At the drugstore the other day, I was browsing the area where they had the razors, shaving cream and the wax. I had never realized that what I had been making at home for the last 10 years and cost me next to nothing to make was sold for $12.99.

Wax has been used for everything form sealing jars, to making candles as well as a painful beauty ritual for hair removal. Whoever said beauty was painless, I doubt has ever had their bikini area waxed.

Sugaring is an ancient form of hair removal which is different from waxing in several ways. When you are using wax, if you mistakenly apply it to an area that does not need to be waxed-your out of luck. Using the sugaring method, if the same situation were to happen you can just rinse it off with warm water and no harm is done.

Yes, ripping hair at its very root can be painful regardless of the method you use, but with the sugaring I also find my skin is softer and I’m saving money by making it myself.

There are different methods and recipes for sugaring; this recipe is the one that I’ve been using for a number of years.

Ingredients
2 cups water
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (do not use concentrated lemon juice, I find it does not work as well)

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Do not leave the saucepan unattended as you need to watch it carefully for the color change. Please be very careful as sugar is very hot and can cause serious burns if you are not careful.

Once the ingredients have come to a boil, reduce the heat and wait for the sugar to turn a light golden brown. On a candy thermometer it needs to read approximately between 240-249 (soft to firm ball) You can always test the mixture by dropping a bit into a cup of cold water. The mixture should harden slightly but not be brittle. You should be able to stretch it between two fingers.

This is what mine looks like:



Once the sugar has reached the desired consistency pour carefully into storage containers that are microwave safe. Let it cool or stick in your freezer for 10-15 minutes to hurry the process.

When you are ready to use your homemade sugar, microwave on high at 15 second intervals. You do not want the sugar to become too liquid you just want it to be stirrable.

You can then proceed to use it just like you would any other wax.

Don’t be discouraged if your burn your first batch, or your fifth batch, it does take practice. There are times when even I have spoiled a batch and have to start over.