I dunno. Mealys are bad enough that I think you're going to need more than soap. Yes, leaving water on fuzzy leaves can make permanent marks on them, especially if the plants are in sun when you get them wet. But, you know, leaving mealybugs on fuzzy leaves is going to kill your plant, and possibly any other plants in the vicinity too (in fact, you should inspect any nearby plants very carefully, I think, because where there's one infestation, there are likely others). So it's kind of a question about whether you want an ugly plant or a dead plant. If it were me, I'd probably be inclined to take a few cuttings and chuck the rest of the plant in the trash: it's not worth fighting mealybugs, to me, just to have a plant that's as easily propagated as Gynura aurantiaca is. (Granted, the cuttings might have mealys too. But if you taken enough cuttings fast enough, you should be able to outrun them.) If you have sentimental attachment to the plant that makes you want to save it, I'd go with some kind of spray containing imidacloprid, follow the label directions (which usually allow for you to spray the plant weekly), and move the plant out of direct sun until the crisis has passed. The safest bet of all is to do both: cuttings and spray. If the spray works, you have multiple plants; if the spray fails, you at least have the cuttings as back-up.

That webbing is very distinctive of mealies. I've just recently had a few go-rounds with soil-mealies, and the best advice was to just throw everything away and start over after disinfecting and treating to kill the beasties in the area where you grow your plant. That said, I can also empathize with wanting to keep a plant for sentimental reasons. With foliar mealy bugs, getting rid of them is very very difficult because they lay their eggs in hard-to-treat areas of the plant. If you really want to save the plant, you'll want to get a strong bug-killer (work with it outside) with pyrethren or malathion. Treat the entire plant by submerging it. You'll want to repeat this one or 2 more time at least a week apart. The other way you can go about saving the plant is to clone it from a leaf cutting and treating the leaf cutting with the bug-killing chemicals. I'm sure there are other ways to go about killing mealies or controlling their populations, but this method I know works reasonably well.

I have dunked many of these aeoniums in a large bucket or basin with warm water, 70% isopropyl alcohol and some dawn or Palmolive dish detergent, one capful of each. I submerge the entire plant this way I don't miss a spot using the spray bottle. I then rinse the plant with a light setting on the spray nozzle. For smaller plants you can use the sink, just clean up well. You can let the plant dry out for an hour or so before planting it again. I try to dry them upside down so water does not settle into the crown of the plants. If you can't do that, dab the rosettes dry with a paper towel..gently. If you don't have new soil you can use the old soil if you absolutely must. but, before you do I would microwave the soil first. 2 minutes on high should kill anything living in the soil. If you have a lot of soil microwave it in batches if you must. Prevention is always your best friend when dealing with mealy bugs and scale insect especially. After the soil is microwaved...I spray it with some insecticide...lightly, just a few squirts and mix it into the soil. Just enough for bugs to be aware of it and stay away. Spray the bottom and sides of the containers too. And, as I learned from Rina in our forum...use sand as a top dressing. Most bugs especially fungus gnats don't like it. Use just enough of it so you can't see the soil anymore, just the sand. It also looks better. These are the methods I have tried and worked for me. I have not lost a plant using these methods yet. However, do what would work best for you and of course your plant. Keep checking back here to see what other, more experienced people would do, then make your decision as quickly as possible. If unchecked, scale and mealy bugs have a way of expanding their numbers in short time. Good luck!

Additional note: I agree with the warm water bath for the roots. It's easy, safe, and effective. You can use an infrared thermometer from the hardware store to check the water temperature ($20). Soap will help greatly - insecticidal soap is best but just a specific type of normal soap to reduce damage (long chain). Big plus if you use a gritty type mix for easy plant removal. However, I have been VERY skeptical of this microwaving your soil to sanitize it (from elsewhere on the internet). What methods do you all use for this? Seems wasteful to pitch (contaminated) good mix.