Everything you need to know about sugaring and why it's better than waxing
While almost everyone has heard of waxing, very few people have heard of sugaring
With National Hair Removal Day taking place earlier this week, it's the ideal time to inform you why sugaring is far superior to waxing, in case you weren’t aware.
I’m always on the lookout for products and procedures that will help keep me looking younger for longer, without compromising my skin, and a few years ago, I discovered the skin-friendly benefits of sugaring as a hair removal method, and I was immediately hooked.
While waxing is the quickest, sugaring is the gentlest, as it doesn't disturb the skin's surface - music to my ears, as I'm passionate about treating my skin with kindness and respecting its all-important barrier, whether that's on my face or body.
Sugaring is not a very well-known hair removal treatment. While almost everyone has heard of waxing, very few people have heard of sugaring, but I hope to change that and in turn, the skin on your body.
Sugaring is an ancient hair removal technique, that originated in Persia. The ingredients used for sugaring are made from pure and natural ingredients, containing only sugar, water and lemon, unlike most waxes, which contain chemicals, preservatives and other additives.
It’s so natural that a patch test isn’t even required on the body, but you will need a patch test on the face as it’s a different texture to the body. However, I prefer threading when it comes to the face, as nothing matches its precision and accuracy, so I just get sugaring done on my body.
The sugar paste is only warmed to body temperature, which results in less risk of damage to the skin by friction burning. There's also less chance of swelling, unlike wax, which as it gets hot so easily, makes swelling more likely to happen.
Wax sticks to the live skin cells leaving redness and irritation post-treatment, whereas sugaring only removes dead skin cells, it doesn't remove the skin's surface, so there’s less trauma, making it especially beneficial for sensitive areas, especially the bikini area.
Since live skin cells aren’t removed during sugaring, this also makes sugaring less painful than waxing, although it's not pain-free, I find it significantly more bearable than waxing.
The sugar paste is applied against the direction of hair growth, which allows it to penetrate the hair follicle deeply. The hair is then removed in the direction of the hair growth, which means little breakage occurs, unlike waxing, where up to 30% hair breakage occurs. Less breakage also ensures skin stays smoother for longer too.
There’s also less chance of contamination with sugaring, as the high sugar content, ensures that bacteria cannot grow in the pot of sugar paste.
Sugaring not only gently removes hair, but it actually conditions the skin, due to the skin-friendly ingredients, making it an all-round body treatment — you get two treatments for the price of one, something I think we're all here for, especially in the current climate.
There’s also a minimised risk of ingrown hair, as the root is removed alongside the hair, unlike with waxing, yet another plus.
Best of all, sugaring can lead to permanency, as most people see a reduction in hair growth after three to four treatments back to back.
Erica Ryan at White Willow Clinic, in the Radisson Blu St Helens says she finds sugaring more effective than threading, waxing and electrolysis.
"Sugaring naturally heals the skin, and it reduces and treats ingrown hairs. It's antibacterial and it has a natural exfoliating effect on the skin. Sugaring causes less irritation, making it suitable for even the most sensitive skin types as well as the areas of the body that can be more sensitive and reactive," she explained.
"With sugaring, as you always remove hair in the natural direction of growth, it causes less pain and breakage, as the hair is fully extracted. This reduces regrowth, as the hairs are removed more effectively, compared to other methods. The texture of the hair also becomes finer, less dense and lighter and this continues to improve each time you get sugaring done.
Ryan says the client's skin is generally less reactive, smoother and less painful after sugaring compared to other methods of hair removal. And, there are more permanent results.
"Sugaring results in a permanent reduction of hair over time, up to 60%, over three months, with the use of appropriate skincare products.
You also don't have to wait too long in between appointments, like with waxing.
"Hairs just need to be 3-4mm thin to extract, which particularly for facial sugaring, is a huge plus."
Sabrina McFall from Elite Sugar Studio says the ancient technique is always applied at room temperature, so the client never feels hot.
"A client who has been waxed before will say it's softer to the skin and definitely not as painful. Some spice is expected as you are removing hair. There are no chemicals in sugaring, it has only three ingredients, lemon, sugar and water. It is also biodegradable, eco-friendly, vegan and most of all water-soluble, which means it can be wiped away with warm water and a cloth."
