I have two wax warmers - one for hard wax, and one for strip wax, but I really want to make this work because it's so much better than wax...
Speaking of bikini, I'm "doing" mine with IPL treatments cause I was never brave enough to do a brazilian with wax (it's too painful), so all options I had wewe - to shave it :D
Btw. congratulationes :)

And yes, how long the hair must be to remove it with sugar paste?

And pls, tell me what can help me about this - my hair is really stubborn, and it has to be pretty long to remove it with wax... it just won't stick to wax or strip... what can I do about that? I've tied dusting powder, I've tried tea tree gel... nothing... and I really can't wait that long to leave it grow that much :( even when my hairs are longer, wax can never remove all of them... that's strange...

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Most of the instructions I've seen say to smoosh it on against the hair growth so when you rip, you're pulling with the growth (opposite of waxing) so on legs, that's typically spread it up the leg and then rip it down. That's the way I've been doing it . I guess you could try it both ways and see what works better. I'd say, give it a try cooking it longer and see what happens. Mine goes mushy pretty quick but it's been really hot here (Texas) and that doesn't help. A fresh piece helps get it off my leg and then I usually throw out the melty bit and start with some fresh. I think there's a real art to doing this and you just have to keep at it until you refine the process. I braved my bikini for the first time the other day and it was WAY better than waxing and obviously better than shaving. A nice stiff but of the sugar wax works best so cook, cook, cook. If you cook too much, you can just make it into hard lemon candies and try again with a new batch. The nice part is that it's so cheap.

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Licia E.

Thank you, I've noticed few things in this clip...
First, my sugarwax gets the right color (the color of this paste in the clip), and it becomes lighter as I stretch it in my hands... but it never becomes almost white as it becomes in the clip... if I stretch it too much, it simply melts.
Second, I worked with it in opposite direction (this women sticks the paste from her knes down, and she pull it up - like wax - ... now I'm confused - what's the right way?
Third, you will notice in one part of the clip (legs) that her paste becomes melted on her legs... mine does the same after 1 minute of use. And when I try to fix it with fresh piece of paste - it just stays like that - I can't remove it except with strip or water.

I'm so clumpsy :D

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To Visnja San,

I'm guessing if it's going mushy right away when you try to use it, you haven't cooked it enough. You can take the same batch and stick it back on the stove to cook some more. I really had to cook mine a lot before it would work properly. All the recipes I saw say to cook it to 250 deg but I had to get mine to 260 deg before it would work properly. If you drop some in cold water you should be able to pick it up and squish it into a stiff ball that retains its shape well. If it just smears between your fingers, it's not done yet. I noticed a dramatic change in smell as well. While I was cooking it, it has a light, sweet smell. As it got to the right consistency, the smell suddenly got a lot stronger, a dark caramel smell - a definitely cooked smell and pretty dark in color. The instructions for how to use this brand of ready made sugar are really good for the actually use of what you've made. When she scoops it out of the tub, you can see how stiff it is. If it gets too gunky and sticks to you (which it will after a bit of use) you just add a little fresh stuff to the goo stuck to your leg and it will get it off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzOwU5VwqeU

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I've tried to make a sugarpaste few times, but I never managed to make it work. I've tried many recipes and ways to do it, with strips and stripless but - nothing! All I've got was mess on my legs :(

Last time I've tried it, I've managed to make a ball and I followed the instructiones, but it removes abot 5-15% of hair... and it melts in my hands in a few minutes...

So, EXPERTS :) what I did wrong and what exactly to do? - pls write any sugestions, I'm sure something will help...

Thank you!!!

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The lemon also makes for a nice flavor. The kids always beg for bits of it whenever I'm cooking it. They have now requested a peppermint version - not sure how that will work with the waxing though. I've promised them we can have a session of making proper salt water taffy so they can stop eating my "leg wax."

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Sorry, I haven't been able to reply to some questions as I was laid up and couldn't get to my computer. Licia, I laughed so much at your description! I remember the very first time I had halawa done, I was fifteen (I'm now 62), and we had this very old woman whom we had inherited from my grandmother and whose eyesight was very bad. She sat at my feet and stuck a long strip down my leg then pulled it back up upwards against the direction of hair growth. She had made it a bit too soft so when she pulled it back, small bits would fly off and stick to my face and hair and possibly the ceiling. We didn't have the heart to tell her as she was a very proud woman but after "sticking" it out for another two years, my father finally pensioned her off.

Susan, you can add water to it, the lemon juice is to prevent it from crystallizing and to give it elasticity while you're using it.

Yes, Tee, you should stir it to make sure the sugar dissolves completely. You can test it by putting a few drops on a plate, wait for it to cool and then knead it between your fingers to check that it's not too hard (in which case you can add a little water to it) or too soft (you can cook it a little longer).

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am i supposed to stir it when its heating? the sugar stayed at the bottom.i think i put too much water in as it came out runny:(

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Hey Mike,

As a long time Egyptologist, I'm assuming you've been to Egypt but the main problem is that you're not a woman. Every hotel with a salon offers sugaring, usually with some wizened old woman who comes in with a pot of freshly cooked Hilawa (sp?), squats between your legs and then attempts to rip of every scrap of hair you own. (Those Egyptian ladies REALLY like it bare!). I had the hardest time trying to maintain my nice, modest, American bikini and not come out of there looking like a porn star. We finally had a lady who would come to our apartment once a month (I was there about a year) and sugar us all, clucking her tongue when we begged for at least a landing strip. When I left, she was kind enough to share her recipe with us. BTW, when it crackles as you use it, it means you're in love - source? Old lady Egyptian wisdom.

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I have to thank Dell Nidor for the best laugh I've had all day.

You're right Dell, there are parts of this column that exceed the tolerance for stupidity and suggestions that shouldn't be heeded but that mainly relates to certain comments.

Now I'd like to think of items that "shouldn't be IN your body" but that I frequently put ON my body. Sunscreen, fragrance, body wash, shampoo, lotions, cosmetics of all kinds, insect repellent (and before you have a heart attack, I am using the natural eucalyptus/lemon kind), deodorant, etc. So Dell Nidor, I certainly hope you don't use any of those products because the certainly should not go in your body so if we follow your logic, you must abstain from using any of them. And I really hope you are sticking to that 100% sugar free diet because I don't want you getting burnt.

As for the original article, it is fabulous and 100% correct. I did have to bring mine up to about 260 degrees before it got to hard ball stage and I don't know if that's because of humidity or other factors or just that my thermometer is off. My first few batches were just too soft and I had to use cloth strips. When I finally cooked it longer, it worked perfectly with just the ball of "putty." A good sign that it is ready is a sudden change in the smell (it suddenly has a cooked but not burnt smell). Kind of like caramel.

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