Greetings all,
I’m new here, but I only made this account to share what I have learned thus far about sugaring. (I would have otherwise posted anonymously).
I have been sugaring for about 3 months now (the past 1.5 months non-stop)
This will be a long one so bear with me. (no pun) 
Making It:
I found several sugaring recipes online, and most seem to amount to the same thing, boiling sugar water. The amount of water you start with doesn’t seem to be important, so long as it can dissolve (solubility goes up with temperature anyways).
I usually boil 2 cups of brown sugar in 1/4 cup of water. The last ingredient is lemon juice, and I usually use about 8 table spoons. I have never tried making it without lemon juice, and rarely payed attention to exactly how much I put.
That said, all 5 yields produced roughly the same physical properties.
The boiling process takes about 20 min on high, I don’t really pay attention much so start watching it after 15 min of a strong boil.
YOU NEED:
a candy thermometer
a glass of cold water.
non-metal container (ice cream container) (don’t eat too much ice cream just to get one!)
After about 20 min, I found that you can see the change into the softball stage on the thermometer, right between 213 and 216F the temperature rate of increase slows down to a stop (then continues). Taking the mixture off heat at that temperature simply will not do. So here are the steps I usually go through:
- check temperature is within approximate softball stage
- take the mixture off heat
- dip your spoon in (watch to not get splashed)
- let a few drops of candy fall into the glass of water
- empty the water in your sink
- with your finger grab the candy from the bottom
I found if it was mailable like play dough, it was ready. BUT at room temperature it will be rather hard the next day, and you’ll most definitely need to heat it up in the microwave before use. (we’ll get to this)
if it is too syrupy then put the mixture back on to heat.
if it is hard, and you cant easily manipulate it, then you need to let it cool to about 100F then add a bit of water, mix and start over. Be VERY careful when re-mixing it, as it might boil and splash you!
Application
first time: have fun!!! It’s going to suck… it will be painful, and you’ll probably get a rash or skin irritation.
Wait a day after making the paste before applying it. You’ll need to microwave the said recipe for about 40 sec on high, and it shouldn’t be too hot. Just nice and warm.
Reach in and grab a ball of it. It should fit comfortably in your hand, you judge.
Now here is where inconsistencies start, take special note of this part as there is not very much info online regarding it.
The water content within the paste is not perfect… you need to know when it is perfect, and this is when you can spread a thin (thinner than hair height) layer onto your skin. You may need to wet your hands with warm water, and work the ball until it is ready.
This will not take much water to do, and usually after about 5 min it will be ready. (this is a killer finger exercise btw)
Now you’ll need to baby powder the area to remove moisture from your skin.
Take the ball, and with an overhand grip, mold the paste against the direction of hair growth. Do this a few times, especially if it is thick you can keep pulling it towards the ball and thin it out.
Now remove all doubt from your mind, and give the ball a very short and intense tug (less than on inch) in the direction of hair growth. The angle of the tug is hard to judge… start at (1/4)pi and see what works best.
The pain will cause you to sweat, the sweat will reduce the effectiveness of the paste by diluting it. Once the paste is diluted, it will start to really stick to your skin and fall apart.
It is important that you keep applying powder to both your hands as you re-work it, and to the area. Work on small areas at a time, do your upper legs one day, and lower the next.
Start with the warmest areas first, then move to colder, it will balance the consistency of the paste during your session.
I found that if it seems to be falling apart, and I go to my ankles, the coldness will bring it back a little. In hot weather this won’t work as much.
Your hair needs to be about 1/4" for the first two sessions. After that, try 1/8". I am currently pretty decent at it, and can get a large percentage of 1/16" hairs (60%), but I risk redness afterwards (lasts 10 hrs), so I rarely do it.
Of Note:
You don’t need to read this, its an aside.
I think after 2 months it seems to be getting lighter. Despite what many people have said regarding waxing and growing back thicker, whatever may exist with waxing does not seem to exist with sugaring.
It is either not changing anything, or reducing it. I can say with 100% certainty that my ummm… down south? Is lighter, and just starting to grow in patches now (bald spots).
Under my arms is lighter as well. My arms and legs are difficult to tell, as the density is low to begin with, and I sugar before it is even noticeable.
My chest is another story. I have A LOT of chest hair, and much like my skin, it is very strong and well rooted. When I sugared the first time you can actually hear them coming out and it was loud! hahaha
Because of this, it still seems rather thick… and I can’t really tell if it is less than before… since even if it were 15% less, 15% of really dark is slightly less really dark…
My future developments will be to mix some other ingredient into the paste to act as a moisture buffer. If I can widen the usable window of the stuff, it will be much easier to work with.
Right now I am going to try soaked dried soy beans. I have read so many findings that they might inhibit regrowth, but only when applied right after.
I’m hoping that by blending them up and mixing them in, they might be able to absorb excess moisture from the skin, and change in size rather than having the moisture dilute the paste.
Whether or not they decrease re-growth is yet to be seen, but I seriously doubt they will do anything noticeable.
If they do not act as a good moisture buffer, or negatively change the properties of the paste, I will then try marshmallows as they contain Gum Arabic (used in some recipes).
You will hear from me in approx 1 month.
peace