Explain the cleansing action of soaps.

Soap molecules form micelles around an oil droplet (dirt) in such a way that the hydrophobic parts of the stearate ions attach themselves to the oil droplet and the hydrophilic parts project outside the oil droplet. Due to the polar nature of the hydrophilic parts, the stearate ions (along with the dirt) are pulled into water, thereby removing the dirt from the cloth.