Waxing is a terribly personal process, particularly when you’re talking about a bikini wax. Is there any grooming procedure that leaves you feel more vulnerable? More exposed? The waxing industry is in a state of flux as women are shying away from the completely bare look of a Brazilian and revisiting the land of the landing strip. But that’s not the only change in the world of intimate grooming: There’s also a growing number of aestheticians who are offering sugaring as an alternative to waxing.
If you turn to Google for an explanation, you’ll discover that sugaring is “a method of removing unwanted hair by applying a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and water to the skin and then peeling it off together with the hair.
To prep the skin for sugaring, you put talc free powder down because it absorbs body oils and works as a binding agent. The powder makes the hair stand out and separate from the skin. An aesthetician will apply the sugar in the opposite direction of the hair. You can apply it in any direction, but applying it [against the grain of the hair] grips the hair better and gets it at the root.
Sugar is water-soluble, unlike wax. Wax shrink-wraps the hair, and —when you pull it— you’re hoping that it pulls from the root. And most of the time it does, if it’s a good, quality hard wax. With sugar, because it’s water-soluble, it’s able to get into the follicle a little better. Sugar is a natural exfoliant and provides a little moisture to the skin… so it leaves the skin nice and soft. Wax can be drying to the skin, so you have to apply oil to create a base between wax and skin. You don’t have to do that with sugar because it’s not going to irritate the skin. It’s hypoallergenic— unless you’re allergic to lemon juice, then you’re fine.
Waxing is painful, but gets less so the more you do it. Sugaring being painful is definitely on a case-by-case basis. Sugaring isn’t for everybody. If you have very dense, coarse hair, sugaring might not be for you. For some people who have very fine hair, sugaring is better. When you wax really fine, sparse hair, you’re going to get broken hairs. As far as pain levels, it varies. If your hair is on the shorter end, it’s tolerable. You’re used to it. It’s much easier to transition from wax to sugar than from sugar to wax. What we try to do is wax people initially, and then we might convert them to sugar if we feel like it will be better for their skin. Sugaring is considered better just because you’re not going to get the same level of inflammation as you would with wax, so it is great for sensitive skin.
Even with coarse hair, as long as it’s trimmed, we can sugar. It’s just a matter of gauging how comfortable you are. With wax, it’s a controlled temperature. Sugar is more of a cool-lukewarm temperature. The estheticians hand and your body temperature warm it up. Once the body gets super-warm, the sugar turns to mush, and I can’t really use it anymore. When you’re sugaring somebody who has a lot of hair or very dense hair, their body is going to warm up because it’s uncomfortable and the adrenaline rush is pumping. For [those clients], we recommend regular waxing because once the sugar melts to the skin it doesn’t work.
There are a lot of benefits to sugaring, but it is not best for everyone. We have Denver Sugaring Estheticians that will discuss your concerns and needs, and tailor the waxing experience to you.
