Skin elasticity vs skin tightness (firmness): what are the differences?

What makes skin elastic and what makes it firm and what are the differences

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• Skin elasticity and skin Firmness / tightness: not the same thing

• Skin firmness = skin tightness

• What is skin tightness (the role of collagen)

• What is skin elasticity (The role of elastin)

• Healthy, good looking skin is both firm/tight and elastic

• Thin skin vs thick skin

• Stretchy jeans vs skin

• Is stretchy skin good or bad? Why is my skin so stretchy? Why is my skin not stretchy

• Elastin + collagen = better quality skin

• is the distinction between elasticity and tightness important? Does it mean anything?

• Hard and inelastic skin (fibrosis)

• Elastic but loose skin (hypermobility)

• Two types of bodies: the rigid and the hypermobile

• Cellulite, in terms of elasticity / skin firmness

• Soft cellulite: less elasticity and firmness

• Hard cellulite: more fibrosis

• What is skin looseness?

• What is skin hardness?

• What is stretchy skin?

• What is skin ageing?

• Assess your own skin’s elasticity & firmness/tightness

• Elasticity and firmness throughout the body

• Check our professional consultancy, for a masterclass in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Skin elasticity and skin Firmness / tightness: not the same thing

Many people confuse tightness and elasticity and use these terms interchangeably to describe youthful, healthy skin. But are these two terms one and the same?

Young skin is the ideal type of skin, as it is both elastic and firm/tight. With age, both skin elasticity and tightness/firmness deteriorate, leading to thin, saggy, wrinkled, crepey and overall aged skin.

In this article we explain what the terms ‘skin firmness/tightness’ and ‘skin elasticity’ mean exactly, and how to boost both of them for younger looking, healthier more beautiful skin.

Skin firmness = skin tightness = lifted skin

Please note that as ‘skin tightness’ and ‘skin firmness’ mean exactly the same thing, we will use those terms interchangeably throughout this article.

As tight/firm skin resists better the effects of gravity, firm/tight skin also also lifted skin.

For the same reason skin firming refers to exactly the same process as skin tightening and skin lifting. When you tighten/firm the skin you automatically lift the skin.

What is skin tightness (the role of collagen)

Tightness (firmness) refers to resistance to deformation, such as resistance to pulling, stretching etc.

A good example of tightness on the human body is resistance to sagging and drooping caused by the force of gravity pulling the buttocks down. Buttocks with firm/tight skin will stay lifted, while buttocks with loose/weak skin will have a tendency to droop/sag.

(Of course if butt volume is too big, it will droop, regardless of how tight skin is.)

Another such example of tightness is the resistance to pinching or pulling of skin. Firm skin will resist pinching or pulling, due to a high amount of thick collagen fibres, while weak, loose skin is easy to be pinched/pulled.

Aged skin deforms more easily, i.e. it is pulled or stretched more easily, which betrays deformed, damaged or inadequate collagen proteins.

Collagen is a protein secreted by fibroblasts (“collagen cells”), found in dermis and hypodermis, i.e. the two deeper skin layers. Collagen confers firmness / tightness and indirectly “lifted-ness”.

What is skin elasticity (The role of elastin)

Elasticity refers to return, bouncing back to the original position after deformation.

A good example of elasticity on the human body is the return of skin to its original position AFTER pinching or pulling.

Aged skin simply takes more time to bounce back, which betrays deformed, damaged or inadequate elastin proteins.

Elastin is a protein also secreted by fibroblasts (“collagen cells”), found in dermis and hypodermis. Elastin confers elasticity.

Healthy, good looking skin is both firm/tight and elastic

Obviously, the ideal skin is one that resits deformation (firm) and quickly returns to its original state (elastic). This is young, healthy - both elastic and firm - and this is what anti-ageing treatments should aim for: increase both collagen and elastin.

Many destructive treatments aim to increase just collagen and no elastin, which leads to hardened - not firm - skin. Not a good idea…

Thin skin vs thick skin

What we call “thick” skin is generally firmer skin, with more collagen. Collagen is the skin protein that gives skin its firmness. This is not always the case though, as skin can be thick merely because of fat.

Thin skin is generally looser skin, with less collagen. Again, not always, as thin but young skin can be very firm too.

Stretchy jeans vs skin

A good analogy to help understand skin elasticity is that of stretchy jeans.

• Elastane (aka lycra or spandex) in jeans is the equivalent of elastin in skin

• And cotton in jeans is the equivalent of collagen in skin

New stretchy jeans have good elasticity, which means when you stretch them, they return to their original position and “hug” your skin. This is equivalent to good skin elasticity.

Old stretchy jeans, on the other hand, have damaged elastane fibres, which means they don’t return to their original position to “hug” your skin well anymore. This is equivalent to poor skin elasticity.

In both cases of jeans, cotton fibre content remains the same in both new and aged stretchy jeans - it’s the elastane that wanes. In very old jeans of course, cotton fibres (the equivalent of collagen) are also damaged/diminished, leading to that worn out look.

Is stretchy skin good or bad? Why is my skin so stretchy? Why is my skin not stretchy?

These are common questions at the clinic and I am sure after reading the above you have already guessed the answer: loose skin that is too stretchy is aged/damaged skin and therefore not a good thing.

As we mentioned above:

• The ideal skin is elastic but also firm/tight at the same time.

