I am just trying to wrap my head around all the amazing transformations and advancements in the past 9 months or so - almost overwhelming (but in a good way).
What is the relation between the "digital human shader" which seemed to focus on various layers but also on SubSurface Scattering (SSS) a lot,on the one hand, and SkinGen on the other?  I know SkinGen has scads of layers for normals and textures and so forth.
Does SkinGen build upon a material created using the digital human shader or are the two systems separate?

I guess this may be a bit of a newbie question, but both sets of tools require an investment in time to perfect.  I was just beginning to wrap my head around the digital human shader (skin, eyes, teeth, etc.) and I am wondering if I should put that learning experience on hold because it is already superceded? Or do the two complement each other.

If someone who understands both and whether they contribute to each other could help clarify I would greatly appreciate it.  I am willing to keep putting in the time to keep developing my skills to create "digital human" characters - but the last couple of days I was losing sight of the forest for the trees.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to share their expertise,
Nattydread

You can view SkinGen as a tool to add details to the skin as well as apply makeup. Once you are finished and, exit the Appearance editor and the textures will be "baked" and converted into Digital Human Shader materials.

If you want to change something and open the editor, the reverse process takes place and all the SkinGen layers are again available to be modified.

The skin of any existing CC3+ character can also be enhanced by opening the Appearance editor, and adding layers for wrinkles, makeup, tattoos, etc.

CC3 type characters will need to be converted to CC3+ first. For those characters, a button allowing to you convert will appear in the Modify panel.

It can indeed be overwhelming when you are just starting out and even if you are an old hand like myself... So asking questions is good as it helps us all learn.

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Indeed confusing  - especially to newbies -
I tried to rate your reply as Four Stars but it seemed to stick at one !!