DIY your own sugar wax to remove hair - it's easy

I got introduced to sugar waxing or sugaring early in 2015. A body sugaring salon had just opened up near school and it advertised its services as the all-natural, safe, and less painful alternative to regular waxing. You can imagine how down I was for that considering how normal waxing can hurt like a bitch! I figured that for the same price as the regular procedure, I had nothing to lose (except hair, hehe) from trying.

I enjoyed it well enough to stay for eight sessions over the course of four months. True to its claim, it was less painful and the sugar added a nice exfoliating touch that gave me smooth, completely hair-free pits. I followed the recommended two-week intervals and my underarm hair grew back thinner and sparser every time. Though the inconvenient post-care procedures were the same – no sun exposure, excessive sweating, bathing, or use of any underarm product - sugaring still had the advantage of lesser downtime (eight hours versus 24 hours for regular waxing).

Compared to regular chemical wax, the all-natural sugar paste does not adhere to the skin so the hair can be pulled at the root without damaging or hurting the surface. The strong anti-bacterial properties of sugar does not allow for bacteria to breed in the wax blend so contamination presents no issue. While I didn’t notice a drastic difference between ingrown hairs as promised, sugar waxing was still better than regular waxing in most fronts. 

So why didn’t I stay a lot longer than eight sessions? Simple - I learned how to do it at home!

Most people may feel uncomfortable waxing at home and that’s fine. If you’re fairly new to waxing and/or have the budget to get them done, stick to the professional service or keep on doing whatever floats your boat! What made me jump ship to sugaring at home was knowing that I could get the same results for ingredients that I already have in the kitchen anyway. If you’re into DIY hair removal as well, read on!

Image via sheknows.com

The ingredients are pretty similar to what you’d use to make lemonade. You will be needing: 

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 ½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

 2 tablespoons of water.

Mix everything together and simmer in a non-stick pan on low heat.

Stir the mixture slowly and constantly until you achieve a light amber color.

Either on a cool marble countertop or a ceramic plate resting above a pan of cold water, lightly wet the surface with water and pour out the sugar mixture.

Starting from the edges, fold in the sugar wax to the center using small strokes with a spoon. Play with the mixture until is it cool enough to touch.

Pick up your sugar ball and knead with wet hands. Once you achieve a light golden color, it’s ready for use and the rest could be wrapped with plastic for storage in the refrigerator.

Easy peasy! Just be careful not to burn your fingers by kneading too hot wax. If I’m just using this for the underarms, I find that this batch would last me around eight to 10 uses. That easily saves me about P2,000!

Image via barebodyphilippines.wix.com

To use, just apply the cold wax opposite to the direction of hair growth, smooth over the area a few times so it would really adhere to the hair, then pull off in the direction of growth as fast as you can. Unlike regular waxing, you can go over the same area a few more times if you miss any stubborn follicle. Once done, just go over your skin with a warm damp towel to remove any stickiness. This wax is water-soluble, so you shouldn’t have any struggles washing it off your skin or fabric in case you get them in your clothes. You can also apply aloe vera gel afterwards to soothe your skin!

What’s your current method of hair removal? Would you be willing to try sugaring at home? 

 Source: YouTube