How To Remove Hair With Sugar

If your TikTok feed has been inundated with sugaring pilus removal videos (same) and you lot are thisclose to pouring sugar on your body and giving it a try at home (same), then hi, welcome. Although this method of hair removal might be new to you, sugaring actually originated in ancient Arab republic of egypt and has been consistently and popularly used ever since. Basically, it existed long before your TikTok.

All the same, if you don't know much most sugaring but kinda, sorta, well-nigh definitely wanna try it, I've got y'all. I turned to Daria Nartova, founder of Sugaring NYC, for all the best DIY carbohydrate wax communication and answers to the millions of questions I know you accept, considering I most definitely had them, also.

Is waxing or sugaring better?

I'll present you with the facts and let y'all decide. Starting time of all, sugaring is known to be the gentler option. Waxing is notoriously ouchy, and that's considering not only is it removing the hair straight from the follicle, but it's also taking off the top layer of peel with it. Nartova explains that sugaring, on the other hand, doesn't stick to the skin, and so you're only getting the pain from removing the hair. Even still, neither waxing hair-removal method should exist used on surface area where you use retinoids (or if you're taking Accutane), since they tin can make your skin ultra-sensitive and fragile.

Secondly, wax needs to exist warm or hot to work, which ways yous run the risk of burning yourself if you're trying to practise an at-home wax (it's not a super-loftier risk, but yet a very possible 1). With sugaring, however, the paste works best at room temperature and with the warmth from your skin, and so at that place'southward no burn risk.

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And lastly, the management the hair is pulled makes a big difference. When you wax, you utilise the wax in the management of the hair growth, then rip it off in the opposite management. With sugaring, yous apply it in the contrary direction and then film it in the natural direction of the hair growth.

"We attempt to mimic the direction of the hair growth so the follicle on the inside of the skin is not disturbed," says Nartova. "This helps reduce the risk of inflammation and any post-handling bumps." And then you tell me, which sounds like the improve option? If we're talkin' about Brazilian waxes and bikini lines, I would much rather get with the less painful ane, but over again, it'south up to you.

Tin can you sugar wax at abode?

Can you? Yes. Volition it be as quick and easy as an feel at the salon? No. "Information technology's definitely going to take you lot a lilliputian flake longer, and it might exist a picayune bit more painful when yous moving-picture show it off if y'all do it yourself," Nartova explains. The reason, she says, is because in that location'due south a special flick to to the removal—something that, plain, professionals learn over fourth dimension.

"A lot of people when they effort sugaring at home try flicking the sugar up, instead of parallel to the peel, which is more irritating," says Nartova. Once you lot become the hang of it, sugaring at home is doable, but she always recommends those with sensitive skin see a professional person if possible. "Some people have irritation right away, and that's why they really need to make certain every single hair is removed in the natural management of the hair growth," she says.

Is sugaring at home easy?

"Easy" wouldn't be the first (or second or third) word I would use to describe sugaring, permit solitary a DIY sugar wax. That said, Nartova says it is still possible to try it at habitation. If yous practise it at domicile, Nartova says the easiest way as a beginner is with the strip technique like to how you would with a strip waxing kit. However, because the hair is growing in multiple directions and you're non able to maneuver the strip as easily as your fingers, the strip won't be as precise as the transmission flicking technique, then only keep that in heed.

And then, of course, you have the challenge of figuring out how to brand sugar wax. Nartova explains that different consistencies of the sugar paste (soft, medium, and hard) are meliorate for unlike hair types, unlike skill levels, and methods (i.e., a strip would crave a runnier sugar wax while the flick method would require a harder wax). So getting the correct texture for your needs is a battle in and of itself.

If you've read up to this point and y'all're withal not deterred (wow, that's some dedication), keep reading for how to make sugar wax and how to employ it.

Sugar wax ingredients:

Even the bleakest kitchen pantries probably take all the ingredients needed to whip up a bootleg sugar wax:

sugar
lemon juice
water

…Yup, that's information technology. All you need are 3 simple, straightforward ingredients to make the sugar paste, but if you've ever attempted information technology before, you know cipher about making this stuff is simple or straightforward. Getting the right consistency takes a lot of trial and error (I know considering I tried it for the sake of this commodity), so don't feel similar a full failure if the first couple batches go straight down the drain. And if all else fails, yous can hands buy some pre-fabricated online (run into below).

First Aid Beauty Ingrown Hair Pads with BHA & AHA

First Aid Beauty Ingrown Pilus Pads with BHA & AHA

Sugaring NYC Sugaring Hair Removal Kit

ForPro Professional Collection Natural Muslin Epilating Strips

How exercise yous make sugar wax?

