Sugaring Advantages & Disadvantages

Hair-removal methods vary in terms of pain, cost and effectiveness. Sugaring is an old form of hair removal that offers a viable alternative to waxing. With some practice, you can lean to create the paste in your own home with basic items from the kitchen. Sugaring is effective but there are both advantage and disadvantages when it is compared to other hair-removal methods.

Sugaring involves pouring a melted sugar solution over the skin and removing it with cloth strips. When the strips are pulled away, the hair is removed from the root. Sugaring is very similar to waxing in this respect. However, the sugaring solution will only stick to the hairs and not to the skin. This reduces skin irritation and pain when the strips are removed. Wax sticks to the hair and skin, causing more pain and potential irritation

The solution used in sugaring is made from natural ingredients. Most consist of lemon juice, sugar and water. These ingredients are very kind to the skin. Sugar is actually healthy for the skin because of its antibacterial properties. Some waxes used in hair removal contain ingredients that can cause skin rashes.

Since sugaring solutions are made from all-natural ingredients, they clean up easily with soap and water. Waxes can be quite messy and hard to clean because many contain petroleum additives. Sometimes, additional products are needed to clean up after waxing.

A disadvantage to sugaring is the pain involved. Even though the sugar solution will only stick to the hairs, pulling them out from the roots still causes pain. Applying pressure to the recently sugared area is one way to reduce the discomfort.

When an area of skin has been sugared, the hairs will stay away for a period of one to two weeks. However, the hair does need to grow back at least a quarter-inch before the process can be repeated successfully. Many waxes can remove hairs that are far shorter.