Cuticle

[3] The main structural component of arthropod cuticle is chitin, a polysaccharide composed of N-acetylglucosamine units, together with proteins and lipids.

Cuticles minimize water loss and effectively reduce pathogen entry due to their waxy secretion.

The main structural components of plant cuticles are the unique polymers cutin or cutan, impregnated with wax.

Plants that live in range of sea's spray also may have thicker cuticles that protect them from the toxic effects of salt.

[7] This adaptation is not purely the physical and chemical effect of a waxy coating but depends largely on the microscopic shape of the surface.

The alternative term "pileipellis", Latin for "skin" of a "cap" (meaning "mushroom"[11]) might be technically preferable, but is perhaps too cumbersome for popular use.

Anatomy of the basic parts of a human nail
Epicuticular wax covering the cuticle of a leaf of Hosta sieboldiana makes it hydrophobic . Water, unable to wet the cuticle, beads up and runs off, carrying dust and soluble contamination with it. This self-cleaning property is variously called "ultrahydrophobicity" or "ultralyophobicity" in technical journals. More popularly it is known as the Lotus effect.