The Science Behind Soap!

Hand-washing has become a very hot topic right now, and unfortunately it took a viral outbreak to get people to pay attention!

Many people feel that water is good enough when washing your hands.   It basically comes down to Oil and Water-And we all know that oil and water don’t really mix. 

But most people don’t really understand the science behind how soap works.  Here’s why it’s so much better than just water.

The basic recipe for soap hasn’t changed for thousands of years… The first soap dates back to 2800. B.C. according to soaphistory.com 

An ancient civilization used animal fats, wood ash and water.

There are two essential ingredients in most soap:  Vegetable or animal fat.  And lye, also known as sodium hydroxide.  Instead of killing germs, soap removes them from your hands.  And it’s VERY good at it.  

 

That’s because germs tend to stick to the oil and grease on our skin.  And water alone won’t get rid of that oil, because they don’t mix.  But soap likes BOTH oil and water.

 

Soap molecules have one end that wants to bind with water, and another end that wants to bind with oil.  So they can get in between and bind with both at the same time.  

 

In other words, soap sticks to the oil molecules where all the germs are, AND allows the water to wash them off.  Which is why it really is worth the extra few seconds to use soap, because it does a much better job.

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