Sugaring: A 'sweeter' way to remove hair

Ouch. Whoever said going Brazilian would not be painful is a liar.

Some methods of body hair removal—like the popular Brazilian wax—is like ripping hundreds of Band-Aids off your skin.

But now there's a gentler and more natural alternative for removing unwanted hair down there and everywhere else: sugaring.

Sugaring uses a sticky mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and water that is applied on the skin and then peeled off, taking hair with it.

According to the website of Barenaked Sugaring Salon, sugaring uses 100 percent natural and water-soluble sugar paste, unlike waxing, which uses waxes that contain resin and are difficult to remove, needing solvents and “much effort.”

Sugaring also uses "food-grade sugar," says Barenaked franchisee Tsin Pajaro-Inocian, whose salon is in Glorietta 5, Makati. "Usually what we do is we put it on a spoon and make our customers taste it. It has no chemicals.

"Second, our technique is different. Waxing removes hair in the opposite direction, unlike  sugaring where we make sure to remove hair towards the natural direction of the hair. So we have less breakage, therefore less ingrown hair. It's less painful because we put less stress on the hair when we remove it."

Sensitive parts

In a bikini hair removal treatment, the attendants clean up just the sides and top of one’s bikini line or anything that would show while wearing a bathing suit.

A Brazilian is the removal of all hair around one’s private parts. After getting a Brazilian sugaring service, "you will notice that you smell better, you don't sweat as much," says Inocian.

"I think the reason why girls get this [type of treatment] is because when they have their period then there's no hair na kinakapitan ng blood and you smell so much better," she says. "You feel so clean kasi sugar is naturally anti-bacterial."

Inocian explains that Brazilian sugaring is especially painful for first-timers especially as the skin around one’s private parts is very sensitive.

Dimple, a salon attendant, says that some of their clients make angry noises or even push her away while she's removing unwanted hair.

However, once they see the results, the pleased clients just smile, Dimple says.

Sugaring 101

Barenaked, which is owned by sisters Ces and Emalaine Garcia, who studied sugaring in the US, also advises clients to avoid these for a few hours after a sugaring session:

• Perfumes, scented creams/lotions, and deodorant (for those who had their underarms sugared)
• Heat (hot baths/steam rooms/sauna)
• Direct sunlight
• Perspiration
• Touching freshly sugared area with dirty hands, and
• Wearing tight or restrictive clothing.

The salon also urges its clients not to be alarmed when they experience skin spotting (tiny red spots), which is quite normal after a treatment and which should soon disappear. And to lessen the sting and reduce redness on sensitive skin, clients must apply an ice cold compress for about two to three minutes at a time, two to three times a day.

In between sugaring treatments, clients must exfoliate gently with water-based lotions to prevent breakouts and ingrown hairs, and to keep their skin hydrated in between treatments.

Pros and cons of various hair removal methods

Before deciding to avail of a sugaring hair removal treatment, you may want to compare it with other types of hair removal:

The website ph.ShoppingLifestyle.com lists the pros and cons of some hair removal methods, such as:

1. Shaving: A low-risk, inexpensive, convenient and popular method—not to mention a painless one, save for the occasional nick—that, while it does not cause hair to grow more quickly, will nevertheless mean you will have to deal with the hair growing back the next day.

2. Tweezing: Another inexpensive method that doesn't require the services of a professional, but can take up quite a bit of your time. For many people it can be quite painful as well. According to the site, hair regrowth will take two to three weeks.

3. Waxing: Waxing is quite affordable and will result in less hair growth, said the site, but some people may develop a reaction to the wax. Hair regrowth time is longer than if you tweezed: about three to eight weeks.

4. Chemical depilatories: Using chemicals to remove hair means less pain (for most people) and is quite inexpensive, but some people may develop skin irritations, said the site. Depilatories (the term used for the chemical products used to remove hair) can be gels, creams, lotions, sprays or even powders. Hair starts growing back about a week after the treatment.

5. Laser hair removal: This method is by far the most expensive way to remove hair, and results in either permanent or long-term hair removal. — BM, GMA News