By Laura
Updated: May 5, 2024
5 minutes
Sugaring hair removal has always been used as a reliable alternative to waxing. It uses gentle ingredients therefore more suitable for sensitive skin types. People also prepare DIY sugar pastes at home to remove their hair.
Sounds quite a convenient and helpful hair removal method, right? But everything is not as it seems. This hair removal method is not for all. It comes with some risks we must be aware of to prevent any mishaps. So, let’s learn the sugaring hair removal disadvantages and some tips to reduce its risks.
Potential Disadvantages of Sugaring
Pain and Discomfort
Sugaring hair removal works similarly to that of waxing. It pulls hair from the roots located in the depths of your skin. When the hair are forcefully detached from their roots, it will be painful for you.
The sugaring pain is, undoubtedly, less painful than waxing but it surely will cause discomfort. This unpleasant sensation and pain depends upon your pain threshold. The more sensitive you are, the more painful the experience will be.
Skin Irritation and Redness
Sugaring is gentle for the skin. However, if the technique is not right, it can possibly cause skin irritation and redness. In addition, some people might be allergic to the ingredients in sugar paste. This leads to rashes, redness, and itching on the skin.
Therefore, it is recommended to conduct a patch test on a smaller area before applying the sugar paste to the whole body. Also, refrain from sugaring hair removal on your important day.
Risk of Ingrown Hair
Ingrown hair are formed due to the curling of hair back into the skin. This forms a painful bump in that area. In sugaring, there are chances of ingrowth of hair due to the wrong technique and inadequate aftercare.
If the hair are broken from the shaft instead of getting detached from the roots, this will result in the formation of ingrown hair. Furthermore, if you are not regularly exfoliating the skin, the dead cells will force newly grown hair to curl back into the skin.
Time-Consuming
Sugaring hair removal is time-consuming. For instance, it can take almost half an hour to remove hair from the arms. Now you can imagine how long will it take for the larger body areas like legs and chest.
On top of that, if you are trying this at home, the preparation of sugaring paste, attaining the right consistency, and then application and removal of paste will take hours.
Bruising
It does not happen very often but the chances are still not zero. Sugaring hair removal can cause burns and bruising on the skin. Burns can occur if the paste is applied hot to the skin.
On the other hand, bruising occurs due to improper tearing of the sugar paste. In addition, every skin area requires the application of a sugar paste of a certain density. If the density is not right, it can also increase the chances of bruising.
Short Lasting Results
The results for sugaring hair removal lasts for 3 to 5 weeks only and then you will have to go for a hair removal session again. There can be variations in this depending on your hair growth cycle and the rate of hair growth. The faster the hair growth rate is, the quicker your hair will grow again.
Needs to be Performed by a Professional
Sugaring hair removal requires a proper technique. The density of the paste should be right according to each body area. Moreover, the temperature, the direction of paste application, and removal must all be correct to attain the right results.
A single wrong step can lead to rashes, redness, itchiness, and burns on the skin. So, you will need professional help for sugaring hair removal. Unfortunately, there is a very small number of salons that offer this method of removing hair.
Introducing IPL Hair Removal as an Alternative
Among all the hair removal methods, sugaring and waxing results last longer. But, your body remains hair-free for a month only. Are your time and money worth the results? Also, keep in mind all the possible risks and pain you go through during the hair removal session.
What is the solution? Go for IPL hair removal. The intense pulsed light technology uses broad-spectrum light beams to target hair follicles. This light flows through melanin into the hair depth and destroys the follicles responsible for hair growth. It is less painful than waxing and shows long-lasting results (from 6 months to 1 year).
Moreover, you can also perform IPL at home using a reliable and FDA-cleared IPL device. Want a recommendation? Try the Ulike Air 10 IPL hair removal device.
- It reduces 96% of hair within 2 weeks of use
- The device has sapphire ice-cooling technology to soothe the skin and keep the temperature within the normal range.
- The hair removal using the Ulike Air 10 is nearly painless
- Its SkinSensor technology detects your skin tone and auto-adjusts the intensity within a safe range to prevent skin burns
- SHR mode in the Ulike device allows hair removal of stubborn hair easily
- It has dual lights flashing window that makes hair removal quicker and more effective
Conclusion
Sugaring hair removal is cost-effective and environment-friendly but it has a few downsides as well. This method is painful, the results are short-lasting and need to be performed by a professional to achieve the right results.
In addition, wrong technique and improper aftercare can cause skin irritation, redness, ingrown hair, and bruising as well. IPL hair removal can serve as a great alternative to this. It can be performed at home, gives long-term results, and is less painful. Above all, it can rarely cause redness, irritation, or ingrown hair.
