Have you ever wondered how pepper spray is made? Pepper spray all starts with normal everyday, edible peppers. The peppers are put through a long extensive process prior to the product being distributed to various buyers. There are three different levels the peppers go through and they must meet specific criteria. The manufacturer must decide if they want oil or water based pepper spray and the desired heat intensity or pungency of the formula. They must also ensure that the active ingredients in the peppers remain evenly dispersed throughout their final product. So how are the three levels of .
epper spray created?.
Level One: Level one starts when the peppers are gathered and harvested from around the world. The peppers are then dried and micro-pulverized. After the pulverization the fats, oils, and waxes of the pepper must be extracted. Adding solvents to the peppers in order to remove the oils, fats, and waxes then creates the pepper spray solution. Once this process is completed, the solvents are removed by distillation or evaporation, and the thick, oily substance, which remains, is the pepper spray in its purest state. This level one pepper spray is extremely pungent and must be diluted for commercial use, beginning with a level two pepper spray formula.
Level Two: Once the first level has been completed, the manufacturer must decide what type of pepper spray formula they desire oil or water based. Level two oil based pepper spray is created by diluting the level one formula with common oils, such as mineral, vegetable, or soy oils, to get the desired level of heat in the level two formula. Level two water based pepper spray is created the same as level two oil based pepper spray except distilled water is used. To ensure water solubility, a refinement process will remove sufficient fats, oils, and waxes and an emulsifier is added to bond the oils and water. Prior to commercial use of the oil or water based pepper spray it is necessary to dilute the level two products even lower to a specific pungency level as specified by the manufacturer, resulting in a level three pepper spray.