As the skin is further damaged by exposure to radiation, the basal layer compensates by increasing the rate at which it produces new skin cells, termed mitotic activity . Many of these cells are immature and vulnerable to trauma from normal wear and tear once they reach the skin surface . If the new skin cells are produced faster than the old skin cells are being shed, this leads to dry desquamation which results in the skin appearing dry, flaky and scaly . The dryness of the skin can be worsened by the reduction in skin lubrication brought about by damage to the sweat and sebaceous glands in the dermis .
Dry desquamation appears at doses above 3000cGy .