what is the ingredient added to soap that makes it anti-bacterial?
In: Chemistry
A lot of modern soaps like dish soaps don’t have lye. Lye is also neutralized during the soap making process.
There’s a few things in play though
The soap has certain molecules called surfactants in them (there are many chemical molecules that are used for this purpose). These have a side that love water and a side that doesn’t like water.
The surface of bacteria don’t love water either. Like attracts like and the side of the surfactant that doesn’t like water draws the bacteria towards them. This lifts bacteria from your skin. Once they are free, the surfactants keep attaching and traps them in a tiny drop.
The double whammy is the simple movement of your hands rubbing together also tears bacteria apart. Which makes washing your hands with soap very effective at removing bacteria
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