Why is it so hard to wash the ‘heat’ off your hands after handling/cutting chillies?
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The “heat” is from a chemical called capsaicin. The problem is that it’s a thick sticky oil. Imagine putting olive oil or Vaseline on your hands and trying to rinse it off – nearly impossible without soap because oil and water don’t mix. It’s the same with capsaicin. It can’t mix with water so the water can’t carry it off your hands. Soap works by allowing oil and water to mix, so you need to scrub with soap to remove chili heat.
Also capsaicin is extremely spicy in even micro quantities making it worse because if *any* is left behind your hands are still hot.
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