Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 240, Pt 2 2010, pp. 135–144 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2010.03407.

Received 5 February 2010; accepted 20 April 2010

Nanomechanical characterization of skin and skin cream

B. BHUSHAN∗, W. TANG∗,†& S. GE†

∗
Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- & Nanotechnology and Biomimetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

†Institute of Tribology and Reliability Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology,

Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China

Key words. In situ tension measurement, nanoscratch, nanoindentation, skin, skin cream.

load of 15 µN. The indentation hardness and elastic modulus of

Summary
The mechanical properties of skin are an important
characteristic of its resistance to damage and important
indicators of pathological situations. Skin care products are the
most common method to improve skin health and create a
smooth, soft, and elastic perception by altering the mechanical
properties of skin. It is of interest to study how skin cream
affects the mechanical properties of skin. It also can help to
quantify the effectiveness of cosmetic products. In this study,
we present a systematic study of the mechanical properties of
virgin skin and cream-treated skin. In nanoscratch
measurements, the scratch wear tracks were generated at
various loads using an atomic force microscope. Hardness and
elastic moduli were measured using a nanoindenter. The in situ
tensile properties of virgin skin and cream-treated skin were
measured using a custom-built tensile stage that attaches to the
atomic force microscope. Compared with virgin skin, cream-
treated skin exhibits better scratch resistance up to a normal
cream-treated skin are lower than that of virgin skin, indicating
that the skin cream moistens and softens the skinsurface.
Inthestretchingexperiments,theelasticmodulus is lower and
ultimate strain is higher than that of virgin skin, indicating skin
cream can improve the tensile response of skin. Mechanisms
for the observed trends are discussed.
Introduction
Skinanditssubcutaneouslayerrepresentacomplexcomposite of
tissue (Sutton, 1962; Elsner et al., 1994, 2002; Pugliese, 1996;
Wilhelm et al., 1997; Loden´ & Maibach, 2000; Shai et al.,
2001; Baumann, 2002; Forster,¨ 2002; Leyden & Rawlings,
2002). Its mechanical properties depend on the
Correspondence to: Bharat Bhushan, Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- &
Nanotechnology and Biomimetics, The Ohio State University, 201 W 19th Avenue,
Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. Tel.: +1-614-292-0651; fax: +1-614-292-0325; e-mail:
Bhushan.2@osu.edu
mutual interdependence of their constituent parts. Aging,
photodamage, hormones, drugs and skin disease may modify
the skin’s overall mechanical properties, which will lead to
looseness, sagging and wrinkling of skin (Elsner et al., 2002;
Hermanns-Leˆ et al., 2004). The desire for healthy and
beautiful skin leads to attempts to modify skin mechanics by
some interventions. Skin care products are the most common
method to improve skin health and create a smooth, soft and
elastic perception by altering the mechanical properties of skin.
The overall mechanical properties of skin depend mainly on
the nature and organization of the dermal collagen and elastic
fibre network, water, proteins and macromolecules embedded
in the extracellular matrices, with some contribution by the
epidermis and the keratin layer (Agache et al., 1980; De Rigal
& Leveque, 1985; Diridollou et al., 2000). In general, skin is
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composed of three distinct layers: subcutis, dermis and
epidermis; see Fig. 1(a). The subcutis lies under the dermis and
consists of adipose tissue or fat cells. The dermis lies below the
epidermis and supports it structurally and nutritionally. It
contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, arrector pili
muscle, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, collagen, and elastin
fibres. The main tension-carrying components of the dermis
are collagen and elastic fibres. Collagen and elastic fibres are
proteins that polymerize to form fibres. The fibres are
intertwined throughout the intercellular substance, and provide
the dermis with its strength and elasticity. The epidermis is the
outer layer of skin. It contains four distinct cellular layers:
basal layer, spinous layer, granular layer and keratin layer (Fig.
1b). The keratin layer is composed of anuclear and keratin-rich
corneocytes. The corneocytes are imbedded in lipid lamellar
regions, which are oriented parallel to the corneocyte surface
(Elias & Friend, 1975; Loden´ & Maibach, 2000; Shai et al.,
2001). This compound structure is formed by the dead cells,
and the lamellae is the skin’s protective barrier against various
environmental hazards.
The mechanical properties of skin are affected by the level of
hydration (Aubert et al., 1985; Murray & Wickett, 1996;
Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of human skin structure with different layers:
subcutis, dermis and epidermis (Shai et al., 2001), and (b) histology of rat
skin, and the details of how corneocytes are imbedded in lipid lamellar
regions.

