TIL that certain acidic soaps can make your skin hydrophobic
I’m a hairy guy, so if I don’t try to squeegee my body dry with my hands, my towel won’t dry quick enough for tomorrow’s shower. A few days ago I tried a new soap and the water would just bead up on my skin. It was kinda freaky, like I took a bath in RainX. So when I finished my squeegeeing, I hardly needed a towel! At first I was worried how this might affect my skin, washing with this soap daily, but my skin is better than ever!
Did the soap stay on your skin? How do you wash it off if it just repels all the water?
No the soap is washed off. It temporarily gives your skin a positive charge, and it goes away shortly after.
Surfactants and nanostructures are how scientists can tune wettability to almost any level. Deep dive link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassie%27s_law