Desquamation (say des-kwa-MA-shun) is the natural process in which skin cells are created, sloughed away and replaced. Sometimes called cell turnover, desquamation happens every second of every single day, without you even noticing! The desquamation process happens in the outermost layer of the skin -- the epidermis. The epidermis itself has 4 unique layers. Each of these layers plays a role in desquamation. New skin cells are created in the stratum germinativum, which is the the deepest layer of the epidermis. This layer is also called the basal layer. Skin cells begin their life as a single layer of thick, column-shaped cells. These cells are responsible for creating every cell of your skin.