When it comes to skincare products—whether it’s a moisturizer, serum, or anti-aging cream—it’s easy to focus only on how they look, smell, or feel when applied. But behind the scenes, there’s a lot more happening on a scientific level. One area that’s gaining more attention is the use of biomechanical testing to evaluate how well these products actually perform. It’s not just about looking good—it’s about how the skin behaves and functions after application.

Skin isn’t just a passive barrier, it’s a dynamic, living tissue with complex mechanical behavior. It stretches, rebounds, resists force, and responds to environmental conditions. When we talk about the biomechanics of skin, we’re referring to its physical properties—things like elasticity, firmness, hydration, and viscoelasticity.

All of these can be affected by skincare products and measuring them gives us a way to move beyond marketing claims and into objective efficacy.

Here are a few of the key parameters that product developers and clinical research labs look at:

1. 1. Elasticity and Firmness
   Elasticity is the skin’s ability to return to its original shape after being stretched or changed. Think of it like a rubber band. Firmer, more elastic skin typically looks younger and healthier. Loss of elasticity is one of the signs of aging, and it’s also influenced by hydration and collagen levels. Tools like the Cutometer® are commonly used to assess elasticity by gently suctioning the skin and measuring how well it “snaps back.”
2. 2. Hydration and Water Retention
   Hydration isn’t just about drinking water—it’s also about how well your skin holds on to moisture. Biomechanically, well-hydrated skin is more supple, more resilient, and less prone to cracking or flaking. Devices like the Corneometer measure the moisture content of the outermost skin layer (stratum corneum), which can reflect how effective a moisturizer is.
3. 3. Skin Thickness and Density
   Certain skincare products, especially those targeting anti-aging, claim to increase dermal density or even “plump” the skin. High-frequency ultrasound imaging can provide insights into how thick or dense the dermis is over time. An increase might suggest more collagen or extracellular production—both good signs.
4. 4. Viscoelasticity
   This one’s a little more complex. Viscoelasticity refers to a material’s combined elastic and viscous behavior. Skin doesn’t just bounce back like a rubber band; it also flows and adapts over time. Understanding this property helps researchers see how a product affects not just quick movements (like stretching) but also slow changes in skin shape (like sagging).
5. 5. Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL)
   This measures how much water is evaporating from your skin. High TEWL means your skin barrier might be compromised, and a good product should help lower it. Instruments like the Tewameter® or Vapometer are used for this.

Before a product ever hits the shelves, it typically goes through rounds of testing—some on lab skin models, some on human volunteers. Here’s how biomechanical testing fits in:

• – Baseline vs. Post-Application: A subject’s skin is measured before using the product, then again after hours, days, weeks, or months. This allows researchers to track real changes over time.
• – Controlled Environments: Because skin behavior can vary based on temperature, humidity, or even time of day, these tests should be done in climate-controlled lab space.
• – Standardized Application: The test product should be applied in the same way, under professional clinical supervision. This keeps results consistent and meaningful

One of the biggest benefits of biomechanical testing is its role in Validated Claim Support. This is the process by which brands provide scientific evidence to back up the claims they make about their products—things like “improves skin elasticity in 21 days” or “clinically proven to increase hydration.”

Validated Claim Support means that a claim isn’t just made because it sounds good—it’s made because there’s real, measurable data behind it. This is especially important in today’s market, where consumers are skeptical and regulators (in places like the EU or U.S.) are tightening standards for what companies can legally say on packaging and ads.

Here’s how biomechanical testing supports this process:

• – It provides quantifiable results that can be measured before and after use.
• – It uses standardized methods and equipment that are recognized in clinical and scientific communities.
• – It makes claims more trustworthy, reducing the risk of false advertising and increasing consumer confidence.

In short, biomechanical evaluation is a critical tool not only for product development but also for marketing with integrity.

As technology gets better and less invasive, we’ll likely see more real-time, personalized skin assessments. Imagine using a smartphone app connected to a small device that tells you how elastic or hydrated your skin is, right at home. This could help users choose products tailored specifically to their skin condition at that moment—almost like a skincare GPS

We’re also starting to see AI and machine learning applied to skin data, which may soon allow companies to predict how your skin will respond to a product even before you try it.

Evaluating skincare products isn’t just about rubbing something on your face and hoping for the best. By tapping into the biomechanical properties of the skin, researchers and developers can take a more scientific, reliable approach to measuring real results. Whether it’s improved hydration, reduced sagging, reduction in fine lines or more bounce to your skin, biomechanics is helping to bring clarity and trust to the skincare world—giving your customers a reason to believe.

Validated Claim Support can help turn these insights into more than just science—they become promises that your customers can actually believe in.

CONTACT

Jane Tervooren
Vice President

jane@validatedcs.com
https://validatedcs.com/
https://www.skinobs.com/c/labo.php?id=222