How Does Soap Work and Clean Skin, Materials
The soap molecule has two different ends. One is water-binding hydraulic (polar head) and the other is hydrophobic (non-polar hydro-carbon tail) bonding with grease and oil. Hydraulic molecules are attracted to water. That is, network erotic. Also, oil and anything that will mix with oil are hydrophobic.
The soap molecule is as follows.
Written by: Shashika Madusanka Gamage , (undergraduate), Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Soap molecules act as emulsifiers because they have both non-polar and non-polar properties. An emulsifier is an additive that helps two liquids to mix. When greasy dirt, fat or oil mixed with soapy water, the soap molecules arrange themselves into tiny clusters called micelles.
Soap molecules act as a bridge between polar water molecules and non-polar oil molecules. When the ionic part comes in contact with water, the micelle is removed from the cloth as it cools in the water.