Have you ever experienced the scorching and mind-numbing burn of fresh chili pepper on your skin especially after several minutes of cleaning and washing? I have. Quite recently as a matter of fact and I burned internally with shame for not wearing gloves in the first place. Chili pepper contains a substance called capsaicin which binds to receptors on your skin and in your mouth when consumed or handled for a period of time. This substance in pepper is also hydrophobic i.e it’s immune to the cooling effects of water and ice. It rather distributes the burning sensation after being exposed to water. So what can reduce that buildup chili burn on your skin? So after trying several ‘solutions’ offered by the internet I found these two natural ingredients to be more potent at reducing the chili burn within an hour.

Milk
Trust the fats in milk to dissolve the capsaicin substance. Milk also contains a protein called casein which acts like a detergent, binding to the capsaicin and making it more soluble. This was such a super immediate relief to my burning hands. I soaked my traumatized hands in the milk solution for about 10minutes and was surprised by the immediate cooling effect on my skin. Soak hands in milk for about 15-20 minutes or dab cotton balls in milk and apply to the affected area. This will reduce the burning to an irritating slow burn sensation.

2. Aloe Vera

The Aloe vera plant contains aloe gel a transparent sticky gel-like substance which contains active compounds for the relief of skin burns and irritations. This godsend plant is a miracle by itself. If you have an aloe plant at home ( everyone should have an aloe plant garden), gently break off a piece of the succulent “arms” scoop out the gel substance and apply to the skin making sure there’s no open wound. This for me was almost magical. Within less than an hour of using the aloe vera than I begun noticing remarkable reduction in the burn. Aloe vera is extremely bitter so avoid getting it into your mouth. Best if you were gloves during the application.

These for me are the most effective and natural solutions to use if you ever get to experience chili burns. Bookmark this post!