Increase in skin surface elasticity in normal volunteer subjects following the use of copper oxide impregnated socks

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Copper (Supplement).

Copper is an essential mineral involved in the formation and stabilisation of extracellular skin proteins.

As copper can be absorbed through intact skin, the researchers reasoned that using socks containing copper-impregnated fibres may have an effect on skin elasticity.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

A double blind, placebo controlled study was conducted in which one group of healthy volunteers (n = 32) wore socks with fibres containing microscopic copper oxide particles and the other group wore identical socks without copper oxide (n = 28).

Skin elasticity measurements were taken from three separate test sites on the side of the ankle using a Cutometer at baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks of product use.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Copper (Supplement) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

As a double-blind Copper (Supplement) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Copper (Supplement) group a baseline to be compared against.

The methods mention a period of 4 weeks.

The socks were worn for at least 10 h a day for 4 weeks.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Administration, Topical, Clothing, Copper, Elastic Modulus, Foot, Placebo Effect and Skin Physiological Phenomena.

Author keywords: copper oxide, elasticity, placebo controlled clinical study and socks.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Copper (Supplement) over 4 weeks.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2015 (Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI)), a journal based in England.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, all human trials.