How Do I Stop My Hands From Burning After Cutting Hot Peppers?

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
published Aug 27, 2014
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Q: Jalapeño juice got on my hands after cutting them up, and it sent my brain into overload! I couldn’t believe how bad the burning sensation got. This never happened to me before! I tried yogurt, bleach, lemon juice — nothing worked! The only thing that helped was putting my hands in a bowl of ice water.

I was in a lot of pain for three to four hours.

I saw today that another idea was to use olive oil then wash it off after a few minutes. That made some sense to me. Then I though about using a product we use for a sunburn, “solorcaine.” Has anyone used that for a remedy?

Thanks to everyone for their input on this subject. I will not forget to wear gloves next time I cut up ANY peppers.

Editor: Readers, have you found any tried-and-true methods for getting rid of the burn after cutting hot peppers? Here are two good posts on the topic with some great solutions:

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Ingredient
Vegetables