What Is Bubble Bath?

There are few people who don't enjoy a hot and luxurious bubble bath, particularly at the end of a long day. Commercial bubble baths are expensive, however, and they are often too harsh for dry or sensitive skin; as a result, many people are now choosing to make their own bubble bath at home.

Though more people are making their own bubble bath, few people understand what bubble bath is, or how it works.

All bubble bath is, essentially, a form of soap. Soap is an anionic surfactant which bonds with dirt and oil on a molecular level to clean surfaces.

It also acts as an emulsifier, meaning that it allows one substance to dissolve into another substance into which it would not ordinarily dissolve. For example, everyday soil on clothing, skin and other surfaces usually contains grease and oils which are not water-soluble.

This means that if water is used to clean greasy surfaces, it will simply sit on top of the oil. Water and oil can be temporarily mixed with mechanical agitation, but they will soon separate because they are only blended physically, and not bonded on a molecular level. Soap allows the oils to dissolve into the water and be rinsed away.


All substances fall into one of two categories: hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Hydrophilic substances (from hydro, water, and philic, loving) are water-soluble, while hydrophobic substances are not. Soap (and therefore bubble bath) is unique because it is made of molecules that have both a hydrophilic end and a hydrophobic end.

The hydrophobic end of each soap molecule, a hydrocarbon chain, bonds to grease, dirt and oil, while the hydrophilic end, a carboxylate, bonds to water molecules. When clean water is used to rinse a soapy surface, the soap molecules bind with the water and are carried away by it, bringing the dirt and oils with them.


Because its molecular structure is similar to that of soap, bubble bath works in a very similar fashion; however, instead of binding to dirt and oils, the hydrophobic end of the molecules bonds to air. This is what makes the bubbles, and also what makes them so long-lasting – bar soap, for example, is great for cleaning up dirt and grease, but doesn't make a very good bubble bath.

This is also why the foam in a bubble bath disappears if you climb in and you are very dirty; the hydrophobic end of the molecules bonds to the dirt instead of the air, and the bubbles dissipate.


In order for soap and bubble bath to work properly, three types of energy must be present: thermal energy, kinetic energy and chemical energy.

The chemical energy is inherently present in the reaction between the soap and the oils, or the bubble bath and the air.


Thermal energy is supplied by the hot water; as many people know, soap doesn't clean as well, and bubble bath doesn't create as much foam, in cold water. The kinetic energy is supplied by movement; in the case of bubble bath, the kinetic energy is the aeration caused by the water cascading from the faucet.
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