Hot Sauce for Difficult Record Prints

[Ernie Hamm]

Anyone have background information on the application of hot sauce to fingers to improve fingerprint recording? I am assisting a student doing a research project on this topic.

[Ernie Hamm]

Following up on my own inquiry, I broached the subject with a colleague on the supplied premise that hot peppers in hot sauce assisted in conditioning the skin for better print quality. He suggested that the 'culprit' could be capsaicin, an active ingredient found in peppers. A quick internet search turned up that some anti-aging wrinkle creams have capsaicin to improve skin condition. One comment is that it "opens up the pores" and will "stimulate the skin to produce its own collagen...(which) firms up the skin, makng it less saggy...". Sounds like that could improve skin quality for recording purposes.

Of course, the phrase "opens up the pores" makes me wonder how an inked print would record level 3 detail before and after the application of hot sauce or an anti-aging wrinkle cream to the finger. Any level-3 aficionados care to check that out?

[kevin]

I hope nobody is thinking of OC spraying some suspects hands at this point?? As fun as it may sound I think that might be bad...