When fall and winter roll around, I stop shaving my legs. Barring some formal event where someone forces me into a skirt or dress, I let my legs go. There, I said it. I know I’m not the only one. Ladies across the country trade in their treacherously short-shorts for the peace of long jeans and high boots; we all start looking to taking care of pastures up north and forget, for the most part, about the ones down below. I can hear a few folks objecting, “Hey, I don’t get to ignore my legs. I have to shave every two days!”
Maybe your significant other prefers that you shave, or maybe you just like the feeling. But no matter your hair removal preference, I have some good news. You don’t have to pay $50 for that wax treatment. You don’t have to fuss with strips of cloth at home that leave more mess than they remove. You don’t have to bite your lips as you rip the hair (and sometimes skin) from your body. And most of all, you don’t have to run a razor over those legs multiple times a week.
You can use a homemade sugar wax. It takes around $1 and a few minutes of your time, is relatively painless, and leaves scarcely any mess at all–on your floor, legs, or in your pores.
You will need”¦
Makes enough for two full legs.
2 cups white sugar
¼ cup lemon juice–I had an organic lemon, but even the bottled stuff will do
¼ cup water
Step One:
Mix everything together in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Without burning the sugar, allow it to heat until it turns amber and/or reaches 285 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the sugar dissolves, you’ll want to stir it only occasionally so that it can rise steadily in temperature. When ready, take it off the heat and set it aside. Allow to cool until it is warm to the touch, but not hot or scalding.
Step Two:
Take 2 TBS worth (just guesstimate) and work it for about 30 seconds in your hand. You may see little white strands or bubbles form in the sugar. That’s good! Now stretch that sugar in the opposite direction of your hair growth–in my case, this was UP my leg.
Step Three:
Hold onto the top of the sugar ribbon and firmly pull down, in the direction of hair growth–in my case, this was DOWN my leg. Try to keep the pulling force close to your skin to maximize effectiveness. You should notice right away that this hair removal method has far less pain and agony than waxing. For me, it did not hurt at all.
Step Four:
Work the sugar back into a ball with your hands and reuse it until it loses its stickiness (about half a leg or so). You can redo the same area you just did if a stray hair or two survived, or move to a new spot.
Step Five:
Discard your sugar wax in the trash and rest well knowing it will not negatively impact the environment in any way.
WARNING: Stay away from overly hot water and shaving for at least 12 hours to give your legs a little time to recover from the trauma.
11 replies on “We Try It! Making and Doing Your Own Sugar Wax”
I tried this. I fail.
Getting the sugar the right temperature and consistency was really complicated and it took me quite awhile to figure out the technique for smooshing it up my leg. And when I did succeed at that part, it only ripped about half the hair out.
A lot of time, a lot of mess, a lot of pain, for pretty mediocre to terrible results.
I’m going to try this! I’m scared, but I’m going to do it!
Ah! I was waiting for this post! I fully intend on trying this in the near future. Thanks for doing the leg work, Michelle! (Bahahaha–“leg work”!)
*snortle*
I am so trying this once my hair grows out a bit (I shaved it for the first time in a looong time a few days ago)!
Oooohhh, this sounds fun. I will try it!
I want to try this so bad!! Do you know about how long the hair should be for this to work? Do you need full growth or will, say, several days of not shaving be ok?
Sorry to only just now be getting back to you on this; was without power for the last few days (thank you ever so much, Pacific Northwest ice storm!).
Your hair should be at least a quarter of an inch long before you try this. I have done this method a few times now and I find that anything shorter than that length just isn’t long enough to get caught in the sugar wax properly.
Of course, the longer the better!
Truly, the longer the better?
I ask because I am not a winter shaver (not much of a summertime shaver either, but that’s a different post). As a reference point, just picture the typical leg hair on a moderately fuzzy blond guy. Now instead imagine that leg on a woman – that’s my legs. And I can’t help but worry that there might be some tugging involved rather than efficient hair removal.
Any insights?
Yesss…. I haven’t shaved since Christmas. I love winter for almost that reason alone. But I will totally bookmark this for spring (or if I have to wear a skirt for something I suppose).
I am going to rock this sugar wax come spring and summer. With me, the results were much like a wax and I had no regrowth for weeks on end.
Also, my legs looked amazing. I have sensitive skin, so any waxing–no matter how kind–tends to irritate the skin and make it red. Unlike with regular waxing, the irritation and redness was gone after about 12 hours. Previously, it takes a couple days for everything to recover.
I think that’s because a sugar wax doesn’t strip off skin like regular wax can do.
This response has gone places from your original comment. Anyhow! Yes! Save for the spring!