What Is The Difference Between Sugar And Wax?

What is the difference between sugar, soft wax and hard wax? Each of these are effective hair removal techniques. Here is a breakdown to help you better understand the benefits and disadvantages of each method.

Sugaring is a hair removal treatment centuries old and the paste is made from ingredients in everyday households. With sugar, lemon and water this combination gets cooked into a taffy-like sticky paste. With a ball of sugar wax your esthetician will pull, or mold, the paste against the direction of hair growth. This molding stage has to be repeated three times so the wax can form around the hair. With a flicking motion the hair is removed in the direction of the hair growth. The ball of wax is reapplied on the next area and the hair gets trapped in the paste.

Benefits: Sugaring usually is less painful during the actual hair removal as it is being pulled out in the direction of hair growth. Sugar is easy to clean up and can be wiped off with a warm towel. There are less allergic reactions as it is more natural with simple ingredients.

Disadvantages: Sugaring can be painful pulling during the molding stage if the hair is very long. Sugaring tends to take longer than waxing and because it is a bit more gentle than waxing, your sugarist may have to go over the same section more than once. This results in higher prices for the service as it takes longer to do. There are few estheticians who are skilled in sugaring so do your homework and ask questions.

Strip wax (or soft wax) is what most spas use for body waxing. It comes in different types such as honey, azulene and creme waxes. Each type is tailored to be used for different body types. The wax is applied with a disposable wooden stick in a thin layer in the direction of hair growth. With a muslin or cotton strip the hair is removed in the opposite direction.

Benefits: Strip wax is very efficient in its use. It can be quickly applied and removed and can cover large areas effectively. The skin is left hair free with one strip. It is also very good with coarse hair which is why it works so well for Brazilians. This area is sensitive and is susceptible to bruising or tearing if wax is reapplied. A great brazilianist can complete the service in less than 10 minutes.

Disadvantages: Clients sometimes feel sticky residue of the wax but this can easily be removed by applying a solvent such as oil. If your esthetician is not experienced, reapplication of this wax could cause damage to the client.

Hard Wax is applied with a disposable stick in the direction of hair growth and dries on the clients skin. With a pick of an edge the strip gets pulled in the opposite direction of the hair. This is most effective on smaller areas such as the eyebrows, face and underarms. Some estheticians like to use hard wax in the inner areas of the brazilian service.

Benefits: Hard wax is great when applied quite precisely to small areas such as eyebrows and upper lip. Because it is a bit more gentle than strip wax it can sometimes be reapplied more than once. It can be applied in one area then left to dry while applying wax to another area making the wax timing quicker.

Disadvantages: It is sometimes tricky working with hard wax. If the wax is not applied with the proper thickness it can break as the strip is being removed. Each hard wax has a learning curve for the esthetician.

Any questions? Send me an email to info@spaolivia.com

~Connie