Question

Soap and bleach are both alkaline, or basic. Soap is safe to touch and use on skin. Bleach is toxic and is not safe to touch. Why is soap safe to touch but not bleach?

Answer 1

Bleach has a pH in the range of 11-13 which is highly corrosive while soap is basic but only about 9-10. So soap is milder. The bleach is more corrosive fpr another reason too; i.e., because the NaOCl is an oxidizing agent and that's corrosive to the skin also.