How to Use Pepper Spray – The Right Way!

Personal safety should be your top priority and pepper spray is one of the best products on the market.

As a personal protection product, pepper spray is used to deter a physical attacker.

Knowing how to use it properly will aide in your safety, should the need arise.

Protect yourself by learning how to use pepper spray correctly with the simple steps below.

Stay Focused During the Attack

One of the most important things to remember is that when you are under attack, you need to stay focused.

Try to remain as calm as possible throughout the attack.

Make sure that you carry your pepper spray in an easy to reach place, so you are not wasting valuable seconds searching for it.

Having a small canister of pepper spray on a key-chain is very convenient, or you can purchase a holster for easy access.

Get in the habit when you are walking to your car at night, or in any vulnerable situation, that your pepper spray is out and ready to be used in case someone approaches you or makes you feel threatened.

How to Hold Your Pepper Spray

Your canister of pepper spray should always be held in an upright position when you are going to use it.

When you first purchase pepper spray, take some time practicing the release of the safety switch, also known as the actuator or trigger.

When holding the canister upright, you will slide the switch over with your thumb.

This motion is very easy to do and will come naturally if you have practiced doing it.

The image below shows the proper way to hold the pepper spray canister.

How to hold pepper spray

Now, point the canister towards the attacker’s face, and press the release button to spray him or her.

Keep your arm slightly bent to allow for better aim and mobility during the attack.

It does not happen often, but you should be aware that if there is a strong wind, the pepper spray could blow back into your face.

When you spray with your right hand, bring your left hand up to protect your face; if you are left-handed, do the same with opposite hands.

This will help you to avoid getting hit with the spray if there are strong winds.

Where You Should Aim the Pepper Spray

Make note, when you aim pepper spray, it is designed to be used in the face of an attacker.

Hold down the spray canister button and spray it liberally in their face.

You will not blind the person permanently, but you will disable them for up to 30 minutes, which will give you plenty of time to flee.

If for some reason you don’t have a clear shot at the face, just try to spray as close to it as possible.

Ingesting the pepper spray will throw him into a fit of choking and coughing.

Try to make sure you make contact with bare skin, as it will help the effectiveness of disabling your attacker.

Try to get it into the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Do not pause as just a few seconds may turn the situation into your attacker’s favor.

Don’t stop until you see him crouching on the ground from all the pain. When you see this, run as fast as you can and ask for help.

With the prevalence of crime, there is nothing more valuable than being able to defend yourself from all sorts of attacks.

You can never tell who the next victim will be, but you can do something to prevent anyone from attacking you.

Many people are enrolling in martial arts classes so they know how to handle street attacks. You can too.

Also, you should equip yourself with a personal protection device, which you can hold if your martial arts skills aren’t enough to ward off your attacker.

Why Pepper Spray is a Great Choice

One of the most efficient self-defense devices is pepper spray. It is also one of the easiest to hold and easiest to conceal.

Pepper spray comes in different forms and designs, so you can choose whatever you think is perfect for you.

There are even key chain sprays which you can attach to your car keys or house keys every time you go out.

For women who would like to have safe nights out in town, the lipstick pepper spray is perfect.

For home security needs, choose the larger canisters, as this consists of many blasts, unlike personal sprays that are limited to only five to 20 blasts.

Pepper spray contains oleoresin capsicum, a byproduct of cayenne pepper, which is one of the hottest peppers in the world.

This defensive spray is an inflammatory agent which means that no one can resist its effects; not even an attacker who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The most effective way of using your pepper spray is to blast it onto the facial region of your attacker.

Once it reaches the eyes, they will uncontrollably tear and be forced shut.

Practice, practice, practice!

We all know that it is much easier to accomplish something if we have practiced doing it; the actions just flow naturally without any thought.

The same fact holds true for using pepper spray. Practice getting it out, aiming it and spraying it (without actually spraying it).

When the time comes for actually needing it, you will hold it correctly stay safe.

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