sugaring, hair removal Skincare by DiSugaring, the sweeter side of hair removal!

I was unpacking my brand-new double sugar paste warmer when my client walked in. Excited to show him my new purchase, I told him what I was doing.  “Sugaring,” he said, intrigued, “that’s like getting a sugar scrub, right?”  Wrong!  And this misconception was from a very savvy person, too. It continually surprises me how many people never heard of this ancient method of hair removal. It can best be compared to waxing, although aside from the fact that the hair is removed at the root, there are actually few similarities.

During the sugaring process, a ball of sugar paste consisting of sugar, water and lemon is spread onto a portion of the area where hair is to be removed, “flicked” off and balled up again for the next application. The same ball of paste is used either until the treatment is over or until a fresh ball of paste is needed.

So why would someone choose sugaring over waxing? There are any number of reasons:

It Is Guaranteed To Be Sanitary – Since the same ball of sugar is used for the entire service, there is no chance of “double-dipping.” And even though at Skincare By Di we NEVER double-dip our wax sticks, many estheticians still do, so you never know where that wax has been. Ewww.

Fewer Ingrown Hairs – Since the sugar paste is removed in the direction of the hair growth (which is the opposite of waxing), there is less chance of hair breakage, which can cause ingrown hairs. It can also make the hair removal less painful.

100% Organic, Safe and Effective – It’s sugar, water and lemon, that’s it!

Sugaring Paste Is Never Hot So It Will Never Burn – The sugar paste is kept at a constant, lukewarm temperature. It is never melted.

The Sugar Paste Only Binds To Dead Skin Cells – The soft (or “strip”) wax that many waxers use, sticks to, well, everything. It sticks to both live and dead skin cells and and excess can only be removed with oil. Because of this, removal can be painful, the skin can end up with a temporary “plucked chicken” look, and the waxer is only able to go over the area one or two times at the most. Any more, and there is a risk of pulling skin, so if any hair is left behind, it must be either tweezed or ignored. Sugar only binds to the hair and dead skin cells. It does not bind to the skin, so it can be applied to the skin as often as necessary. In removing the dead skin cells, it gently exfoliates, resulting in baby-soft skin, with a minimum of discomfort.

Okay, surely there must be some disadvantages to sugaring, right? There are, but mainly for the technician, not for the client, which will be addressed in a minute. Pretty much the only disadvantage to the person being sugared is that, if the hair in the area being sugared is long (1/2 an inch or longer), there can be some tugging and pulling when the sugar paste is applied, which can be uncomfortable. Sugaring also can cost a little more than waxing, and can take a bit longer.

So why do so few estheticians offer sugaring services, while you can get waxed at any day spa, nail salon or waxing salon?

For one thing, waxing is part of the training we receive at “beauty school,” and is part of the State Board exam. We are required to know how to wax to become estheticians, whereas sugaring requires additional schooling, which translates into extra expense, as well as extra hours of practice learning and perfecting a new skill.

Also, sugar is fussier than wax. It reacts to changes in humidity and to differences in the skin’s moisture levels. It is a more difficult skill to master than waxing and therefore takes longer to perfect. So many estheticians don’t feel the desire to pursue this skill, since there is still a larger demand for waxing anyway.

But it is making a comeback, and is gaining in popularity. Now that you know what it’s all about, if you haven’t experienced the sweeter side of hair removal yet, you might just want to give it a try one of these days!