Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm going to attempt my armpits and save the home-sugared Brazilian for another day. I'm using Anek's recipe...except I can't find Anek's recipe on the old boards since the links are changing. Anyone have it?

What is sugaring?

Search it on youtube! It's a way of home waxing using a gooey mix of sugar, water and lemon juice. I actually have a lot of limes at home right now. Wondering if I can use that instead of the lemon juice.

nope, I don't have it but the new boards are supposed to be archived eventually I think. I want to try it too.

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup each lemon juice and water

Cook over low heat until golden brown, then pour into a container and let cool until your skin can handle it (at least 10-20 minutes). Then use like you would wax, with non-stretchy strips of fabric (bedsheet material being ideal).

Let me know how doing your armpits works! I haven't done that before, but I want to try soon.

I want to try too!

Oooh, sugaring is cool. Still hurts like waxing, but if you get it on a spot that you don't want hair removed, you can just wash it off. I've sugared my pits before, and it worked quite nicely, and it's super cheap! I've even used it for my eyebrows, bikini line, legs... and one time for my ladystache (but that one hurt like a mother nature!).

Oh, and be sure to strain the juice if you use fresh lemons! Makes for a smoother sugar wax.

I've tried it twice. First time, it was no problem, worked great. Second time though, I guess I must have waited to short for it too cool, because when I put it on my leg (thank god it was there and nowhere worse) it really burned me. Really. The skin part became gooey and fell of and that wound on my leg was really hurtful and gross. So, try it but be sure to let it cool.

Ouch! I always test it first. I also find it takes longer than 10-20 minutes to cool - like, at least half an hour. Even if you wait a bit too long and have to reheat it, better safe than sorry!

Whoa! I'm famous!
I think you can use lime juice as well, pickledtreats. The point of the lemon juice is the acid, so limes should be fine.

I was going for the kind of wax I've seen on youtube where you don't need strips, but I think strips is the way to go. I also don't think I cooked it long enough for it to become the really thick kind where you don't need strips. I cut up an old pair of jeans and made strips from it. I watched a video where they used strips of denim for the waxing and swore by it, but I'm sure just some old sheets would do. I practiced on my arms and when I used the strips it worked wonders! We didn't have much luck on my mom's armpits, but that was before we tried the strip method.

I'm looking forward to trying this again with more equipment on hand, including something to grab and smear the wax. Using my fingers was way too messy.

I tried this about a month ago on my bikini area, and I found it didn't hurt quite as much as waxing. I wanted to make the kind you didn't need strips for, but I guess I didn't cook it long enough--plus, judging from a few demonstrative websites, it actually seems easier to use the strips.

Thanks for this, Anek!

Definitely. I thought at first the non-strip kind would be easier, but once I tried it myself it was much easier and more effective with the strips.

I have a giant bald spot on my arm where I was testing this last night. Classy.

Ha! I was thinking of writing about the process on my blog, but of course I can't post pictures of my bikini area, so I was thinking about what I could show, and was toying with the idea of using my arms as a demonstration... until I thought about getting said bald patches.

whoa, I want to try this! every time I've tried to DIY wax has been a disaster but part of the problem was getting wax stuck on my skin.

I use the back of a knife, works fine.

glad to see this thread! I just printed out the recipe last week, my bought wax is almost gone and i'm ready to try the no-strip type. w

I had excellent results on my arms, so far I have been unsuccessful on my bikini line. I think the skin is just so much thinner and more sensitive there that I can't quite tolerate it. We shall see, I haven't given up.

I've tried this twice before with no luck. It just plain doesn't remove the hair, and I have thin wispy blonde leg hair, too!

Have you waxed much before? It hurts a little less each time. It still hurts enough, though, that I always cringe a little before pulling the strip.

How long does the hair have to be?

How long does this last?

I haven't really waxed much. I think I need to let the sugar mix cool off a little more for more sensitive areas. I am glad to hear it gets less painful. I'm no wimp, but I think my mother's old story of trying to wax her legs and pulling off a strip of skin instead has traumatized me ("It was horrible! I had a scar for years!"). But I'm going to try again.

I know to get waxed at a salon, they tell you it has to be 1/4 inch long.

Also, my hair grows really quickly, and my bikini-area was hair-free for almost a full 3 weeks when I did it.



If I had ever heard that story before I started, I would never have allowed any form of wax/sugarnear me. **shudder** But don't worry, I don't think you can do that with sugar. And if you rub the area with a little cornstarch (or baby powder or something) first, it doesn't stick to your skin nearly as much.

I prefer sugaring to shaving and waxing but I could never do it myself.

HOLY COW!!!! 100% APPROVED!!!

I just tried it for bikini-type waxing. I followed the instructions for no-strip on the about.com instruction site. Same recipe as is in this thread. cooked til it begins to caramelize. then let to sit for at least 20 min, when it got much thicker.

It took a few minutes for me to "get it" since i've only used strips before. but it was really easy once you figured it out. every 10 "pulls" or so it would sort of get smooshy and i'd have to start again, but once i left it for a minute or two i could pick up what got stuck on the original ball.

I did find it less painful than the usual strip waxing (or resin-type strip free bikini wax type stuff). But i've been bikini waxing for years. I also tried it on my legs, and it was much less painful (normally i electric shave but i have a pretty high pain tolerance).
I did find that, contrary to rumor, it did miss the smaller hairs, but i wasn't so totally dedicated to doing it perfectly. I had to tweeze a lot i had missed.
don't neglect to use the cornstarch or powder. i think it really helped.

anyway, i won't be buying any more wax OR strips. This stuff is the shizzle. Thanks Anek!!

How does this stuff store, BTW? In the fridge?

(lastly, i swear, i didn't have lemon juice, so i used a type of sour orange that i had on hand. no problems.)