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The Only Sugaring Recipe You’ll Ever Need: Sugar Wax for Easy Hair Removal

By Categories: Beauty

Body hair removal at home sugaring paste
Photo: Colourbox.de / Ruslan Olinchuk

This popular sugaring paste recipe is as simple as mixing together some sugar, water and lemon juice. Here’s our all-natural DIY sugaring recipe for body hair removal at home.

If you want to remove unwanted hair from your arms, legs or face, there are several ways to go about it. Many people resort to questionable creams, disposable razors or expensive wax strips that produce unnecessary waste. Enter: sugaring. This sugaring recipe is far gentler on your skin and doesn’t produce unnecessary waste, so it’s better for the environment too.

Sugaring is a proven method of hair removal, originating in Persia. You can still find it all over the Arabic world, where it is offered in hammams — traditional steam baths.

The sugaring paste, called halawa, is a combination of natural ingredients, including sugar, water and lemon juice. This method of hair removal at home is similar to waxing. You start by mixing the sugaring paste (see recipe below), then apply the paste to your skin and remove unwanted hair by pulling the sticky mixture off.

Sugaring Recipe

Sugaring Hair removal: ingredients
For this sugaring paste recipe, all you’ll need is one part water, one part lemon juice and two parts sugar. (Photo: Utopia)

This DIY sugaring wax is easy to make yourself. In fact, you probably already have everything you need for this hair removal technique at home:

Ingredients:

  • 1 part water
  • 1 part lemon juice
  • 2 parts sugar

Equipment:

  • Cooking pan
  • Stirring utensil

Instructions:

  1. For this sugaring recipe, begin by pouring all the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly.
  2. As soon as the mixture bubbles, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring until the bubbles disappear. Then place the pan back onto the heat and let the contents boil again.
  3. Repeat this process several times until the liquid is thick and honey-colored.
  4. If the paste gets too hard and brittle, you revive it by adding a little more lemon.
  5. If you suspect it is too thin, take a spoonful of the sugaring paste and drop it in a glass of cold water. If the drop dissolves, let it simmer a while longer.
  6. Once the liquid reaches the right consistency, remove the pan from the stove and allow the sugar paste to cool to body temperature before using it.

How to Apply Sugar Wax

This sugaring hair removal recipe is best for removing hair between 1/8 and 1/4 inches long. Once the paste cools to body temperature, you can start moving hair.

Sugaring Hair Removal: recipe
Once your DIY sugaring paste has become sticky and honey-colored, let it cool down to body temperature before use. (Photo: Utopia)
  1. Your skin must be clean and free of excess oils or body lotions. Baby powder can help keep your skin clean and free of oil.
  2. Take a small portion of the paste, about the size of a walnut, and knead it in your hand until it is soft and supple.
  3. Apply the paste to your skin against the direction of hair growth.
  4. Pull the paste off with several quick jerks in the direction of hair growth.
  5. You can reuse each piece of sugar paste until it becomes too weak to be effective. Then take a new portion of paste from your pan. It takes a little practice at first, but you’ll catch on quickly.

Tip: If you’ve prepared too much sugaring paste, pack the remainder in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. It stays fresh for several weeks.

Advantages of Sugaring for Hair Removal

  • Thorough body hair removal: Thanks to the tiny sugar molecules that penetrate the hair’s surface, hair doesn’t break easily and can be removed thoroughly.
  • Less painful: Sugaring removes the hair in the direction of growth, which is less painful than waxing. In addition, the sugaring paste comes loose from the skin more easily than wax, leading to less skin irritation.
  • Slows hair growth: Unlike shaving, sugaring body hair removal removes the hair from the root, slowing hair growth. Furthermore, hair typically grows back thinner and lighter after the treatment.
  • 100% natural ingredients: This sugaring recipe contains sugar, lemon juice and water — no allergenic ingredients. Sugar is even antibacterial!
  • Minimizes packaging waste: Wax strips and razors are often elaborately packaged. If you make your own sugaring paste recipe, you only need an old jar to store the unused paste in the fridge until your next application. For more tips on how to cut down on bathroom trash, check out our guide Zero Waste Bathroom: Tips for Using Less Plastic.

Interested in more natural skin care solutions? Take a look:

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