Hello Sugar. Goodbye Wax.
If you think we have it bad now in terms of hair removal standards, think again. The removal of hair for cosmetic reasons has been going on for ages, and I mean, literally centuries. In ancient Egypt a hairless body was considered to be the standard of beauty and youth. Greece bought into it. The Middle East did too. Some Egyptian woman even went so far as to remove their head hair. It was a sign of class. According to HistoryUndressed.com, European woman caught on later in the Elizabethan times, but they didn’t care about their legs or pubic region. They wanted longer foreheads, so away went that entire section of mane! Some mothers would go so far as to rub walnut oil on their baby’s foreheads to prevent hair growth. Long foreheads, who knew?Thankfully, we don’t have it quite that bad, and these days we have a variety of options available to us when we choose to remove said hair. Shaving and waxing are the most common, with threading and laser hair removal following closely behind. Perhaps the paramount and most organic way is sugaring. The art form is not new but seems to be making a comeback with specialty shops like Sugared + Bronzed popping up everywhere from New York to Los Angeles. It was a common ancient Egyptian ritual that was practiced for centuries—Cleopatra even did it! And now you, youthful goddess: It’s your turn to try.But what is it? Sugaring is made with all natural materials: the main ones being sugar, water, and lemon, while some recipes get a little fancier and call for honey, molasses, and corn starch. These products are mixed to create a water-soluble substance, which is then smeared over the unwanted hair. The paste adheres to the hair deep in the root, which reduces breakage and helps to extract it still intact—slowing regrowth way down. It is then either peeled off similar to waxing, or as Skin Inc. Magazine (and most eco-friendly sugaring salons) suggest, simply have your “sugarista” flick it off with her fingertip in the natural direction of growth.
Sugar paste does not stick to live skin cells, but will attach itself to dead skin, leaving your skin smooth and exfoliated—and much less traumatized! Additionally, just a small amount of paste will last throughout a whole treatment and unlike waxing, sugaring is gentle enough to go over the same area several times to unearth those stubborn pesky guys. Oh, and say goodbye to ingrown hairs because sugaring doesn’t cause them—and can even correct them!What’s more is sugaring only requires hair to be about 1/16th of an inch long (about 4-7 days of growth), whereas waxing requires about 1/4th of an inch. After just a few sugaring treatments the hair follicle begins to deplete and hair grows back more refined, which not only reduces hair growth but also makes it softer.
Sugaring is an all natural, less painful and more hygienic alternative for hair removal.
It’s basically a mini-facelift for your skin. One that involves sugar, something that we, as women, have been designed to love. So what are you waiting for girl? Make like Cleopatra, and get yourself sugared!Lindsay DeLong is the Managing Editor of The Fullest and prefers sugar to basically anything. Get sweet with her at lindsay@thefullest.com or on social media via @lindizzaster.
