Eli5: How does soap get so sudsy and bubbly, given that it starts as either a thick liquid (like shampoo) or a solid (like a bar of soap)?

Question

Eli5: How does soap get so sudsy and bubbly, given that it starts as either a thick liquid (like shampoo) or a solid (like a bar of soap)?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Soap is working by surrounding dust and durt (which is when you’re cleaning something is including yourself mostly fat) small structures with a lipophilic tail and a hydrophilic head are making a bubble around the fat part wich is in a way becoming hydrophobic so it make it easier to clean. The buble is just those molecules surrounding a bubble of air on both side with the hydrophobic part on the outside so it don’t blend with water.