Dobrev, 2000). The extensibility, viscoelasticity, and shear wave
propagation are markedly influenced by the water content of the
corneocytes. Skin cream is a skin care product that is very
commonly used by consumers, and the main objective of skin
cream development is to assist the keratin layer in restoring lost
moisture. Skin cream thinly coats the skin surface and softens and
moistens it. It is of interest to study how skin cream affects the
mechanical properties of skin. It can also help to quantify the
effectiveness of cosmetic products.
AFM is an ideal instrument to use for the scratch study
because it can control normal load, velocity and scan size and
obtain the scratch depth through the surface profile of the
AFM image (Koinkar & Bhushan, 1997; Sundararajan &
Bhushan, 1999; Wei & Bhushan, 2006; Bhushan, 2002,
2008a). Skin is the outer layer of our body, and it often fails in
a scratch action. Skin cream coats skin surface as a protective
film. It is interesting to study the scratch resistance of virgin
skin and cream-treated skin, which can help to understand how
skin and cream film fail at light loads and how the skin cream
acts as a protective overcoat.

In daily life, skin adequately adapts its shape to forces

The nanoindenter has matured as an important tool for probing
generated by body volume and posture. The mechanical
the mechanical properties of small volumes of material. From
properties of skin are an important characteristic of its
the load–displacement data, many mechanical properties such
resistance to laceration during impact injury (Karlson, 1982).
as hardness and elastic modulus can be determined without
imaging the indentation impression. However, although this
technique has been widely used to evaluate the
nanomechanical properties of metallic, thin film material and
biomaterial (Zysset et al., 1999; Cuy et al., 2002; Bhushan &
Li, 2003; Fischer-Cripps, 2004; Wei & Bhushan, 2006), little
They are important indicators of pathological situations.
nanoindentation work has been done on skin and skin cream
Precise knowledge of the mechanical properties of skin is also
(Yuan & Verma, 2006; Kendall et al., 2007). The hardness and
of great value to plastic surgeons in designing the size, shape,
elastic modulus of the outer layer of skin (keratin layer) are
and orientation of skin grafts (Lanir & Fung, 1974b). Many
important for the effective and accurate delivering of drugs and
macroscale studies have focused on the mechanical properties
genes (Kendall et al., 2007). Because skin cream can soften
of skin and skin cream such as elastic–plastic deformation
and moisten skin surface, it is of interested to study how skin
behaviour, hardness, Young’s modulus of elasticity, time-
cream interacts with skin and changes its hardness and elastic
dependent creep and relaxation properties (Sanders, 1973;
modulus.
Lanir & Fung, 1974a,b; Diridollou et al., 1992; Dombi et al.,
˝

1993; Falanga & Bucalo, 1993; Pierard´ et al., 1999; Ozyazgan

It is very challenging to perform mechanical measurements on
et al., 2002, Del Prete et al., 2004). Few nanoscale studies
the surface of skin at the nanoscale. AFM has emerged over
have focused on the mechanical properties of skin (Yuan &
the past few years as a viable tool to study nanoscale skin
Verma, 2006; Kendall et al., 2007). However, no nanoscale
surface structure. In situ surface characterization of
mechanical data for cream-treated skin exists in literature. It is
deformation with AFM has been carried out in the past on
very useful to bridge the gap between the nano- and
materials such as binary aluminium alloys, polymeric thin
macroscale data, as well as to gain a full understanding of the
films, magnetic tapes and hair (Tong et al., 1997; Bhushan,
mechanisms behind how skin cream interacts with skin and
1999, 2008a,b; Bobji & Bhushan, 2001; Tambe
changes its mechanical properties.

