how to sugar-wax your legs

Step 4 Rip it!

ok, now bust out those hairy legs and spread a thin layer of sugarwax on a small part of your leg use butter knife or popsicle stick. Immediately cover that area with a cloth strip and rub it down firmly. Now close your eyes and think of a happy place and quickly tear the cloth strip away from your leg in the opposite direction of the hair growth. Swear loudly and repeat this process until your legs are as smooth as Ella Fitzgerald's voice. You can save any leftover sugarwax in the fridge and microwave it for use again, although I have no idea whether it would go bad after a while or not.

Comments

[mharris13]

I have sugar waxed for years and I have used it on my eye brows with no problems. Instead of heating it in the microwave I boil some water then take the water off the heat and put the sugar wax container in the hot water to soften it up. It doesn't get too hot and keeps it warm long enough for you to use it.

[abalan3]

I plan on trying this at home.... is this procedure too senstive for thighs? Can i use papertowels or cotton towels?

[mhryniew]

I will be going out on Friday night. I want to wax my legs, but I don't want them to look irritated. When would you guys recommend waxing? The day before? The night of? I want to look semi presentable!

[sourcherry99]

awesome instructable! a couple of suggestions/tips from my experience with sugaring:
-like someone else said using baby powder (or any even make up powder) lightly dusted on the hair that you're about to sugar will make it easier for the sugar-wax to grip the hairs
-for a fool proof way for the sugar-wax not to be too hard when you're boiling it, use a food thermometer, and let the wax heat up until 250°F (you can get one at ikea for like $7)
-to make one batch last, divide enough of the sugar-wax in different containers for one use, and heat those up because the more often you heat up the sugar wax the harder it gets
-this sounds odd, but to avoid getting your hands sticky, dip your hands in water, the wax won't stick to wet hands

[jmccallum]

Can you reheat the sugar wax with wax pots??

[dobeedobeedo]

Great instructable! Clear and detailed. I've just tried it (this morning) and I think maybe I should have waited until I'd gotten a bit hairier...it left lots of little hairs behind. Or maybe I didn't wait long enough before I pulled it off? Anyway, a great money saving idea. For anyone who gets little red bumps, probably from hair follicle irritation, try Vanicream. Very soothing and got rid of the little red bumps pronto! A question...Can this be used on the underarm or on facial hair?

[lkaufman]

i sugared my pits once.... HOLY BAJESUS!!!! that one hurt really really bad! i bled a little too. but it did take longer for the hair to grow back... but i won't do that again anytime soon!

[nsatter]

lolx that is the worst place to get done from my experience, even by a professional. Some body parts are best done by someone else :)

[lycoris3]

If you look at later comments then yes, people have done it and it works.

[RedFlashlight]

About those little red bumps . . . the best solution I've ever found is called "TendSkin." It's in a blue bottle at your local salon. It's expensive ($20 per bottle) but with the money you're saving on salon waxing, it's a bargain! My husband also uses it on his face after shaving, which stings a lot, but it really helps his skin calm down.

[Rayney]

Something cheaper that works is Skin So Soft by Avon. They include a tiny bottle of it in their waxing kits and it really works well, plus it will keep the mosquito away :D

[Clandestinely]

I wouldn't recommend it. The skin around those areas is thinner and more sensitive. If you don't mind losing a couple layers of skin then go ahead :P

[elyse.rachal]

 I get my underarms waxed all the time, and apparently sugaring is not as bad as waxing, and I've never lost chunks of skin - plus I know several women who wax their upper lips and their eyebrows - you might want to get really good at waxing before you attempt facial hair, however - sometimes if your technique is off you can damage skin, but any professional or practiced person will not tear off hunks of skin, even on your face.

[Rayney]

The wax used on your face different than the wax used on legs. I wax my eyebrows regularly and my legs and the wax you buy for your legs will usually say right on it that it is not for use on your face. I am not sure if this sugar is safe or not for the face.

[svanvan]

when waxing, if you immediately put pressure (with your hand or something) on the area waxed as soon as you pull the fabric off it will hurt about ten times less, trust me. If you've ever been professionally waxed they should do this, it really works - and you may find yourself enjoying waxing, maybe :)

[zbadral]

if you put a thin layer of talcum or baby powder on your skin before waxing, it makes a layer between you and the sugar, so then it'll hurt less. this is how professionals do it as well

[Chaoticka]

Thank you so much for posting this! I've been on this like vintage kick using things like rag rollers (idk why those went out of style - 10x more comfortable than plastic rollers and they give you waaay more natural looking curls than an iron) and I had no idea how easy sugar waxing was. :( Now I'm sad I just shaved and have to wait a couple weeks to try it.

♥

[misa212]

Love the fire hydrant fabric choice. Coincidence?

[TraumaComet]

Ha ha- I didn't even think about my fabric choice! I'm a dog groomer and this was just some leftover fabric from doggie bandanas. Very apt choice though, right? P.S. Christyturner- one of the main reasons I really like sugar wax is because I have super-sensitive skin- it's good stuff for those of us. Also- thanks to everybody for making this instructable popular! I feel so cool now!

