I once tried normal wax hair removal -- it hurt, and it was hard to clean up. I also tried the cream -- not good for my skin. And I have an epilator that's evil and hurts. So, normally I shave -- until I gave sugar waxing a try.
You can find sugar wax at the store (or even make it yourself, recipes are online).
I've found that it doesn't hurt much -- way less then epil-monster. And clean up is easy, 'cause water washes everything away.
I find that the evening is best ('cause your skin can get little red dots all over from where the hair pulled out). I just wash the area, dry it, and then dust with baby powder. It takes a few tries to figure out how to pull correctly, but once you do, it's a charm! I love it now!
And, you can use it anywhere, legs, arms, chest, even the face and bikini line. The directions say it works for underarms, too, but I haven't tried it yet.
I should mention, however, that I've been on hrt for several years, so my hair might be finer and probably hurt less. I still find my epi-moster to hurt much worse, even with finer hair... and it's way slower to boot.
Several sites have different tips on how to sugar wax (and the box usually comes with picture diagrams and instructions). I'll admit that the first few tries I didn't do it right and it didn't work well. You'll want to be careful not to over do the same area, so for your first time, don't plan to show off your legs or try to get every spot. Just experiment on your legs until you get the technique down (didn't take me long).
The trick is speed, and I like to think of zipping rather than pulling -- I put the warmed wax on (not hot!) and spread it following the direction of the hair growth, put the cloth on (re-usable and cleans up easily), rub it up and down, and then pretend I'm zipping up a zipper really fast as I pull up (or zip up) in the opposite direction of my hair growth.
You need to make sure to wash the area first, then dry, and then dust it with baby powder (you can lightly rub it on your skin). The baby powder protects the skin, and seems to cut the pain down a lot, and seems to allow you to pull all of the hair out. Also, holding your skin below helps, too.
After, gently clean with luke-warm water (Not hot!) to get any extra sugar wax that could of been left behind. Then, apply some moisturizer. you can try a hair-minimizing moisturizer, as it can slow down the hair growth. Something like Aveen's positively smooth. Try not to go into the sun or in a hot bath or shower right after, as your skin will be sensitive -- that's why evening is best, and the red dots usually go away by the time you wakeup.
When you have a shower (or both) remember to gently exfoliate the skin, and moisturizer after. Until it's time to wax again.
If you are afraid that it might hurt more, or if you have thicker hairs -- you can get (in the waxing section) a spray or some sort of pain killer spray (let it dry on after you cleaned). That can help if you find it hurts. If you get the technique down, however, it barely hurts. Expect some trial and error at first, be patient, and you'll get it pretty quickly.
If you do get a stray hair, tweesters come in handy.
I'm really impressed with the sugar waxing.
Post Merge: April 11, 2009, 04:18:23 AM
I've also heard of a sugar wax ball method as well -- so you don't use strips. It's put on a bit differently and supposedly hurts less.
