What is Sugaring?

Women, unlike men have to deal with unwanted hair in and on parts of their body that is unappealing, embarrassing and a pain in the butt to remove. Although, shaving is the traditional form of removing unwanted hair, waxing has offered a quick alternative to shaving. Even more sugaring is the natural alternative to waxing, which can be painful, messy and costly.
Sugaring is similar to waxing and is often called sugar waxing. However, the ingredients in sugaring are quite different than regular waxing. Sugaring has been around since 1900 BC. In Egypt women who used sugaring were the standard of youth and beauty because they were smooth and hairless. In modern times this standard of beauty is still upheld. Women with smooth, hairless skin are considered young and beautiful.
Sugaring has many benefits over traditional waxing. First sugaring uses natural ingredients that can be found in the kitchen such as lemon juice, honey, water, and sugar. Secondly although sugaring still involves removing the hair from the root, it is said to be less painful than traditional waxing because the gel or paste doesn’t stick to the skin. Due to the natural ingredients it is less likely that there will be any skin irritation, bumps or bleeding, however there is still a risk for these side effects. Large areas of hair can be removed a one time. With traditional waxing only small areas of wax can be applied and removed due to the wax drying on the skin. However, with sugaring the mixture will not try out therefore you can cover a larger surface area even if you still remove smaller sections at a time. Sugaring is easy to clean up than regular waxing. Due to the water soluble ingredients residue can be simply washed away after the procedure, making clean up easier.
There are two types of sugaring- sugar paste and sugar gel. Although both similar to waxing, they are removed in two different ways. With sugar paste, the paste is applied to the skin in the opposite direction of the hair growth. Then the paste is removed by pulling it off in the direction of the hair growth. This allows for a less painful and easier hair removal. Sugar gel is the opposite. The gel is applied in the direction of hair growth and removed in the opposite direction of hair growth. Both are very effective and results last between 2-6 weeks.
Sugaring kits can be purchased at the store, or homemade. Very few salons offer sugaring therefore the cost is more expensive than traditional waxing. Homemade formulas work just as good, however it may take a few tries to get the mixture just right.
Make sure you prepare your skin before applying any sugaring gel or paste. Skin should be clean and dry with no soap or lotion residue. Dust the area of skin to be treated with cornstarch to remove any excess skin oil. Much like traditional waxing, use a tongue depressor to apply a thin layer of sugar gel to the skin. Cover the area with a strip of cotton fabric. Rub your hand over the strip opposite of the way the hair grows. Grab the end of the strip and quickly rip off. Rinse the area with warm water and apply a moisturizing cream to the skin.

Homemade sugaring formula:
1 cup white sugar
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup honey

Mix in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until mixture is smooth and begins to bubble. Let mixture cool for 5 minutes. Then use!