Fed up with ingrown hairs, razor bumps and irritated skin caused by shaving? We understand. Apart from all that, shaving results last only for a couple of days. If you are looking for longer-lasting results, we recommend sugaring! It is neither expensive nor painful. The best part of sugar waxing is that it is much better and healthier for your skin than other hair removal methods. Sugaring wax is made of organic ingredients only and is perfect for sensitive skin and removing unwanted hair. But why spend money in a salon when you can make your own sugar wax at home? Today we will give you the sugar wax recipe and we’ll provide you with a practical guide to how to make your own sugar wax all alone at home in a few easy steps.
Table Of Contents
DIY Sugar Wax Recipe
Making your own homemade sugaring wax is easy. Just follow our guidelines below!
Equipment & Tools
Before you start, this is what you will need:
- A medium-sized, non-stick saucepan
- A candy thermometer – don’t panic if you don’t have it, you can make sugar wax without it
- A wooden spoon
- A small glass jar or a plastic container to store your sugar wax
Ingredients
- 2 cups of sugar (you can use white or brown sugar, it is up to you)
- ¼ cup of lemon juice (or lime juice)
- ¼ cup of water
Preparation Instructions
Now we have identified the things we need, let’s follow the preparation directions.
- Take your medium-sized pot and pour the sugar crystals in. Make sure to pour everything on the bottom, no crystals should be on the sides.
- Take lemon juice or the liquid of your choice and pour it inside. Be careful to cover all the sugar. No dry spots allowed!
- Place a saucepan on medium heat. We wouldn’t recommend turning up the heat because the mixture will burn easily.
- There are so many sugar wax recipes and some of them recommend stirring your mixture, but others are against it. We are on the second team. What works best for us is what we like to recommend to our readers. So take a wooden spoon and lightly stir the mixture until the ingredients have blended. When you get a smooth mixture, no more stirring is needed.
- Watch your pan. It will start to boil. Try not to touch it – it may burn!
- When your mixture changes to a warm honey color (not too dark), pull the pan from the heat. It may be hard to know when the right time to take it off the heat is at the beginning, but with practice, you will learn when the mixture is ready. If you have a candy thermometer, this is much easier. Heat your mixture to 240 °F (115 °C) and remove the pan from the heat. You can always put it back on if you think wax needs more heating.
- Important reminder – turn off your stove when you see your wax is ready.
- If you decide to store your wax right away (and we think it is a better option), take your jar and oil it a bit before pouring your wax in. This way you will be able to take the wax out of the jar much easier when you need it.
- Before adding your wax, run the jar under warm water first so it doesn’t shatter when you add super-hot liquid. But, make sure to keep water out of the interior of the jar.
- If you want to try your DIY product immediately, let the sugar wax cool off before using it. Dip a finger into the hot water and spread it along with your hand, making it slightly damp but not wet. Take a bit of your sugar, roll it in a ball and you are all ready to get rid of unwanted facial hair and remove all unwanted hair.
How To Use The DIY Sugar Wax
Now comes the final part of our DIY sugaring hair removal tutorial – let’s learn how to use sugar wax.
- Keep your hair at ¼ to ½ inch (6 – 12 mm) long to get the best results possible. After shaving, it is about 10 to 14 days of growth and after waxing, it is about 4 weeks of growth. If the hair is a bit longer, trim it.
- Clean your skin from excess moisture. Keep it dry and clean of any products.
- Take the wax in your hand (or use a wooden spatula or popsicle stick), make a little ball and spread it on your skin. Sugar wax has to be spread in the opposite direction of the hair growth.
- Hold the skin taut (especially if you are working on some sensitive parts, like your upper lip or bikini region) and pull the sugar in the direction of hair follicle growth. You can use waxing strips or do it with your hands and gloves.
- Repeat the process until you get desired results.
- You can reuse the same ball of sugar multiple times. You will see when it loses effectiveness.
- The homemade wax is water-soluble. You can easily clean any lingering stickies with a washcloth.
- After 48 hours, gently exfoliate the area. This helps prevent ingrown hairs.
Important Notes
- The heavy quantity of citric acid helps to ward off crystallization – you stir at your own risk!
- Do not touch hot sugar, you can burn your skin! Let the sugaring wax cool.
- It takes time to master making your own sugaring wax. Our recommendation is to take the pan off the heat when the mixture changes to a light golden brown color – you can always heat it more, but not less!
