Wave goodbye to painful waxing experiences
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So, I wax. I’ve waxed for about a decade and I kid you not, it never gets less painful. It also never seems to change the regrowth of my hairs after either. I remember the bad ol’ days of strip wax before hot wax was introduced, where the pain was so bad I’d have to pop painkillers an hour before treatment. Hot wax was slightly better but I often found the temperature too much for my sensitive skin and would still be screaming profanities at my therapist every time she said ‘1..2..3’. It doesn’t matter how well trained she is, waxing hurts me and I dread going, so I often leave it too long which makes it even more painful. Urgh.
That’s where Sugaring stepped in and changed my whole darn hairy life forever. If you’ve never heard of sugaring then fear not, neither had I until last month. Allow me to enlighten you after my trip to Sugar(ed). Founded by Jasmine Yong, Sugar(ed) is the first ever sugaring studio in Singapore and has two venues: Katong and Bukit Timah. Welcoming me into the extremely chilled reception area, Jasmine talked me through the process, product used and the expected outcome of sugaring:
It’s a process of hair removal that is an all-natural, chemical-free approach to prevent ingrown hairs, reduce growth and lessen pain. Categorically not waxing, sugaring as a hair removal method has actually been around since 1900 BC - dating back to Ancient Egyptians who saw smooth hair-free bodies as a mark of youth and health. The product itself is water-soluble and is actually just a sugar paste...yep...that’s it. I should know, I’ve tasted it. My therapist made me eat some to prove it’s all natural and I must say, it was rather tasty for someone with a sweet tooth!
The therapist, wearing gloves, gets a small ball of the sugar paste and applies directly to your skin. No equipment required: Just a pair of gloves, ball of sugar paste and her skilled hands. Paste is applied at body temperature so there is no burning sensation at all. The therapist then proceeds to flick the paste off, pulling with it your pesky hairs. But what’s more, because the method of removing hair is in its natural direction of growth, the pain is significantly less and there is less chance of hair breakage and fewer ingrown hairs. The paste adheres to the hair, not the skin, which may seem like a small difference from waxing but has a very large impact on the pain caused during the session as well as irritation to the skin afterwards.
Usually during a dreaded wax, I close my eyes and listen to music to distract myself, but when I was sugared I was so relaxed and chilled out I was even watching what she was doing through fascination. I cannot express enough how much this is next-to-no pain. There’s no initial scalding, no agony as the hair gets ripped out and very minimal after-sting*. I am not saying it is totally pain-free but in comparison to the pain I used to feel during waxing, both strip or hot wax, sugaring is my hair removal saviour.
The therapist uses the same ball of paste over and over and over, which also means there is less negative effect on the environment in comparison to waxing, as there isn’t 100 billion strips of hairy wax or wooden sticks left over from one session. That one ball of paste will cover your requested area and removes all the hair and, given the natural ingredients of the paste, it’s bio-degradable too. Weird and oh so wonderful.
Given that this hair removal method removes hair from the roots and isn’t applied at boiling temperatures (exaggeration again, but waxing really does burn me) sugaring is also an excellent exfoliant and takes off the top layers of dead skin - which makes a huge obvious difference if you're doing large areas like the leg. You can visually see how brighter, lighter and smoother one leg is after sugaring versus the other.
The treatment is also safe for all types of skin, including sensitive (like mine) or those suffering from eczema, spider veins and psoriasis. It’s also perfect for pregnant women as it’s safe to use, less painful and has no chemicals so no possible impact on the baby. If all of the above isn’t enough to convert - the price point is the same as waxing if not a little bit cheaper. It costs $60 for everything off Brazilian at Sugar(ed) whereas I used to pay $68 for the same in waxing.
It’s not often I am this gushy about a treatment but thisform of hair removal process is ideal for me given my low threshold for pain and sensitive skin. It’s been a month yet I still do not need to go back and I’ve noticed a huge diminish in hair re-growth.
Perhaps, I’ll never need to go back to waxing again.
*Results and pain thresholds vary per person.
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