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NANOMECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SKIN AND SKIN CREAM
& Bhushan, 2004; Seshadri &
Bhushan, 2008). With in situ
experiments it is possible to
systematically follow the
progress of morphological change
and deformation in the material
and to accurately pinpoint the
initiation of major deformation
events. In situ experiments on
deformation progress in skin
subjected to tensile loading have
not been carried out before.
Hence, it is useful to develop and
implement an AFM-based
technique to study in situ the
response of skin, and specifically
the surface structure, to tensile
loading.
Here, we present a systematic
study of the mechanical
properties of virgin skin and
cream-treated skin. The
nanoscratch and nanoindentation
measurement of skin and skin
cream were performed using an
AFM and a nanoindenter,
respectively. In situ tensile
properties of skin and skin cream
were measured using a tensile
stage that attaches to the AFM.
Experimental details
Skin and various skin creams
Porcine (pig) skin is commonly
used as a model in aesthetic
repair and percutaneous
absorption of cosmetics and
drugs (Pflucker & Hohenberg,
1999; Braye et al., 2001; Yuan &
Verma, 2006). As rat skin has
137
also been used as an animal
model in the mechanical
properties studies of skin (Papir et
al., 1975; Vogel & Denkel, 1985;
Belkoff & Haut, 1991; Kendall et
al., 2007) and percutaneous
absorption of cosmetics and drugs
(Yourick & Bronaugh, 1997;
Kraeling & Bronaugh, 2005;
Yourick et al., 2008), in this
study we chose rat skin as the
animal model. Male rats of 8
months old were sacrificed by
overdosing them with carbon
dioxide. The dorsal skin was
immediately excised. Epidermis
and dermis layers were preserved.
Subcutaneous tissues were
scraped off with scissors, and the
hair was shaved carefully with a
shaver. Then, the skin was gently
cleaned with a 10% (v/v) soap
solution (liquid dishwashing
detergent) and rinsed with tap
water for 30 s and levelled on the
table to dry in an ambient
◦
condition for 1 h [22 C, relative
humidity (RH) 35–40%]. After
that, the skin was rinsed with a
commercial facial cleanser
treatment (Clean & Clear Shine
Control facial cleanser). The
facial cleanser was applied evenly
down the skin surface with a
cotton swab. Skin was lathered
for 30 s and rinsed with tap water
for 60 s. Then, the skin was
levelled on the table and dabbed
with Kimwipes to remove excess
water. It should be noted that the
preparation of the skin sample,
such as the shaving of the hair
and the cleaning of the skin
surface, will induce some
unavoidable damages to the skin
surface.
After that, the skin was cut into
different sized samples depending
on the experiment type. For the
nanoscratch and nanoindentation
experiment, the skin was cut into
10 mm × 10 mm size specimens.
For the tensile experiment, the
skin was cut into 36 mm × 7 mm
rectangular specimens in such a
manner that two longer
boundaries were parallel to the
body length direction and two
shorter boundaries were normal
to
it. The thickness of the virgin
skin sample was about 0.7 mm.
For the nanoscratch and
nanoindentation measurement,
the sample was mounted on the
AFM and nanoindenter sample
pucks with a rapid drying glue.
For tensile measurement, the
sample is firmly clamped
between two sliders of the tensile
stage.
using a commercial AFM system
(Dimension Nanoscope IIIa,
Veeco, Santa Barbara, CA) in
◦
ambient condition (22 C, RH
55%). A pyramidal diamond tip
(tip radius ∼100 nm) mounted on
a platinum-coated stainless steel
rectangular cantilever of stiffness
−1
10 N m (Fig. 2) was scanned
orthogonal to the long axis of the
cantilever to generate the scratch.
Scratches were generated under
various normal loads of 3, 9, 15,
21, 27, and 33 µN for 15 cycles
over a scan length (stroke length)
of 30 µm and with an average
−1
velocity of 300 µm s . It was
achieved by disabling the slow
scan axis during scanning and
increasing the applied normal
load to the desired value. After 15
reciprocatory cycles are
completed, the normal load

