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rrussell1995 t1_j2y76sg wrote

Soap contains emulsifiers which break down the membrane of bacterial cells. Emulsifiers are chemicals which allow oils (hydrophobic) and water (hydrophilic) to dissolve or mix in one another. They’re in everyday items such as ice cream paints etc.

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dysfunctionalbrat t1_j2yefoq wrote

What is ice cream paint?

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SecondGuy t1_j2zn9pk wrote

That's when you take too big of a bite off your cone and a little ice cream gets on your nose 😀

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IgotthatBNAD t1_j2yzgfx wrote

Does soap also break down the cell membrane of animal cells?

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Krail t1_j2zwxxy wrote

Your outermost layer of skin cells is relatively safe from this because it's made to be less reactive and protect from outside threats like this (My detailed anatomy knowledge is fuzzy, but my understanding is that you're basically protected by a layer of keratin, which soap does not act on), but yes it does break down animal cells, and this is one of the main reasons that soap is toxic to ingest.

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FogeltheVogel t1_j31jxvf wrote

Yes. That's why getting soap in an open wound is painful, and why drinking soap is so dangerous.

However, your outer skin is mostly immune to this as it's not made of living cells, but rather a layer of dead cells that made some structures that resist this before they died.

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roesingape t1_j30uswo wrote

So I can wash my hands in ice cream? Does ice cream kill covid?

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