Sugar vs. Wax: Is Sugaring Better than Waxing?

“What has sugar got to do with hair removal?”

I remember asking a friend this question a few years ago when I first came across this concept. By then, I already knew what waxing was, having attempted it on my otherwise very hairy legs. But when she mentioned sugaring as her preferred removal method, not only did I chuckle, but I also had my eyes widened, and ears perked up; I wanted to know more.

Friend, you are probably like me, seeking to know what sugaring is and how different it is from waxing. If you’ve experienced both methods before and are reading this piece, your interest might be knowing which is better based on facts or evidence. Rest assured; you will find all available information about these two related hair removal approaches in this article.

Since there may be someone coming across these two concepts for the first time, let’s open the conversation by throwing light on what each means.

What is Waxing?

If you’ve seen or used a candle before, you already know what waxes look like. When dissolved, they are paste-like, but when in their solid states, they can be a bit hard. But candle waxes aren’t the same as those used for removing skin hairs; the constituent differs.

Skin removal waxes, especially hard ones, typically contain beeswax, oils, and resins. Soft ones contain additives like rosin and require strips or cloth for usage. While you can make them at home, they are usually available in beauty shops for immediate purchase and use.

Depending on the type you bought, waxing usually involves spreading the wax on the body area you want to become hairless and removing it when it has solidified. As you pull the solidified wax, it brings your body hair with it, helping you achieve smooth skin.

Without stating the obvious, you can tell that the described process will be painful. That’s because it involves uprooting hairs from their follicles somewhat mechanically. First-timers particularly have more to endure than waxing veterans because their brain is just getting used to the tingling sensation produced by this process.

Pros of Waxing

The best way to appreciate the benefit of any hair removal technique is to compare it with other available options. Considered alone, some methods may look expensive, painful, or not worth the time. So, in identifying the pros of waxing, I will mostly be using shaving, depilatory creams, tweezing, and other traditional hair removal techniques as the baseline.

• Regrowth Time

Perhaps the most appreciated benefit of waxing hair regrowth is not only slow but OK when it does. Unlike shaving, waxing gets to the root to remove the hair, leaving you with a minimum of four to six weeks of smoothness. The regrowth is usually sparser and finer than the original because the process has disrupted the hair-growth cycle. Most fine regrowths are unnoticeable for weeks, and if you are comfortable with them, you can add an additional month to the next time you will wax.

• Exfoliation

Waxing comes with two-fold benefits: hair removal and exfoliation. To exfoliate is to remove dead skin, grime, debris, and other dirt that can cause breakouts and skin dullness. The waxing process itself achieves this objective to some degree, but not a worthy substitute for it. As such, you will have to exfoliate separately a day or two before you wax for optimal outcomes. The advantage is that waxing complements exfoliation and may even serve the purpose where exfoliants are out of reach.

• Reduced Ingrown Hairs

Besides forming cysts and causing pains, ingrown hairs affect a person’s overall beauty. It happens when hair strands that ought to grow above the skin recoil and grow inward. The body sees such inward growth as a foreign object and marshals body soldiers to fight it, resulting in inflammation, redness, and pain. With waxing, especially when you exfoliate before the process, you can minimize this risk because it removes hairs from the roots.

• No More Shaving Rashes

If you’ve always shaved, you are no strangers to rashes. For days you might also struggle with itchiness because of your skin’s irritation. But with hot waxing, you don’t need to endure this experience any longer. Since waxing even gives you at least a month of hair removal holiday, the period is enough to recover from any alteration from strips or wax.

Cons of Waxing

• Pain/Discomfort

Ask anyone who uses this hair removal method one thing they would have wished it never brings, and that would be a pain. I know some people have become used to this feeling, but it’s not what everyone can tolerate. Waxing causes immediate discomfort and tingling effects that may spiral into a more significant skin issue, depending on skin type and management.

• Not Suitable for All Areas

Most people don’t wax their pubic areas or faces because these places are very sensitive and prone to irritation. The pain may be unbearable and might elicit more skin issues, such as inflammations, than what you are trying to solve.

