What is soap?

Soap is kinda weird. It helps you stay clean but in itself can make you dirty. Have you ever rushed to wash your hands only to realize you didn’t quite get all the soap around that ring on your finger. When soap is accidently left behind, it can cause your hands to be sticky or to dry out. So what is soap? The answer to this question is going to be a bit more science-y then I would like, but don’t worry. I will try to clear this up in my next microBLOG “How does soap work?”. So bear with me. Soap is a salt created by the chemical reaction of combining a fatty acid, water, and an alkali metal hydroxide. UGH, I know. Ok, so a fatty acid is an oil or fat material, like coconut oil or shea butter. Water is the easy one so, check. The least known ingredient here is the alkali metal hydroxide, a common version of this is Lye. The combination of these 3 ingredients creates a salt know as soap. WHAT? SALT? yup. SALT - any chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base…. In this case the acid is the Lye and the base is the oil/fat. The resulting molecule is shaped a lot like a balloon, a round head with a long tail. So that it. I know this only makes you have more questions. Me too! So please come back and visit when I post my next blog “How does soap work?”

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bibliography:

🔹 https://www.thoughtco.com/how-dos-soap-clean-606146/

🔹 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/soap/

🔹 https://www.themacbath.com/blog/2016/6/27/back-to-basics-what-is-soap/

🔹 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/health/soap-coronavirus-handwashing-germs.html/

🔹 https://www.diynatural.com/sodium-hydroxide-lye/

🔹 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/salt?s=t/

🔹 https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products/frequently-asked-questions-soap/

🔹 https://www.defeatdd.org/blog/how-does-soap-actually-work/

🔹 https://www.worldofmolecules.com/3D/how-does-soap-work.html/

🔹 https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/blog/posts/how-does-soap-work/