There were two categories of skin

samples used in the tests: virgin
skin and cream-treated skin.
Virgin skin was considered to be
a baseline specimen. For cream-
treated skin, 0.2 mg of a Unilever
commercial skin cream, Vaseline
Intensive Care Lotion, was
2
applied on a 1 cm area and
rubbed throughout the skin
surface for 30 s with a cotton
swab, which resulted in a film
thickness of about 135 ± 40 nm.
The method for measurement of
the cream film thickness was
described by Tang & Bhushan
(2010) and Tang et al. (2010).
Four skin samples were used in
each measurement for virgin skin
and cream-treated skin,
respectively.

Nanoscratch measurement

The nanoscale scratch

measurement was performed
 Fig. 2. SEM image of diamond tip.

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138 BHUSHAN ET AL. ,

(2)

was decreased to the value of 1.2 µN, and the slow scan axis
was enabled until the next region for a subsequent scratch test
was reached. After the scratch measurement, a silicon
cantilever rotated force-modulation etched silicon probe
(RFESP, Veeco) with a nominal tip radius of 10 nm and
−1
nominal stiffness of 3 N m was used to get the scratch AFM
image in tapping mode.

Nanoindentation experiment

The nanoindentation experiment was carried out using a Nano

Indenter II₃ (MTS Systems Corp., Knoxville, TN) in the
constant displacement rate loading mode with a three-sided
pyramidal diamond (Berkovich) tip. In this study, the
maximum indentation displacement was controlled to 1000 1
nm. 2
1−νt

The method for H and E determination was based on

established methods (for details, see Oliver and Pharr, 1992;
Bhushan & Li, 2003). Briefly, the hardness (H) was calculated
from

Pmax
H = A, (1)
−
Er

Et
where Pmax was the maximum imposed load, and A was the
projected contact area. The relationship between the contact
area and the contact depth was obtained from calibrating the
tip with a standard material of known mechanical properties
such that A was readily obtained from the load–displacement
data.

where

The elastic modulus (E) was analysed according to the

following equations:

√
π
E

2
(1 − ν )

S forth. The skin sample was firmly clamped between two
(3)
E
r = 2 from Velmex Inc.) gave a minimum displacement of 1.6 µm.
√ .
A
A quantity known as the reduced modulus (Er) was obtained
from the ratio of the contact stiffness (S) (obtained from the
slope of the unloading curve) and the square root of the contact
area as given in Eq. (3). Then, knowing the modulus and the
Poisson’s ratio of the indenter tip (Et and νt, respectively), as
well as the Poisson’s ratio of skin (ν), E was obtained from Eq.
(2). The Poisson’s ratio of skin was assumed to be 0.5; similar
assumptions have been made by Sanders (1973) and Yuan &
Verma (2006).
In situ tensile measurement
In situ tensile measurements of virgin skin and cream-treated
skin were conducted using a custom-built tensile stage that
attaches to the AFM base and uses a linear stepper motor to
load a skin sample in tension. Figure 3 shows a schematic of
the stage used in place of the regular AFM sample holder.
During scanning, the sample was held stationary while the
cantilever tip mounted on an X–Y–Z piezo moved back and
sliders to prevent slipping on load application. Stage motion
was achieved by a left–right combination lead screw that kept
the sample at approximately the same position with respect to
the scanning tip. This helped in locating the same control area
after each loading increment was applied. A 40 TPI pitch lead
screw in combination with a 400 steps per revolution stepper
motor (model PX245-01AA, using the controller NF-90, both
For a sample length of 36 mm, this corresponded to a
−3 −1
minimum strain rate of 8.9 × 10 % s . The strain applied
was obtained from the total number of steps through which the
−2 −1
stepper motor was rotated. The strain rate of 8.9 × 10 % s
was used throughout this study. The maximum travel was 21
mm. A beam-type strain gauge force sensor (model LCL-010,
Omega Engineering Inc., Stamford, CT) with a resolution of
10 mN was used for measuring stress in the skin samples. The
−1
stiffness of the force sensor (18 kN m ) is very high
compared with the sample stiffness. To minimize airborne
vibrations during AFM imaging, the skin sample was
supported with an aluminium block having a smooth radius of
curvature of 25.4 mm, as shown in Fig. 3.
Skin samples 36 mm in length were held between the movable
sliders of the stage, and axial load was applied using the
stepper motor. During the tensile test, the loading was stopped
intermittently, and the sample was scanned with AFM for
changes in morphology. The support block was removed
during straining and carefully inserted again while imaging.
The tension tests were conducted at a constant strain rate of 8.9
−2 −1
× 10 % s . For AFM scanning, an RFESP silicon tip was
used in tapping mode. The scan size was 10 µm. For stress–
strain curves, data from the load cell were used. All tensile
parameters presented in this study are based on about 10
individual measurements. With every load increment, there
was a corresponding increase in the length of the skin sample
and hence a shift in the location of the control area from its
previous position. It was therefore necessary to accurately
locate the scan area after every load increment before
scanning. To locate the same scan area in skin, a mark was
selected on skin surface itself. The scan area was located each
time by locating the tip of the cantilever on the selected mark
of the skin surface. Then the final area was scanned.
Results and discussion
 loads for 15 cycles for virgin skin and cream-treated skin. A
plot of the average scratch depth as a function of the normal
Nanoscratch load is shown in Fig. 4(b). Virgin skin could be scratched at a
normal load of 3 µN and 15 cycles. The average

