.. .on its own, but it doesn’t. The top dead layer of normal skin (the stratum corneum) sheds on a regular basis (millions and millions of skin cells every few minutes). This shedding process relates to the physiology of skin, and the way skin cells grow and function. New skin cells are produced in the lower layers of skin (the stratum basal layer); they then move to the surface, changing shape as they go, eventually dying and forming the outer, protective layer of skin (sometimes referred to as the horny layer). These dead skin cells on the surface are eventually shed as newer cells from the lower layers travel to the surface and push them off, continually creating new “dead” layers of skin.
When we are young, skin cells are regenerated and turn over very quickly, about once a week for children. As we age, the rate of skin-cell renewal changes, with the time ranging from about every three weeks through our teens and 20s, and then slowing as we age with the rate varying depending on how healthy the skin is (it’s quicker with skin that hasn’t been sun damaged or lost estrogen).
Sun damage and stages of menopause both reduce the ability of skin cells to reproduce in a healthy, normal manner. Beyond being smart about sun protection, considering various options of hormone replacement therapy, using skin-care products laden with antioxidants, skin-identical ingredients, and cell-communicating ingredients, or using a prescription retinoid such as tretinoin, there isn’t much else that you can do to help improve cell production aside from exfoliation.