However, I do still disagree. What makes peppers hot is not the oil, it is the chemical they contain called capsaicin. It does tend to be present in the oil of peppers, however once it binds to the capsaicin receptors in your skin you’re pretty screwed, no matter if you get the oil off or not.

With regular level spicy peppers like jalepenos or serranos, washing hands immediately afterward is mostly sufficient. Although even then my fingernails will be spicy to the taste for days (after multiple washes and showers). However when you are dealing with very spicy peppers such as habaneros, hot Thai chilies and Scotch bonnets, the sheer concentration of capsaicin makes them dangerous to handle. Their vapors can even cause choking and watery eyes. And there really is no way to get it off. Trust me, I wouldn’t have done this experiment if hand washing worked! I work in a lab and am pretty familiar with hand washing protocols

Also too, some people are more sensitive than others. Maybe you’re an X-man?

Cheers,
Darya

I like your blog in general, so reading in this post about hot pepper oil not washing off made me jump on my seat. If it’s oil, it can be washed away by correct use of soap (or detergent) and water! Although using gloves is a good idea too, personally I simply wash my hands vigorously after handling hot peppers and I’m fine.

Sorry to be a bit negative for a first post, but can I humbly suggest that this means you may not be washing your hands as well as you could? (Although that probably applies to the majority of people too, so you’re not alone.) In the name of science, you may want to try again the “washing hands” option, but making sure to scrub everywhere and long enough… A search for “how to wash hands correctly” gives a good number of hits.

Sorry again, just couldn’t let the claim stand that hot pepper oil is a special kind of oil that (unlike all other oils) doesn’t react with soap to be washed away. I love your blog and what you write otherwise!

In an attempt to end on a more positive note, the best advice I’ve heard for dealing with “mouth on fire” because of too much hot pepper is to eat rice (or bread) afterwards, chewing well. The rice will absorb the hot pepper oil, and will then move it away from your taste buds when you swallow. Drinking water doesn’t help much because oils (including hot pepper oil) and water don’t mix together. Hence the idea of eating something that can soak up the hot pepper oil instead.

Christian

PS I thought about sending this privately instead, but when I went to your “contact me” page, it said what the private form should be used only for general suggestions and improvements to the blog, and that feedback on a particular story should be left as comments on that story. So there you go. Maybe a case of being careful what you wish for?

Funny you should ask about horror stories. You can read my habanero horror story here: http://tinyurl.com/y9uzwh9

I use a product called deep tissue oil (which contains menthol and capsaicin) and I can tell you from personal experience the menthol does not stop the burning, in fact it enhances the experience.

BTW, thanks for the experiment. I’m not much for spicy foods (Scandinavian taste buds here), but my husband has encouraged me to venture out beyond my comfort zone, and one of these years I might actually bring a jalapeno into the house. Curious to know if milk helps at all.