Figure 4(a) shows AFM topographical images and 2D profiles

at indicated plane of scratch marks generated at various normal

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NANOMECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SKIN AND SKIN CREAM 139

Fig. 3. The schematic diagram of the setup used to conduct the in situ tensile measurement of skin samples in AFM.

normal load, the more worn corneocytes pileup. For cream-

scratch depth increases almost linearly with an increase in the
normal load for virgin skin. Because of the plowing of the
scratch tip, some pileup of worn corneocytes is formed at the
side of the scratch wear track of virgin skin. The larger the
treated skin, from the 2D profiles of the AFM image it seems
that the scratch depth and the pile up of the worn corneocytes
is larger than virgin skin. However, it should be noted that
because of the presence of the cream film (thickness ∼135
nm), when the scratch tip plows the skin surface, it is expected
that it first plows the skin cream, and if the normal load is high epidermis to dermis (Kendall et al., 2007). However, we can
enough, then the tip can reach the skin surface. To eliminate select a specific load and indentation depth to compare the
the effect of cream film, the real scratch depth of cream- nanomechanical properties of virgin skin and cream-treated
treated skin was obtained by subtracting the average cream skin samples.
film thickness (135 ± 40 nm) from the scratch depth obtained
from the 2D profiles of the AFM image. The result shows the
scratch depth increases very little until a critical normal load
of 15 µN is reached, above which the scratch depth increases
rapidly. When the normal load is lower than 15 µN, the scratch
depth of cream-treated skin is lower than virgin skin; when it
is higher than 15 µN, the scratch depth of cream-treated skin is
higher than virgin skin. These results suggest that cream- In situ tensile properties
treated skin exhibits scratch resistance up to a normal load of
15 µN. When the load is below 15 µN, the skin cream film acts
as a lubricant. Compared with virgin skin, it takes more sliding
cycles to penetrate the cream film and damage skin surface. Figure 6(a) shows the stress–strain curves for virgin skin and
Therefore, the scratch depth of cream-treated skin is lower cream-treated skin. The stress–strain curves show a
than that of virgin skin below 15 µN load. When the load is characteristic shape. During low strain range (0–42% and 0–
above 15 µN, the tip goes through the entire cream film 50% for virgin skin and cream-treated skin, respectively), the
thickness, and the film does not provide protection anymore. curve is concave. The stress–strain curve can be fitted to an
Because skin cream softens and moistens skin surface and exponential function. The fitting equation of the data for virgin
leads to a decrease in the hardness of the skin surface shown in skin and cream-treated skin are shown in Eqs (4) and (5),
Table 1, the tip can easily penetrate into the under layer of respectively, with a correlation coefficient R = 0.999
skin. The scratch depth of cream-treated skin is higher than
that of virgin skin above 15 µN load.

