The removal of body hair has been a trend since ancient times. Although hair is natural and harmless, many people like to get rid of it, and often go to great (and painful) lengths to do so. Conventional waxing techniques involve a resinous "wax" substance that adheres not only to your hair but to live skin cells as well, causing a lot of pain when removed. After the process is finished, bits of the waxing substance are left on your skin and chemical solvents are needed to clear it away.

Fortunately, there is a natural and much less painful waxing method available! Body sugaring, often called sugar waxing or Persian waxing, originated in northeast Africa around 1900 BC. Made of edible ingredients, it's completely non-toxic, biodegradable, and cleans up with water. Sugaring is traditionally done without cloth strips, making it even more eco-friendly. Since it's applied at room temperature, it won't burn your skin. It is much less irritating and painful than conventional waxes, so you can re-apply it to the same area as many times as you need without damaging your skin. Another benefit of sugaring over waxing: because of the pliable texture of sugar wax, there's a much lower chance of the hair breaking off at the surface of the skin instead of being pulled out completely.

Sugar wax is easy to make and requires just 3 ingredients: Sugar, water and lemon juice. You will also want lightweight cotton cloth strips for the method we describe here.

DIRECTIONS

Mix 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup water in a pot and cook it over medium-high heat.
Bring it to a boil, then let it cook for about 5-7 minutes, just until a light golden color is achieved. (You do not want it to get to the dark amber colored stage, because it will mean the wax is too hard for use with cotton strips. It is possible to use this darker, harder wax without cloth, but requires a bit of technique for maximum effectiveness.)
Remove mixture from the heat and pour into a glass bowl or jar and let it cool to the point where it is still warm but won't burn your skin.
Spread the mixture onto your skin in the opposite direction of hair growth, then apply the cloth strip and pull off in the direction of hair growth.

That's it! This is an easy and fun home beauty treatment that can save you tons of money at the salon or time and effort spent shaving. Although hard to find in some areas, there are also specialists that do body sugaring if you'd rather be pampered by professionals. :)

Have you ever tried sugaring? Let us know what you think!