Micellar solubilization

Have you ever played with bubbles in the bathtub or while washing dishes? Imagine that there are little bubbles called micelles that can help dissolve things like oil and dirt in water. The micelles are made up of tiny molecules called surfactants that have a water-loving head and an oil-loving tail. When you put some oil in the water, the tails of the surfactants attach to the oil while the heads stick out into the water. This creates a little bubble called a micelle that has the oil trapped inside. So instead of the oil just floating on top of the water, the micelles hold onto it and keep it suspended. This is called micellar solubilization because the micelles help solubilize (or dissolve) the oil into the water. Pretty cool, huh?