How to Get Jalapeño off Your Hands: 5 Fast-Working Methods

Jalapeño pepper oil (made up of capsaicin molecules) is what lights your pain receptors up. This hot pepper burn is so common that some might call it “jalapeño hands” or “hot pepper hands.”

Capsaicin is the same compound that makes jalapeños so spicy and hot sauce so hot. But it can cause a burning sensation on surfaces other than just your tongue. As you pierce the membranes of these peppers, capsaicin oil releases and irritates your skin until you neutralize it or it fades away naturally.

The main way to prevent chili peppers from making your hands burn is to wear gloves when you’re handling them. So long as home cooks protect their hands with latex gloves or rubber gloves, they won’t have to treat the sensation at all.

If you forget to wear gloves before handling jalapeños, you can still treat the burning pain you’re experiencing. Try any of these five effective home remedies:

1. 1. Cancel out the sting with oil. Vegetable oil, aloe vera lotion, and olive oil can all cancel out the effects of chili oil since capsaicin dissolves more easily in oil than in water. Lather your hands in one of these to extinguish the pain.
2. 2. Make a weak bleach solution. Add one cup of bleach to four or five cups of warm water and quickly submerge your hands in the solution for one second. Then immediately rinse the bleach off your hands under running water, as bleach can irritate and damage your skin in its own right. The bleach can swiftly stop the capsaicin irritants in their tracks so long as you move fast.
3. 3. Douse your hands in dairy products. Many dairy products include a compound called casein that can counteract the capsaicin in hot pepper oil. Whether you have ice cream, whole milk, sour cream, or all of the above on hand, rubbing some on your hands can lead to relief.
4. 4. Wash your hands normally. Soapy water can be all you need to make this pepper oil pain subside. Scrub your hands with dish soap or regular hand soap, place both hands under running water, and then rinse until the pain goes away. Scrubbing your hands with a baking soda paste can also come in handy. If the pain hasn’t subsided by the time you’re drying your hands with a paper towel, try one of the other methods.
5. 5. Rinse in alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is capable of killing pesky and harmful substances—that’s part of the reason it’s an ingredient in so many hand sanitizers—and it can take care of capsaicin, too. Lather your hands in alcohol of any variety and you should be feeling less pain by the time you’re rinsing them off with hot water.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Gordon Ramsay, Gabriela Cámara, Chef Thomas Keller, Dominique Ansel, Yotam Ottolenghi, Alice Waters, and more.