Why are soaps so drying even though they are mostly made up of oils?

Question

Why are soaps so drying even though they are mostly made up of oils?

In: 19

Answer 1

The reason we usually need soap to clean ourselves is that we produce an oil on our skin called sebum. Stuff like dirt sticks to it, and if you just use water, it won’t get the dirt from the oil.

The main feature of soap is that it can stick to water and oil. so when you wash the soap off your body, it takes the sebum with it.