Sweat enzymes weaken healing skin

Healing skin under wet clothing may become easier to damage, and this proposal asks why. One hypothesis says sweat proteases, enzymes that cut proteins, reach the skin surface and cut the protein links holding surface cells together. In restored skin models from donors 20-30 and 40-60, an active sweat fraction should lower the damage threshold, the force or friction needed to cause injury. A rival explanation: water swelling under sideways constraint could form wrinkles before friction begins. Releasing it should preserve strength with protease-free fluid, testing whether swelling alone controls strength. A test would match temperature and hydration, then define the damage threshold. It could separate enzyme transfer from swelling mechanics.