After you lot've gathered all three of your ingredients, watch the video above and follow the steps beneath. Trust me on this. I watched a lot of videos and even got out my ain saucepan to try to a few different approaches, and I found this one to be the nearly helpful. If you recall you tin but fly it, skillful luck to you.

Measure out your ingredients and mix. In general, you want a 2:1 sugar-to-liquid ratio. And so if you use ane cup of saccharide, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice and one/4 loving cup of h2o. Cascade all the ingredients in a saucepan and requite it a good mix. Once all the ingredients are thoroughly combined, identify your saucepan on a burner.
Turn your heat to medium high. You desire the mixture to boil, merely you don't want it to burn down, so don't turn the heat all the fashion up to speed along the process, because it won't piece of work.
Oestrus your mixture and bring the temperature between 230 and 260 degrees. The thing virtually making sugar wax is that there is no set amount of fourth dimension to leave the mixture on the stove. The cook time and the color of your carbohydrate paste will vary greatly, so the best way to determine if your carbohydrate is ready is to cheque the temperature with a food thermometer.
The goal is to cook your saccharide paste into whatever consistency you lot adopt to work with, and the more than water that evaporates, the harder the wax will be. In other words, hitting somewhere around 230 degrees volition requite you a runnier consistency (which ways it has more water) and reaching closer to 260 degrees will make your wax harder (less water).
Test a sample. Don't have a thermometer? The video also suggests pouring a little sample out to check. When it's bubbling and you think you've reached a expert consistency, cascade a minor drizzle (similar a tablespoon) into a basin of cold water. If your saccharide pour clumps and sinks, that's a pretty practiced sign.
Once information technology's cooled downwardly (never impact the hot saccharide mixture correct out of the pan!), grab your sample from the cold water, then curlicue it and squeeze betwixt your fingers to examination for consistency. If it's squishy simply still holds its shape, you're done cooking.
Cascade and cool. Once you've reached the correct consistency, pour information technology into a glass storage container to let the sugar paste absurd completely. Remember, we don't pour hot sugar on our skin! Your sugar paste doesn't demand to be hot to work, so allow it plenty of time to absurd before using it.

How to use sugar wax:

Making the carbohydrate paste was just one-half the boxing, you! Now you lot've gotta effigy out how to use the stuff, which, by the way, also takes a lot of trial and fault (are y'all sensing a theme?) The signature "flicking" technique as well takes fourth dimension to perfect, so watch and rewatch the video here, so read the steps below assistance explain the procedure.

Prep. According to Nartova, there isn't a ton of prep necessary for sugaring. That said, your hair does demand to be at least ane/8 of an inch (nigh the length of a rice grain) for it to work. If your hair is the right length, cleanse your peel and dry out it thoroughly.
Scoop the paste. Use your fingertips to scoop out the room temperature saccharide paste (Nartova says your trunk heat will warm it up plenty). Use your pollex to swirl it around your other fingertips and create a small ball.
Mold the sugar. Working on a small expanse at a fourth dimension, press and spread the carbohydrate ball onto the skin in the contrary management of the hair growth. Repeat this petting motion a few times until information technology feels similar the saccharide paste has been thoroughly molded against the skin.
Flick. As you printing the mixture into into the skin with your fingertips, quickly elevator and flick the sugar wax in the management of hair growth and parallel to your pare to remove the hair. Again, this takes time and exercise so if things aren't going according to plan, catch a cloth wax strip and press it against the sugar to remove it a little easier.
Cleanse. If you accept any sugar left on the skin, or you lot freaked out and desire to quit birthday, Nartova suggests using a niggling h2o to gently break information technology down (unlike wax, sugar paste is h2o soluble) and wash it away.

And that's it! Repeat those steps with the same ball of sugar (Nartova says if you're using the flicking technique, one sugar ball could final yous a full session) wherever y'all want to remove hair until you're finished. In between sugaring sessions, Nartova also says you'll want to gently exfoliate the skin to remove whatsoever dead peel buildup and prevent ingrown hairs, but immediately post-obit the treatment, but leave your soft, smooth, hairless skin lone.

The last takeaway:

Sugaring is much gentler than waxing, and information technology's 1 pilus removal method that is okay to try at home, but information technology'due south not foolproof. If you don't want to take the time to make your homemade carbohydrate wax, you can buy some pre-made sugar paste, but if you also can't seem to effigy out the flicking technique needed for this type of pilus removal, just make an appointment to take it done by a professional. Salvage yourself from all the effort—because it takes a lot of endeavor.

Brooke Shunatona Brooke Shunatona is a contributing writer for Cosmopolitan.com.