- If you get hard wax, it means you’ve overcooked it. Just add more lemon juice and continue boiling for 1 to 2 minutes.
- To get wax out of the jar easier, knead it before storing it. Otherwise, you will need to reheat your mixture.
- If you have any leftover wax, pour it into an airtight container, pop it in the fridge and use it within 4 to 5 weeks.
For further information on how to use sugar wax, click here to read more. See here our blog post about how long sugaring lasts.
Aftercare
Like with every hair removal process, proper aftercare is super important.
Let Your Skin Breathe
Avoid showering and hot baths in the first 24 hours. Also, avoid lotions, make-up, creams or any kind of skin care products in the first 48 hours. After this period, you can gently moisturize your skin to retain moisture and soften it. Make sure to wear loose-fitting clothes.
Exfoliate
48 hours after your sugaring session, gently exfoliate your skin to keep it smooth and to prevent ingrown hair. Use an exfoliating body scrub or a dry brush. Make circular motions. Repeat the process every 3 to 4 days.
Avoid Sweat Sessions
For the first 48 hours avoid sweating. This means you should skip working out, spending time in the sun or doing any activity that will cause sweating. This also means – no sex for the first 2 days. Especially if you’ve removed hair from your pubic area.
Don’t Touch
You should avoid touching or scratching your freshly sugared skin. The germs on our hands can cause infections.
To reduce the chances of bacterial infections – avoid swimming pools and hot tubs for at least 2 days after the appointment.
Not Into DIY? You Can Buy Top Products!
Sugaring NYC’s Sugaring Hair Removal Kit
Read Full Review
- Easy to use at home
- Wax heater not needed
- 100% organic ingredients
Smooth Lab’s Sugar Wax Hair Removal Kit
Read Full Review
- For all body parts
- Painless process
- Eco-friendly
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Sugar Wax?
Sugar wax is wax used for the sugaring hair removal process. Sugaring is an almost pain-free method that gives long-lasting results and removes dead skin cells. Unlike shaving, traditional waxing or any other method, sugaring leaves fewer, almost none ingrown hairs. Sugar wax is applied in the opposite direction of hair growth and is pulled in the same direction of the growth. The best part is making sugar wax is easy and you can do it all by yourself.
What Three Ingredients Do You Need For Sugar Waxing?
For sugar waxing, you only need three ingredients – sugar (you can use brown or white sugar or even caster sugar – it is up to you), lemon juice (you can use bottled lemon juice as well) and water. Unlike traditional wax, sugar wax is made of natural ingredients only. No chemicals are included. The best part is you can make it at home easily.
Click to read more about sugaring and waxing comparison in our blog post.
What Is The Ratio For Sugar Wax?
The ratio for sugar wax is usually a 4:1 sugar-to-liquid ratio. So, if you use 2 cups of sugar, add ¼ cup of lemon juice and ¼ cup of water. Pour your ingredients into a pan, stir them and place your pan on a burner. Use medium-high heat because you want your mixture to boil, but you don’t want to burn yourself.
Is Homemade Sugar Wax Safe?
Yes, homemade sugar wax is safe. It is made of organic ingredients only – sugar, water and lemon juice and it is one of the safest ways to get rid of your unwanted hair. Homemade waxing is a great alternative to salon waxing. Your legs, bikini, upper lips and all other areas can be waxed safely at home using this homemade wax.
Check out our blog post about how to remove body hair permanently.
Can I Make Sugar Wax Without Lemon?
Yes, you can make sugar wax without lemon. If you are up to preparing your wax and you are out of fresh lemon juice, you are still good to go with vinegar. You can use white or apple cider vinegar. Though it may have a strong odor, it still makes a great ingredient for the sugar wax mixture.
What Can I Use For Sugar Strips?
For sugar strips, you can use cotton cloth strips. You can either buy them or make your own using old cotton pillowcases or sheets that you can cut into 2-inch x 4-inch strips. You can also use alternative materials, for example, jeans (denim is better at grabbing and pulling out your body hair and according to some reviews it makes the overall process less painful and faster).
Conclusion
We have come to the end of our sugar wax recipe. Hopefully, you’ve learned how to make your own sugar wax at home and you are now ready to prepare your first batch. Don’t worry. It may look hard in the beginning, but practice makes perfect! You will learn when your wax is ready and how to use it, just be patient. Best of luck!
