Why does soap make bubbles?

Soap molecules are very tiny and have a special shape. One end likes water, and the other end does not like water but likes oil instead. When you rub your hands together with water, these molecules catch air too.

When the soap molecules catch air, they wrap around the air bubble like a thin skin. When lots of these thin skins pile up together, we see them as bubbles. Bubbles are really just a bunch of tiny balloons full of air, all stuck together.

Water on its own does not make bubbles, because water molecules hold onto each other very tightly and cannot form air bubbles. Soap loosens this tight grip, so air can slip into the water more easily and bubbles form.

That is why, when you wash your hands and the soap makes bubbles, dirt and germs get trapped inside the bubbles and wash away with the water.