How To Test Your Skin Elasticity

How To Test Your Skin Elasticity

Skin elasticity or skin firmness is used to describe the skin’s ability to bounce back to its original shape after being stretched. As a result of aging and other environmental elements such as the sun, pollution and improper care, the skin loses its elasticity. The loss of skin elasticity as you age is a natural aging process; however, this doesn't mean that you can't take preventative measures. It is fairly easy to test for skin elasticity in order to take the necessary measures to reduce the aging process and to optimize the body’s hydration level for a younger look.

In this OneHowTo article we explain how to test your skin elasticity at home in very simple steps.

Steps to follow:
1

While you could measure any part of your body to test your skin elasticity, the best place to start is your hands. Using your forefinger and your thumb pinch the top skin of your free hand. Make sure that you can firmly grab a fair amount of skin and that your skin is clean and dry. You don't have to pinch hard just enough that you can stretch your skin.

2

Now, stretch or pull the skin from your hand and release it quickly. It is a pull motion, not a squeeze motion. You can repeat this step a few times if you want to make sure that you are doing it correctly.

3

If your skin falls back down immediately it means that your skin’s moisture and hydration level are optimum. The slower it bounces back, the less hydrated your skin is. If you notice that your skin is not very elastic try to pinch other areas of your body just to make sure that you notice the same effects all around.

4

If you notice that your skin is not very elastic you might want to adopt some strategies to combat dry skin. It has been argued that Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Hyaluronic Acid have potential effects over skin hydration. Topical creams and face masks often contain these ingredients. As well as adding topical creams, make sure that you drink plenty of water. It takes time for these solutions to be noticed so start slowly and increase gradually.

5

An element that has been associated with skin elasticity is collagen. Collagen is a protein molecule that has been applauded for its effects on cell rejuvenation and restoration. You may take collagen by purchasing a supplement or by ingesting more fibrous cuts of meats and fish. Adding more collagen to your diet will also help your ligaments, joints and bone density.

6

After adopting these strategies you can repeat the test in a few weeks to see if you notice any improvements in your skin’s elasticity. If you see that the symptoms worsen consult a medical professional since there might be an underlying cause.

If you want to read similar articles to How To Test Your Skin Elasticity, we recommend you visit our Beauty & Personal Care category.

Tips
  • A medical professional would be able to provide a much more accurate measure of skin elasticity for extreme cases. The common areas tested are face and hands. Following this measurement, the physician would be able to recommended the best strategies to combat the signs of poor skin elasticity.