y = 0.43 exp(x/16.6) − 0.19,

(4)
Nanoindentation
y = 0.63 exp(x/21.0) − 0.38,

(5)
Figure 5 shows the representative load versus displacement
plots for virgin skin and cream-treated skin. At 1000 nm
indent depth, the load of virgin skin is about 35 µN, and load
of cream-treated skin is about 22 µN. Table 1 shows the where y is stress in MPa, and x is strain in %. In the strain
summary of hardness and elastic modulus which were range of 42–57% and 50–60% for virgin skin and cream-
calculated from the indentation curves. The hardness and treated skin, respectively, an almost straight section exists,
elastic modulus of cream-treated skin is lower than virgin skin, indicating dependence on Hook’s law. The fitting equation of
indicating that the skin cream moistens and softens the skin
surface. Note that since the skin consists of various layers, it
does not exhibit isotropic mechanical properties from

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140 BHUSHAN ET AL.
Fig. 4. (a) AFM topographical images of scratch marks generated at various normal loads for 15 cycles for virgin skin and cream-treated skin. Shown above
each image is a cross-section taken at the position denoted by the corresponding arrows, and (b) scratch depth as a function of normal load for virgin skin
and cream-treated skin.

90 ± 31

49 ± 16
Table 1. Hardness and elastic moduli of virgin skin and cream-treated
skin, obtained using a nanoindenter.

the data for virgin skin and cream-treated skin for this section
Virgin skin are shown in Eqs (6) and (7), respectively, with a correlation
coefficient R = 0.997,
Cream-treated skin
y = −10.4 + 0.37x,

(6)

y = −4.0 + 0.23x.

(7)
Hardness (MPa)

2.0 ± 0.5
For the straight section, the elastic modulus can be calculated
1.4 ± 0.4 by dividing an increase of stress by the increase of strain. In
Elastic modulus (MPa)
the last part of the curve, in the strain range of 57–60% and
60–62% for virgin skin and cream-treated skin, respectively,
the yield occurs ending in a sudden necking of the skin sample;
see the image in Fig. 6(a). At this point, the ultimate tensile
strength and ultimate strain can be measured. The results are
shown in Table 2.
According to the previous studies (Lanir & Fung, 1974b; Vogel &
Hilgner, 1977; Dombi et al, 1993; Elsner et al., 2002), the
characteristic shape of the stress–strain curve is because at the
beginning of the loading, because the collagen fibres are relaxed, a
small stress will lead to a large strain, and stress– strain curves
show a concave shape. As the stress increases, the collagen fibre
in the dermis will turn, and gradually the bundles of initially
crimped or coiled collagen fibres align along

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NANOMECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SKIN AND SKIN CREAM 141

Fig. 5. Representative load–

displacement plots of nanoindentations
made at 1000 nm peak indentation
displacement on virgin skin and cream-
treated skin.

the axis of loading, and the

stress–strain curves show a
straight shape.

From both the stress–strain curves

and the mechanical properties, it
is observed that there is a slight
decrease in the tensile properties
of cream-treated skin. The elastic
modulus is a little lower than
virgin skin, and ultimate strain is
a little higher than virgin skin. It
suggests that skin cream can
improve the tensile response of
skin. Slight change may be
because most ingredients of skin
cream can only reach and act in
the keratin layer of skin and
cannot affect the deep layer of
skin (dermis layer), which is the
main tension-carrying layer of
skin.

