that elasticity is essential to the skin, as it allows it to stretch and bounce back to its original state, providing a healthy and firm appearance. When people reach maturity, the skin’s elasticity starts to decline and the most common consequences, esthetically speaking, are wrinkles, sagging, weakness, and unevenness in skin tone and texture.
Some of the factors are aging, sun exposure, smoking, dehydration, hormonal changes or weight loss.
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The lack of elastin also leads to deterioration in the aspect of scars and stretch marks, as well as unwanted characteristics in wound healing.
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Clinically speaking, elastin plays a major role as the lack of skin elasticity can cause diseases such as Cutis laxa. It’s a connective tissue disorder where the skin loses its elasticity and hangs in folds. Unfortunately, there’s no treatment as of today.
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Elasticity is one of the points of reference for skin health, and elastin production is crucial to maintain the skin elastic fiber network.
It is a protein consisting of tropoelastin which is vital to providing elasticity and resilience to the skin tissues. It can extend up to eight times its length and go back to its original shape without hysteresis.
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So, how can we address elastin degeneration?
Start with simple lifestyle changes, such as, skin care routine, healthy diet including hydration, apply a high SPF sunscreen daily, quit smoking, use dietary supplementation.
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But most importantly, how did we get to this conclusion and understood what were the necessary steps to take to replenish our elastin assets?
With the work of many researchers who have conducted and published essential and enlightening studies to inquire about the reason for elastin decrease, whether it’s for dermatological, medical, cosmeceutical, biomechanics or esthetic purposes.
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To help conduct these studies, the ElastiMeter, a hand-held indentation Instrument, is used to measure the skin elasticity, without altering the mechanical properties of the skin. The probe is pressed against the skin surface with minimal pressure for less than 0.5 seconds and there is no hysteresis effect from repeated measurements. Pressure is key compared to suction. Suction modifies the characteristics of the skin, and a certain amount of time is necessary for the skin to recoil. Therefore, making several measurements is time-consuming. By pressure with the ElastiMeter, several measurements can be made one after the other and the results appear instantly.
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ElastiMeter measurements on 3 different skin sites
on 7 healthy persons, 10 repeated measurements
Anti-Aging Cream - Long Term Study
22 women aged 40-49 years
Anti-aging cream was used on the face twice a day for 6 weeks
Instant elasticity on the face increased by18% during the study
The latest version of the ElastiMeter features an enhanced Indenter, allowing for more precise measurements. 3 measurements now instead of 5 can be taken using either light or static pressure to assess the Instant Skin Elasticity (ISE). It also has a built-in Check Tool to ensure measurement accuracy.
Additionally, the unit of measurement used is the international standard. Through different studies or for researchers doing the same assessments, International measurements can be easily compared.
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Whether it’s measuring sagging skin, hair loss & breakage, nails fragility, surgical scars, lymphedema or skin fibrosis, studies with the ElastiMeter help validate the efficacy of cosmetic products, supplements, drugs and different types of therapy for example.
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In conclusion, this article emphasizes that conducting Clinical Studies using the ElastiMeter can significantly impact scientific claims validation related to skin elasticity assessments, while also providing solutions to address elastin degeneration.
ElastiMeter Indentation ElastiMeter Instrument
Measure Skin Elasticity with Indentation Technology
Publications
International Journal of Cosmetic Science
Accuracy and reliability of a hand-held in vivo skin indentation device to assess skin elasticity.
Asian Journal of Medical Science
A dietary supplement improves age-related dermatological changes. Observational, anecdotal, spontaneous study.
Research Article
Skin scars and wrinkles temporary camouflage in dermatology and oncoesthetics: focus on acetyl hexapeptide-8
Study Protocol
A dose-ranging, parallel group, split-face, single-blind phase II study of light emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) for skin scarring prevention: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Biology
Pilot Study of Anti-Th2 Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast Cancer-Related Upper Extremity Lymphedema.
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