The measurement and modelling of the mechanical properties of human skin in vivo--II. The model.

The stress-strain relationship for human skin in vivo has a characteristic non linear shape even for low loads. Considerations are given on the basis of which a structural model has been selected, in which the mechanical properties of corrugated collagen fibrils are involved. It is found that such a model can describe the experimental stress-strain relationship surprisingly well with only three free parameters. These parameters are related to basic collagen fibril properties such as stiffness, diameter and waviness. The role of elastin is likely to be negligible for the purely elastic properties of human skin in vivo.