Have you ever seen that adorable commercial where the cute little ducks are pulled out of an oil spill and cleaned with Dawn Soap? If you haven't, I recommend it. If you have seen it, have you ever wondered how Dawn cleans the precious ducklings? Well, let me let you in on the secret, it's Sodium Lauryl Sulfate; or SLS for short. This molecule is used in soaps and detergent to suck up and trap dirt. SLS looks like a balloon except that the string is carbons and the balloon is a sulfate with 4 oxygens. When there are a lot of SLS molecules they create a ball where balloons make up the outside with the strings on the inside. The ball then sucks in the dirt and traps it there.
At this point you're probably thinking, give this molecule a movie! It fights bacteria, dirt and germs! I can see it now... A microscopic metropolis in peril! A new gang has showed up reeking havoc on the sterile city. Dirt. Grease. Germs. Who will save them?? A rag tag group of SLS's must ball together to round up the gang and save the city. Sounds like a new Osmosis Jones if you ask me!
Now, this molecule is not without its challenges, it can dry out your skin, it can make your skin irritated and itchy. But, is it probably worth it? I'd say so. Any cleansing or cleaning product you use might irritate your skin, but most likely that can be solved with lotion, or maybe you can treat yourself with a hand mask.
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