DIY Easy Hair Removal Sugar Wax

Today’s recipe is for an easy, do it yourself hair removal sugar wax. I’m kicking myself for just barely realizing how simple it to make your own hair removal wax. This recipe only uses a couple ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen right now.

Finished Sugar Wax

We all know the absolute pains of shaving. Cuts, razor burn, painful stubble, and spending way too much money on razors. Sometimes you shave, and by the next day, the hair is already growing back. Ahh, so frustrating! Using a sugar wax pulls the hair out from the root, so your skin stays hairless for longer. There are two different methods first is a soft wax method, that allows you to apply warm wax to the area and then use strips to remove the hair, which is what I did. Second is the hard wax method, where you roll the cooled wax into a ball, stretch it onto the area, and then rip it off using only the wax. It depends on how hard or soft your wax is. Mine was too hard in its cooled state and I had to heat it to use it.

To test this sugar wax out, I made a batch and took it home. I chose to wax just one arm so I could compare side by side and see how good it really worked. To be honest, I was scared to death. I was so scared that it was going to hurt really bad, or my skin would have some kind of bad reaction. Good news, everything went smoothly. It actually didn’t hurt at all, but you must take into consideration, it was just my arm, and I have very fine little blonde hairs. So it might not be as painless for you depending on the type of hairs you have.

Please please please be careful when this stuff is hot! I made the really stupid mistake of pulling it right out of the microwave and slathering it all over my arm without even checking to see how hot it was. Long story short, it really hurt, but I lived.

You might be wondering, why lemon juice? I was wondering the same thing. Turns out the lemon juice acts as an acid and when combined with the sugar and heated it keeps the sugar from turning back into a crystal.

Measuring the Sugar

Recipe:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 cup sugar

***The cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder is optional. Applying some powder to the skin before applying the wax will keep the wax from sticking to the skin. When I waxed my arm, I totally forgot this step and everything still turned out fine. ***

Mixing while Heating

In the pictures, I doubled the recipe because so many of the ladies in the warehouse wanted to take some home and try it out for themselves. To make this sugar wax, combine the lemon juice, sugar, and water in a pot. Sugar burns really fast so keep it on medium heat and just be patient. You’ll want to heat it until its smooth and starts to change in color slightly, right around 260° F. This is the hardest part, I am so impatient! I think that I could have let my sugar cook for a little bit longer but I am still happy with how it turned out. Once it is at the right temperature, you can take it off the stove and pour it into the container of your choice, I used one of our empty Lip Solutions jars. You will want to allow the solution to cool before you use it. I didn’t get around to using my mixture until late last night. By that time it was rock hard so I stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remember, my sugar wax tried to burn my skin off so I would recommend only heating it 10 to 15 seconds.

The mixture as it is heating up

I have seen some people use cloth strips and other don’t. I think this depends on the pliability of your wax. If you don’t cook the sugar long enough that it becomes darker, it won’t be as pliable and easy to use. I think I could have let my sugar cook a little longer because I had to heat the wax to make it soft enough to use. I have also seen that people cooked it until it was a dark amber color and it was too soft for them. You may need to make a couple batches to find what works for you. I found that when the sugar wax was warmed it stuck to my hand and made a mess, so I liked using a cloth strip.

To use this sugar wax, spread some out in a thick layer over the spot you want to wax. The experts on sugaring all agree that you should apply the wax against the direction of the hair then pull it off in the same direction the hair grows. This pulls the hair out in its natural direction minimizing breakage, pain, and irritation. Once the wax is applied, you can either apply a cloth to pull it off or pull it off with your hands. I have a big bag of disposable cotton cloths that I used. You can buy cloth strips for waxing at your nearby beauty store or you can be thrifty and use an old t-shirt. If it was successful, you should be able to look at your cloth or sugar strip and see all the little hairs that you plucked out. Afterward, it is normal for your skin to be slightly red and feel a little tingly. Make sure to moisturize! Another tip, exfoliate your skin before you do the wax to get extra soft skin afterward. I really hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I did.