Figure 6(b) shows AFM
topographical images and 2D
profiles of a control area with
increasing strain for virgin skin
and cream-treated skin. Table 3
presents the surface roughness
statistics (root mean square or
RMS and peak– valley distance
or P–V distance) of virgin skin
and cream-treated skin obtained
from the AFM topographical
images with the increasing strain.
It shows that the surface
roughness of virgin skin and
cream-treated skin increase with
an increase
of strain, and the change of the
roughness of virgin skin is larger
than that of cream-treated skin.
As shown in the AFM
topographical images, for virgin
skin, the fractions (patches)
present on skin surface at around
10% strain, and the amount of
fractions (patches) increase as the
strain increases. Skin is
heterogeneous tissue. As
mentioned before, the keratin
layer consists of layered
anucleated corneocytes, which are
imbedded in lipid lamellar
regions. Because of the
progressive degradation and
desquamation of
corneodesmosomes, the cohesive
strength of corneocytes decreases
from the inner side towards the
outer side of keratin layer,
resulting in graded mechanical
properties through the thickness
of the keratin layer (Weigand &
Gaylor, 1973; Chapman et al.,
1991; Kenneth et al., 2006; Wu et
al., 2006). Meanwhile, skin
hydration also strongly affects the
mechanical properties of skin. It
has been demonstrated that there
is an increasing water gradient
from the outer towards the inner
keratin layer (Rawlings & Matts,
2005). The outer layer of keratin
layer is low in water content and
is rigid. The inner layer of keratin
layer is high in water content and
is more extensible. Stretching
skin sets up interlayer shear force
of corneocytes due to the
difference in cohesive strength
and extensibility. As the strain
increases, the corneocytes, which
have less cohesive strength and
extensibility may desquamate and
hence the changeinheight
andslopeobservedintheAFMimag
esandthe corresponding cross-
sectional profiles. In the case of
cream-treated skin, there are few
fractions (patches) present on skin
surface at around 20% strain,
which suggests the skin cream
moistens and softens the skin
surface which increases the
extensibility of the keratin layer
and reduces the generation of
fractions (patches) as the strain
increases.
Although there are some patches
showing in the AFM images with
increasing strain, morphological
changes are not significant. It
may be because the main load
carrying of skin is dermis and the
epidermis is not bearing much
load.
Conclusions
In this paper, we present a
systematic study of the
mechanical properties of virgin
skin and cream-treated skin. The
nanoscratch, nanoindentation and
in situ tensile properties of skin
and skin cream were studied. The
conclusions from this study are as
follows.
Virgin skin could be scratched at
a normal load of 3 µN and 15
cycles. The average scratch depth
increases almost linearly with an
increase in the normal load. For
cream-treated skin, the scratch
depth increases very little until a
critical normal load of 15 µN is
reached, above which the scratch
depth increases rapidly.
Compared with virgin skin,
cream-treated skin exhibits better
scratch resistance up to a normal
load of 15 µN. Once the normal
load exceeds the value of 15 µN,
the protection of cream film fails,
and the tip can easily penetrate
into the underlayer of skin
because the skin cream has
softened the skin surface.

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142 BHUSHAN ET AL.
Fig. 6. (a) Stress–strain curves of virgin skin and cream-treated skin and the image showing the necking of the skin sample under the ultimate strain, and (b)
AFM topographical images of a control area showing progress of damage with increasing strain of virgin skin and cream-treated skin. Shown above each
image is a cross-section taken at the position denoted by the corresponding arrows.

Virgin skin

Cream-treated skin

Table 2. Elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength and ultimate strain of

virgin skin and cream-treated skin, obtained using in situ tensile tester.
 ±3

62 ± 5

Elastic modulus (MPa)

31 In nanoindentation studies, at 1000 nm indent depth, the load

of virgin skin is about 35 µN, and load of cream-treated skin is
± 11 about 22 µN. The hardness and elastic modulus of cream-
treated skin is lower than virgin skin, indicating that the skin
22 ± 7
cream can moisten and soften the skin surface.
Ultimate tensile strength (MPa)

11
The stress–strain curves show a characteristic shape, which is
±2 related to the deformation of the collagen fibres of the dermis.
There is a slight decrease in the tensile properties of cream-treated
10 ± 2
skin. The elastic modulus is a little lower than virgin skin, and
Ultimate strain (%) ultimate strain is a little higher than virgin skin, indicating that
skin cream can improve the tensile response
59

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2010 The Authors Journal compilation 2010 The Royal Microscopical Society, Journal of Microscopy, 240, 135–144
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