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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If you do a full scrub before going into an operating room (or, in my case, the neonatal ICU), it takes about 10 minutes and involves a stiff brush for scrubbing, not a gentle “massage.” The goal is to remove all the bacteria and, if necessary, the top layer of skin.
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