Integumentary / VISUAL EXPLAINER
How Does Your Skin Keep Water Inside?
The outer epidermis slows water loss through a combination of keratin-rich flattened cells and lipids between them. This is a resistant barrier, not an impermeable seal or the same thing as surface oil.
READ THE IMAGE
What the illustration shows
Dimensional skin cutaway on navy shows flattened outer stratum corneum above living epidermis and blood-vessel-containing dermis. A linked enlarged panel shows anucleate corneocytes separated by lipid layers. Sparse dashed arrows rise toward water molecule symbols with the text Some water still escapes. The conclusion says water-resistant does not mean impermeable. Gold AllHumanBody.com branding appears below.
How to interpret this poster
- Layer thicknesses and water-molecule symbols are illustrative.
- Skin water resistance does not mean zero water loss, and no skin-product or treatment claim is made.
- AI-assisted educational illustration; not physician certification, microscopy, a diagnosis or individualized medical advice.
- Fine annotations need enlargement; the full description provides an accessible text alternative.
- Display the full uncropped illustration; do not trim titles, legends or boundary annotations.
AI-assisted educational illustration, adapted into web-sized images without changing its composition. This is general education, not an individual diagnosis or treatment recommendation.
EVIDENCE / CONTEXT
Sources and what they support
- Anatomy and Physiology 2e: 5.1 Layers of the Skin ↗
Keratinized outer cells and extracellular lipid material help restrict water loss.