[lycoris3]

welcome, though I must attempt this to see how it works on my guy-hairy legs.

[blizz86]

oh and does it sting from the pulling or the hot wax ?

[lycoris3]

I did a bit of waxing on my eyebrow, and it hurt for, what, 5 seconds? Not very long, but still needed to shed a tear because I wasn't used to the pain. Now no tear and just some thicker skin (figuratively and literally).

[FreshPineSent]

The pulling, fo-sho

[yomero]

this is probably the way the girls from "lost" wax themselves, because they always look like being fresh out of the spa.

[lycoris3]

ROTFLMAO! I can see it now, "The Lost Waxing Cream: if you're stuck on an island, use this!"

lol.

[opus1793]

i'm pretty sure you have to yank in the direction that the hair grows ie) towards your foot. i heard that pulling away from the grain causes in grown hair >.<

[Phr33kRAWR]

I know this sounds so silly but I'd assumed that some cosmetic company came up with the idea of waxing in the 70's or something and that it'd always been blue, because the one my beautician uses is blue. (haha) Well I usually have my legs, eyebrows and somewhere a little more delicate waxed professionally but now that I've lost my job will DEFINITELY be trying this :)

[babyboat]

hi, just tried to make the wax, but something went wrong i guess. The wax is wayyyy tooo hot, and when it gets at a better temp, then i cannot make it a thin layer, and it it get hard instantly, not grabing the hair...what did i do wrong?

[jessifromdenver]

You cooked it too long. Sugar wax is basically a candy, and you need to cook the candy to just before what's called "Soft Ball Stage". You probably cooked it to firm ball or somewhere in between soft and medium. If you google the stages of candy making, you can learn the exact temp of soft ball stage, and use a candy thermometer to perfect your sugar wax. Good luck!

[Sarbit]

I ran into the same problem when I did this the other day. I added another tablespoon of water to the mixture and threw it back in the microwave for just long enough to get it hot again, then mixed it really well. It took a couple minutes, but it did eventually re-dissolve and it worked great. Probably you boiled it a little too long (I know I did) and there wasn't enough water left in the solution to keep it a liquid at room temperature. This really does hurt less than using wax! I turned to this when I ran out of wax and still had half of one leg left, and it was nowhere near as painful.

[jessifromdenver]

Sugar waxing was my first venture into waxing. I felt like it doesn't get enough hair off, but maybe my hair is really stubborn. Still, I wish I had time for waxing again. It was so nice!

[annchanted]

There was a hair-waxing product on the market using this type of sugar substance instead of wax. I think it was called "Nads." Anyway, it was a great product. It didn't damage the skin as bad as conventional wax, yet did the job, and the best part was you could reuse an already waxed-up cloth over and over again by placing it back on your skin and rubbing to warm up the sugar substance and then ripping it off again, in turn, conserving the product. Anyway, I loved that product, but can't find it anymore. I am soooo thankful for this instructable. I never would have thought about making it myself until I saw this.

[tubbychick3n]

http://www.nads.com/

[sakilove]

This was such a clear and easy instructable I thought I would have no problems but alas! I measured the right amount and heated until all the sugar was melted, let it cool and started waxing. Unfortunately, the wax wouldn't stay on the skin? It just slid off as I was spreading it across the skin and became really thick and hard. After awhile I can't even pull my knife out of the mixture! Is it supposed to be really hot? Someone mentioned using it at 270 F, is that the ideal temperature to use on the skin??

[RaNDoMLeiGH]

dude, 212 F is boiling. That would not be an ideal temperature for your skin. 270 is soft crack stage if I remember right.

[theinnocent9]

Okay I just finished trying this. After I messed up on the 1st batch (I didn't let it boil long enough) The 2nd batch was a charm. I've never waxed before (probably a bad idea for 1st timers) but, my experience was better than I expected. Plus, I can answer some questions about it. Yes, you can use lime juice instead of lemon juice, about 3 key limes make 2 tbsp. Yes, you can use it on your underarms, I only waxed there. I have not waxed my legs, since I don't really have a problem with shaving my legs. My underarms are dark and bumpy, so waxing just the 1st time shows a big improvement. Plus it barely hurt!! Great instructable A++ !

[igotitdown]

it is called "HALAWA" in the middle east...and sometimes if you're at a hotel or on a trip and dont have access to some of the tools needed you can cool it on a countertop so you can observe texture & temp change and you can use your fingers to spread it and pull it off holding it like you'd be holding & spreading a piece of gum on your skin (gross but illustrates best : )

[heatherhawksford]

Just sugar-waxed using your recipe and it worked SO WELL! I used each strip up to three times too. Left the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes but it was too runny when I took it out, so I put it back in for 5 more minutes and it was perfect. A couple of tips for next time: (1)Don't wax right before your period: skin is more sensitive around that time (Learned that one from Madonna) (2) Use thick cotton strips to avoid sugar wax seeping through, getting your hands all sticky.

[christyturner]

Cool, I've heard of sugar waxing but I never realized how easy the stuff was to make. All the waxing kits I've tried before have really irritated my skin, so I'll have to give this a try. Thanks!

[Clandestinely]

My thoughts exactly!