2.5. Skin elasticity measurement

We measured skin elasticity with a noninvasive MPA 580 Cutometer probe (Courage + Khazaka, DE), which used a negative pressure to aspirate a small section of the skin. From each subject, measurements were taken from the skin of the cheek, lateral to the nostril. The time/strain mode was used with three cycles of 3s traction under a negative pressure separated by 3‐s relaxation periods. The skin elasticity parameters were calculated from the measured values, R2, R5, and R7 which represented gross elasticity, net elasticity, and skin firmness, respectively. Data for all skin elasticity parameters were acquired three times and expressed as a mean.