Body Sugaring

A Picture of  the Sugaring I made

A cheap, homemade alternative to waxing (or shaving) is body sugaring (a method for removing body hair).  Hair is removed by the root, and when it grows back there will be less of it, and it will be softer and not stubbly as it is if a razor had been used.

Body sugaring is done by heating sugar, water, and lemon juice to the softball candy stage.

After you have let the mixture cool enough so that it won’t burn, you spread it on your skin, cover it with cotton strips of cloth, and then rip the cloth off like one does a bandage. Some find sugaring less painful than waxing.  This is debatable.  Oh, the price we pay for beauty (smile). 

The following is a recipe that I have found to be the most beneficial:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water

Additional items: Candy thermometer, muslin cloth strips and Popsicle stick.

Combine the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and heat on low using a candy thermometer. Watch the mixture very carefully so that it doesn’t boil over. Heat the mixture to 250 F on the candy thermometer; this is the hardball candy stage.

Remove from the heat and let cool enough to pour into a glass jar. (Note that this jar will be reheated in the future. Make sure it is safe for whatever form of reheating you plan to do—in the microwave, or in a pan of water.

Rip clean cotton fabric (muslin) in 1-inch strips.

Let the mixture COOL enough so that it won’t burn your skin. You can test the mixture on the palm of your hand.  The palm of your hand is much tougher than the sensitive skin under your arms.

Using a Popsicle stick spread the cooled sugar onto your skin. Cover the area with the cloth strips and let it set for a few minutes.  Rip the fabric off quickly.

You can reheat the mixture to a warm and not hot temperature and reuse.