• Elastic-only skin (i.e. stretchy, loose skin) or tight-only skin (i.e. hardened skin) are not a good idea

Elastin + collagen = better quality skin

An example of both good elasticity and good firmness is the resistance to bouncing of the buttocks or breasts while walking or running. This resistance is due to:

• More collagen fibres = more firmness = less deformation

• More elastin fibres = more elasticity = very fast return to the original position

Together elastin and collagen (and other proteins, such as fibrillin and fibronectin) interweave to create the look and feel of young, firm, elastic skin that resists vibration and gravity.

is the distinction between elasticity and tightness important? Does it mean anything?

Although young skin possesses both good elasticity and good firmness/tightness, which is ideal, there can be instances at different times in life and on different tissues where skin can be hard yet inelastic or elastic yet loose.

So the distinction is important, and not just academic, as it is applicable in everyday life.

Hard and inelastic skin (fibrosis)

Hard and inelastic skin denotes a lot of collagen but too little elastin.

This usually occurs in scar tissue, e.g. after a cut, a burn, pathological conditions or cosmetic surgery gone wrong. In the last two cases it is called fibrosis.

There is also another category of scar tissue, one which is caused after so-called “skin tightening” procedures based on extreme intensity laser / ultrasound / radiofrequency, which are provided with the aid of anaesthetic cream/injections to mask the extreme pain.

These are based on burning/coagulating the skin in order to stimulate collagen-rich scar tissue, which is then euphemistically baptised “skin tightening”.

However, this is not skin tightening, it is basically scar tissue, with little elastin and a lot of randomly deposited collagen, which tries to pass as “skin tightening”, while in essence it is “skin hardening” or “scar tissue-ing”.

Needless to say we don’t do and totally disagree with such procedures, which come with the extra benefits of being extremely expensive, very painful and frequently being accompanied by a lot of burns, pigmentation, excessive scar tissue and other adverse reactions.

Elastic but loose skin (hypermobility)

Loose but elastic skin denotes a lot of elastin fibres but too little collagen.

Usually this is found in hypermobile people, who also tend to have joint/muscle hypermobility, in addition to skin hypermobility.

Usually skin is quite thin in these people.

Two types of bodies: the rigid and the hypermobile

Generally there are two types of people, the flexible ones and the rigid ones. Both flexibility and rigidity have their benefits and drawbacks.

For example, people with rigid connective tissue (usually, but not always, the more bulky, “big-boned” types) have thick and firm skin but little elasticity, with reduced muscle and joint flexibility. This can lead to muscle injuries (due to poor flexibility) and joint problems (due to too much stiffness).

On the other hand, people with flexible connective tissue (usually, but not always, the thinner, “small-boned” types) have thinner skin, high flexibility, but less muscle mass. This can also lead to joint problems, due to ligament and muscle weakness.

Of course, not everyone falls exactly into one or the other category - things are not black and white. When it comes to elasticity and firmness, most people fall into a continuum comprising of black, white and many shades of grey.

Some lucky people seem to have just the right amount of both collagen and elastin, which endows them with great skin and the least amount of muscle/joint problems.

Below we briefly present different skin problems in relation to elasticity and firmness (tightness).

Cellulite, in terms of elasticity / skin firmness

Cellulite is a multi-faceted aesthetic condition, partially comprising water retention and fat accumulation inside the skin.

In terms of elasticity/firmness, cellulite is characterised by excessive and scarred collagen fibres between and around fat tissue compartments inside the skin (hypodermis), quite often combined with skin laxity in the middle skin layer (dermis).

Soft cellulite: less elasticity and firmness

In many individuals cellulite is at the same time characterised by skin looseness and skin damage everywhere else. People call this “soft cellulite”.

Hard cellulite: more fibrosis

In some other individuals cellulite is characterised by skin hardness, which makes the fat globules underneath appear very “hard”. People call this “hard cellulite”.

What is skin looseness?

As we have mentioned above, skin looseness mainly refers to too little collagen. Elastin may be normal or reduced in this case.

What is skin hardness?

As we have mentioned above, skin hardness mainly refers to too little elastin and too much collagen.

What is stretchy skin?

As we have mentioned above, skin stretchiness mainly refers to too little collagen. Elastin may be normal or high in this case.

What is skin ageing?

Skin ageing refers to damaged and/or reduced collagen and elastin fibres inside the skin and keratin fibres in the surface of the skin.

Assess your own skin’s elasticity and firmness / tightness

It is very easy to assess your own skin elasticity and tightness/firmness on a specific area.

Firstly try to gently pinch/pull your skin:

• Does it resist pinching/pulling? This means good collagen fibre content and good firmness.

• Is it very easy to pinch/pull? This means reduced firmness.

• Is it very hardened (usually after a cosmetic procedure or a pathological condition)? This means fibrosis, due to too much collagen and too little elastin.

After pinching/pulling, release the skin:

• Does it bounce back quickly? This means good elasticity and good elastin fibre content.

• Does the skin return to its original position very slowly? This means reduced - and perhaps damaged - elastin fibres, due to ageing or other skin damage.

• Is it very loose (usually due to genetics)? This is due to too much elastin and too little collagen.

Elasticity and firmness throughout the body

Of course, elasticity and firmness are not the same everywhere in the body.

A few examples:

• Inner thighs/arms are much less firmer than outer thighs/arms, due to a lower number of thick, strong collagen tissues

• The inner side of the palm is firmer due to interweaved fat and collagen tissue, while the outer side, which does not exhibit that structure, is less firm

• Certain tissues are very high in elastin, such as blood vessels, the bladder and especially the aorta

Read here how to effectively boost skin tightness and elasticity.

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