The lack of proper moisture levels in the skin disturbs the skin’s desquamation process. Desquamation is the natural elimination of cells from the stratum corneum. When the desquamation process doesn’t function properly, dead skin cells collect on the skin and become visible as dry skin flakes.
The dry skin cells accumulating on the surface feel rough and inflexible. With continued dryness, this inflexibility and tightness can lead to physical cracking of the skin – which can be painful, and further exposes skin to drying elements.
As dryness drives deeper into the stratum corneum, the physiological functions of skin (such as the natural growth and maturation of healthy corneocytes) become impaired. These under-developed, immature corneocytes reach the surface in a weakened state, further reducing the skin’s ability to withstand dryness and naturally recover from environmental assault.
