The stratum corneum is the top layer of your epidermis (skin). It protects your body from the environment and is constructed in a brick-and-mortar fashion to keep out bacterial and toxins.

The skin, after all, is an excellent barrier. Its outermost layer, the stratum corneum, is like a brick wall.The "bricks" are dead skin cells and the "mortar" is a waxy mix of fats.

The stratum lucidum isn't even present in thin skin. The stratum corneum, consisting of keratin-packed dead cells, is substantially thicker in thick skin than in thin skin.

Oils, butters, and waxes, such as lanolin, are examples. ... A 2021 review notes that urea helps enhance the stratum corneum by increasing hydration and improving the skin barrier’s integrity.

Kapoor explained lip scrubs exfoliate the skin, specifically the stratum corneum. Since the lips have a thin stratum corneum, she warned people are scrubbing away the healthy skin on their lips ...

The barrier function of the human skin is primarily located in the stratum corneum (SC), which is composed of corneocytes surrounded by a dense, lamellar lipid matrix made up of ceramides (CERs), ...