I get how soap works by breaking down outer layers of cells, especially in viruses and bacteria, which is how it protects us (correct me if I’m wrong). My question is why does everyone, including surgeons scrubbing in for surgery, massage the soap around their hands and arms? Couldn’t we just apply the soap, wait 20 seconds, then rinse it off? Maybe it’s a surface area thing, making sure soap is applied everywhere?
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Here’s my analogy.
Think of a dirty pan that you just cooked some chicken in.
Add a lot of liquid soap. Let it sit there for 3 minutes. Give it a quick rinse.
What is the result? Almost nothing.
Add a small amount of liquid soap. Let it sit for 2 seconds then scrub with a brush.
The result? A clean pan.
You need a combination of a detergent that will surround the oil/grime/bacteria/whatever, and the physical action to remove the stuff that wants to stick to the surface (whether it’s your hand or a pan). Bacteria and germs love to stick to animal skin. Just pouring some water of it, even with some soap applied, doesn’t do much.
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