skin cells
"Dead skin cells are like a dried-up sponge. You can rub the most expensive "moisturisers" on your face all day long, and all that happens is the sponge gets greasy. Soak the sponge in water and it puffs up soft, before being left to dry out again. That's what happens to the surface of your skin."
"Your skin cells are like that is renewed in a 28 day cycle. To make room for new, fresh skin cells, the dead skin cells have to be removed first."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.