Ah, Summer. It brings shorts, flip-flops, popsicles, picnics, the beach…
… and the removal of excess body hair.
As a gal who is not blessed with pale hair or Scandinavian ancestors, I can’t get away with letting that aspect of beauty care go.
I’ve tried everything. Shaving of course (still have the scars on my left shin from when I shaved with baby oil at age 12 and watched the skin of my leg come out the other side of the razor!), depilatories (the natural mom in me shudders at the thought of that now!), strip waxes, hot waxes, cold waxes, etc.
I haven’t done laser or that method that involves electrocuting each hair follicle (sorry, the name escapes me at the moment!) because those seem awful risky as well as very expensive.
This Summer, I discovered sugaring.
I went to my local drugstore and brought home a package of Nad’s sugaring kit. Called “sugaring” because it’s basically made from a mixture of sugar and lemon juice, it’s natural and contains no harsh chemicals that might trigger allergic reactions (although you should probably still do a patch test).
I love this stuff.
It’s actually more effective (on me) than traditional waxing, and FAR less painful. I use it everywhere I need to remove excess hair before hitting the pool. It doesn’t leave my skin all red and angry, and it’s more environmentally friendly because one tub goes a loooong way, and the cloth strips can be reused indefinitely. For $20, it’s a great deal. I’ve done several treatments and have plenty of “sugar” left in the tub.
Since it doesn’t require heating, there’s no risk of burning yourself. I’ve had that happen with hot wax kits and it’s a double pain whammy! And the trouble with “cold” wax kits and strips (that have wax already applied) is that they simply don’t remove nearly as much hair.
The nice thing about waxing and sugaring is that since the hair is removed from the root, there is no stubble. Even when the hair starts to grow back a bit, it’s far less noticeable. It also tends to make the hair follicles appear smaller which makes your legs look more attractive.
Eventually, if you keep it up, the hair follicle weakens and your legs will permanently have less hair. That has certainly been my experience.
I shared some more tips and tricks for successful sugaring on my blog.
