What is likened to the dissolving mortar when harsh soaps strip the skin's lipid matrix?
Answer
The natural moisturizing factors and lipids holding skin cells together
The protective structure of the skin's outermost layer, the stratum corneum, is often conceptualized using a structural analogy: skin cells are the bricks, and the natural moisturizing factors and lipids binding them together serve as the mortar. Harsh soaps or detergents containing strong degreasers act like powerful solvents in this analogy, aggressively dissolving this lipid mortar. When the mortar dissolves, the cellular bricks are left exposed, making the surface brittle, unable to hold moisture, and thus leading rapidly to evaporation and dryness.
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