DIY sugar honey body and face wax

Since our daughter was born I haven't had much time for my usual hygiene upkeep. Don't get me wrong, I still shower and brush my teeth but, well... Hair removal is a different story.

That being said....

I don't shave. Not since high school, at least. It is way to time consuming since you have to do it so often ( I used to have to do it every other day to keep my legs smooth.. Ick!) and at makes it more expensive. 

I opted for the waxing route. At first, I was going to a professional to do it but that got REALLY pricey after a while. I decided to do it myself. I went to Sally's beauty store and bought a wax warmer, wax and all of the necissary accessories. I did it that way for 3 years. It's great. I'm hair free and smooth all of the time. 

But...

There are some issues with that. First, store bought wax is messy. It's nearly impossible to clean up. At our last apartment I was still cleaning up wax I had spilled two years earlier when we moved out. Part of that is me being lazy, the other part is that it is nearly impossible to clean up unless you have tons of time on your hands-- which I never did because I was in college and had my son and work and a husband to pay attention to. I would put towels underneath to keep it mess free but then there are towels with wax on them and that isn't great either. Sticky mess.

Also, and this is the real reason I am going the DIY route is that I turned on my wax warmer the other day and forgot to take the lid off of the wax... I got called away by he infant for feeding and the lid melted all into my wax and all over the warmer. Seeing as plastic is known to secrete known carcinogens when heated, I just had to throw it out. Oopsie...

So... My solution:

DIY wax made of honey, sugar and lemon. 

I found TONs of recipes for this online. It was a little overwhelming. I chose to go with one I had all of the ingredients for, although I changed it up a little.

This is what you do:

Combine in a microwave safe bowl:

One cup of sugar... White or brown (I used brown)

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 of a lemon, freshly squeezed (I'm sure bottled lemon juice would work fine too, but i don't know what the measurement would be.)

Put them in the microwave for 30 seconds... stir it... another 30 seconds in the microwave... stir...

Do this until the wax "bubbles" and be careful not to over bubble it-- it will make a mess all over your microwave (yes this happened to me). If it doesn't bubble, it won't work. 

After it bubbles you need to let it cool until it is cool enough to comfortably put on your skin without burning. I burnt myself the first time. Don't do that, it hurt. 

If you let it cool then apply it and it doesn't work, then it didn't get hot enough. Put it back in the microwave and keep heating and cooling until it works. It WILL work if you follow my instructions.

How to wax with the sugar honey wax:

Apply wax to skin with a popsicle stick or spatula of some kind in the same direction that your hair grows

Put a waxing strip on top of where you put the wax and rub it, lightly pressing down in the the direction that your hair grows

Now you swiftly pull the waxing strip away from the skin in the opposite direction of hair growth

It helps to keep the skin tight when you are pulling the waxing strip off. It helps a lot, actually. Just hold it tight by pulling with your other hand. 

Reheat as needed

I used a pyrex 2 cup bowl with a lid. This made it easier to store the extras for next time!(In the fridge!) 

How does it compare to store bought wax?

It is a little less effective, but really not enough to make a fuss about. I won't be buying any store bought wax any more. I had shaved my armpits after my daughter was born because my mom mentioned they were gross and we had other company coming in to meet our little girl who would inevitably see my armpits. I had to re-wax areas on my armpits which I usually don't have to do, but I had to do that with store bought wax if I shaved also. My legs, which I didn't shave, worked perfect with the wax. I didn't have to re- wax anything and they are smooth and had no irritation. 

The other thing to note with the sugar honey wax is that it takes reheating. When it cools, you have to go back to the microwave and re-heat. You could probably fix this problem with a plate warmer and a dish that is safe on it. You would just have to be careful not to heat it too much. I used a parissa wax warmer before and loved it. I might try that next time, so stay tuned. 

Another note: since this is a water soluble solution, you could use reusable waxing strips. I think I might make some from an old t-shirt and see how that works, but as of now, using a thick waxing strip is best, I think. 

All in all, I liked it A LOT and so does my husband (no mess and free!)