If I have oil in my hands and I use a sanitizer, my hands stop feeling oily/sticky. Where does the oil go? Even if it breaks down the oil (like soap does) do these broken compounds stay/sit on my hand? There is also no water to run the water soluble part of the oil/dirt away from my hands.
In: Chemistry
Oil is soluble in alcohol. So you are just spreading it around; more dispersed…. and maybe helping it absorb into your skin.
Molecules, like oils and alcohols, are just a bunch atoms, are bonded together. Each atom has a differing number of protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged). Some atoms bond because they find a balance between the positive and negative forces of eachother and as a result, they bond and share electrons freely between themselves. These are referred to covalent bonds and are found everywhere in organic materials. When these atoms bond, they don’t always share equally and some will take electrons easier than giving them.
When this happens, one atom in the molecule has less electrons and will gladly take electrons from other atoms. This imbalance in the molecule makes it a ‘polar molecule.’ The ability for one substance to dissolve in another is based on whether both molecules have the same polarity
Oils do not have polar bonds, so they are entirely non-polar. However alcohols have polar and non-polar bonds and can readily dissolve with oils. By dissolving together they create a homogeneous mixture that reduces the surface tension of the oil, allowing it to be more easily washed away.
If you put something on you skin that chemically breaks down oil into other compounds, that would involve some seriously nasty chemicals that you would not want to touch. Soap doesn’t do that [Nor sanitizer]. The oils (for lack of a better word) dissolve into the soap, making it easier to clean / wash off
And soap doesn’t “break down” oil. Oil is a hydrocarbon. Soap is basically long chains of fat, which are hydrocarbons. So washing hands with soap just makes it easier to get off
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