• Redness

Considering that you’re pulling off hairs from their roots, you can understand why you might experience skin redness with waxing. Unless done overnight, waxing can make your day a bit stressful because of the discomfort.

What is Sugaring?

Sugaring, the closest hair removal method to waxing, involves using sugar pastes instead of wax to remove hair from its roots. According to Healthline professionals , sugar pastes contain lemon, sugar, and oil – things that are found in nature. The sugar proportion is more than the other two ingredients, and that’s why it’s called sugar pastes.

You can safely appropriate the benefits of waxing to sugaring, only that sugaring has more benefits, which I will explain below.

Pros of Sugaring

• Environmental Friendliness

Most sugar pastes used for hair removal are safe for consumption because they only contain sugar and citruses to preserve them. Compared to waxes, sugar pastes do not contain chemicals that can pose environmental hazards. Besides, those wary of overloading their systems with synthetic materials can safely use sugar paste since they know and are familiar with all the ingredients.

• Less Pain/ Discomfort

Since the removal method is close to waxing, you can take away pain from sugaring too. It involves removing hair quickly from their roots, just that the medium is different. However, sugaring can be significantly less painful than waxing because of the ingredients. Its removal and cleanup are easier than waxing because the ingredients are water soluble.

• Less Irritation

Again, because of its natural ingredients, sugaring does not irritate the skin as much as waxing does. Therefore, it finds application on the face, armpit, and other body parts that you will have to think twice before using waxing.

Cons of Sugaring

All the side effects of waxing are also applicable to sugaring. The method can cause irritation, inflammation, mild pain, and ingrown hairs just like waxing because of its mechanical approaches.

Sugaring vs. Waxing: What is the Difference

From earlier explanations, the ingredients of both pastes used for removing hair are not the same. One contains synthetic chemicals and can be very hard if it solidifies, while the other has only natural components, which are water soluble for easy removal.

However, beyond their paste constituents, sugaring has a slightly different application procedure than waxing. While waxing takes place in the direction of hair growth and its removal in the opposite, sugaring takes the reverse direction. The sugar mixture is applied in the opposite hair-growth direction, while its removal takes place in the direction of hair growth.

Sugaring vs. Waxing: Which is Better?

For the advantages earlier mentioned – less pain, less irritation, easy wash-off, and environmental friendliness – Sugaring is a preferable hair removal technique to waxing. Both give a long-lasting result and share similar pros and cons, but one excels in composition than the other.

Many people feel more confident applying sugar pastes on their skin than waxes. You knot. You don’t have to sweat out its removal because it is water-soluble. Most sugar pastes are also less expensive than waxes with many additives and accompanying strips.

A Better Alternative

Whether waxing or sugaring, you will have to repeat the process a couple of times before you can rest longer from hair growth. None is a long-lasting hair removal procedure and none guarantees a nearly painless process.

But what if you could get a device that is government cleared, super easy to use, and totally pain-free? More so, the device works by a technologically-inclined principle and produces results in three weeks or less. Friend, I’m introducing you to the best IPL handset currently in the market:

Ulike Air3 IPL Hair Removal Device

IPL, which stands for Intense Pulsed Light, is an innovative method of hair removal that uses high-energy lights to target the hair roots. The light forms heat beneath the skin and tampers with the growth pattern. Using this technology,gy flashing the hair on the skin and wait for days or weeks to start seeing them fall off.

Many IPL handsets abound, but none match the power and effectiveness of the Ulike Sapphire Air3 handset. The following are the reasons for this:

• It is FDA and dermatologists cleared

• Results are usually within three weeks or less.

• The device is safe to use and doesn’t cause pain

• With consistent usage, it can lead to a long-lasting hair loss

• You have a 90-day window within which you can return the gadget and get a full refund if it doesn’t work.

Sugaring vs. Waxing vs. Ulike IPL: Which is the Best?

The table below compares these three hair removal methods and also answers the question of which is the best among them

Conclusion

Sugaring is better than waxing in removing unwanted body hair, given its all-natural ingredients and the less discomfort it brings, especially during post-treatment. However, a better and more cost-effective method, in the long run, is to use a tested and trusted IPL device like the Ulike Sapphire IPL Air3 Hair Removal Handset.