Thousands of years ago, warriors threw hot spices at their enemies in ancient China to disable them so they could easily defeat them. This fighting method was the precursor of today’s modern pepper spray.
In the 1980s, the FBI conducted exhaustive research on pepper spray, which prompted its widespread use as a self-defense weapon. Because of its effectiveness, pepper spray has become one of the most popular self-defense products.
The ratings for pepper sprays are based on the Scoville heat unit, or SHU, a standard measurement of heat. One of the hottest peppers in the world, the habañero, has 500,000 SHUs. By comparison, most pepper sprays start at 2,000,000 SHUs.
How Does Pepper Spray Work?
If you have ever cooked with spicy peppers, such as jalapeños, you probably know you should avoid touching your eyes after using them. Doing it causes your skin an unpleasant and burning sensation because of the jalapeños’ spiciness.
Capsaicin is the chemical that creates heat in peppers. When you cook with jalapeños, that substance can remain on your fingers. Capsaicin is an irritant to human beings and animals, causing burning sensations, pain, and numbness. That’s why your eyes hurt if you touch your eyes after handling jalapeños.
Imagine taking the capsaicin in jalapeño and concentrating it so you form a substance 500 times more potent. That’s essentially what pepper spray is. When the pepper spray touches someone’s face, the inflammatory response is so strong it forces the eyes to close, causing temporary blindness.
Even though there are no lasting effects, pepper spray temporarily incapacitates an attacker, allowing you to escape. A pepper spray gun is a wise investment for women, the elderly, campers, and hikers. In addition to being highly effective, it’s generally affordable and easy to carry around.
Pepper Spray vs. Mace
Mace is technically a brand name, but it’s often used to describe all kinds of pepper sprays. It’s similar to other products like Band-Aids, where the brand name is generally used to describe bandages.
Traditionally, mace and pepper spray have used different active substances. Pepper spray uses oleoresin capsicum, or OC, a capsaicin derivative. Conversely, mace uses phenacyl chloride, also called CN tear gas.
When thinking about pepper spray vs. mace, knowing both are effective self-defense tools that irritate skin and eyes is essential. However, mace is ineffective against people under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Science Behind Chili Peppers and Personal Protection Sprays
Chili peppers are famous for their bold flavors, intense heat, and surprising role in personal protection products such as defense sprays. The active ingredient in these sprays is capsaicin, a compound derived from hot peppers, including varieties like jalapeño peppers and the notorious Carolina Reaper. Capsaicin gives peppers their heat, measured on the Scoville Scale created by Wilbur Scoville. The SHU rating (Scoville Heat Units) measures the pungency of the pepper, helping to rank everything from mild bell peppers to the world’s hottest varieties. This same concept underpins the development of modern formulations for personal safety tools like bear spray and defense spray.
What Are Scoville Units?
As mentioned, pepper spray ratings are usually based on Scoville Units (SHUs), a measurement of hotness. More precisely, SHUs measure the amount of capsaicin in a pepper. The test is a subjective taste test that involves simply tasting the peppers. Since capsaicin is essentially the primary substance used in pepper sprays, companies rate their sprays using SHUs.
How Does the Pepper Spray Scoville Rating Work?
Most pepper sprays start in the two million SHUs range, which is about four times the hotness of a habañero, one of the hottest peppers in the world. Any pepper or mace spray in the two million SHUs range is effective, but you can go for even stronger ones. There are pepper sprays with up to five million SHUs, some of the strongest commercially available.
MC Rating
Some people believe the pepper spray Scoville rating can be misleading because it’s a subjective measurement of heat to the recipient. SHUs measure the heat you experience when tasting a pepper or a hot sauce, which can differ for people.
A more accurate indicator of a pepper spray’s strength is the major capsaicinoids (MC) rating. The MC rating is not a subjective test, and it’s done in a laboratory by gauging the quantitative heat of the capsaicinoids, the chemical substance that produces hotness.
Why Gels and Bear Sprays Are Essential Tools for Safety
Many individuals, including outdoor enthusiasts and travelers, rely on canisters of safety sprays for their effectiveness. Specialized formulations like gels adhere more effectively to a target, reducing cross-contamination in windy conditions. Similarly, bear sprays are tailored explicitly for wilderness settings, offering unmatched protection against aggressive wildlife. Both products emphasize the importance of chili pepper extracts, showcasing their versatility and critical role beyond just culinary uses.
By better understanding the connection between hot peppers, the Scoville scale, and law enforcement tools, individuals can appreciate how nature and science work together to create reliable safety solutions. Whether on a keychain or in a backpack, these sprays are vital resources in the pursuit of safety and peace of mind in a challenging world.
Get Quality Self-Defense Products at The Home Security Superstore
The Home Security Superstore is one of the oldest and largest independent distributors of high-quality home security, surveillance, spy, and self-defense products. We have years of experience with self-defense products, such as tasers, stun guns, pepper sprays, and other nonlethal weapons. Explore our online range to protect yourself and the ones you love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best mace spray?
The best mace spray, in our opinion, is the Fox Labs 5.3 Million SHU pepper spray. It offers a more concentrated amount of capsaicin, which makes peppers hot, than other oc sprays, giving it more kick and lasting longer than other brands.
What Scoville rating should I look for in an effective pepper spray?
An effective pepper spray should have a Scoville rating of 2 million to 5 million SHU. This ensures the spray delivers enough potency to incapacitate a threat quickly without causing lasting harm.
How far can mace spray?
Mace sprays can generally be sprayed as far as 25 feet, with larger high-pressure models allowing you to shoot up to 30 feet away.
What is a typical self-defense pepper spray's SHU rating?
Typical self-defense pepper sprays range between 1 million and 5 million SHU. This range provides an effective deterrent while complying with legal standards for personal safety tools.
How many Scovilles is bear spray?
Bear spray usually has a lower Scoville rating, around 1.2 million to 2 million SHU, than self-defense sprays. However, bear spray is designed for wilderness use, offering a broader spray pattern and high volume to deter aggressive wildlife effectively.
What is the Scoville heat rating for law enforcement-grade pepper spray?
Law enforcement-grade pepper sprays typically have a Scoville heat rating between 2 million and 5.3 million SHU. These sprays are formulated to maximize deterrence and incapacitation for law enforcement agencies under high-stakes conditions.
Why is pepper spray illegal?
Pepper spray is illegal in certain regions because of its potential misuse and varying regulations on personal security tools. Some governments impose restrictions to prevent excessive harm or misuse in non-defensive situations. Always check local laws before purchasing or carrying pepper spray.