Welcome to your Sugaring Master Guide - We are so excited for your sweet journey into sugaring!
In this blog, you will find step by step guides, prep/post care instructions and our video library with all our fav helpful videos categorized, all in one place!
We know that sugaring has a pretty steep learning curve, so we wanted to make it as streamline as possible for you. Just remember, when we are building new neural pathways, things can get frustrating and leave us feeling defeated. We’ve seen it take 3-5 sessions for people to finally get their “ah-ha” moment.
Keep at it! You can always message us directly with all the questions - We got your back! 🤎
Want to see something in particular? Drop it down in the comments at the bottom of the page! 👇👇👇
Quick Step by Step🍯
(Sugardoh’s short version)
Let’s Talk Prep:
👉 Be sure your hair is at least rice length to avoid breaking the hair instead of the intended pulling it from the root.
👉 Stop exfoliating and moisturizing 1-3 days before your sugaring session
👉 Cleanse the area thoroughly and fully dry the area.
👉 Apply Pre-Sugaring Body Powder (optional, but very helpful to grab your hairs!)
The Application:
1️⃣ Decide your method of choice: the applicator, cloth strips, your hands, or all of the above!
2️⃣ Depending on the area, grab a marble (face) to golf ball (larger areas) size of sugar.
3️⃣ Find the right consistency (this can be personal preference. you can warm it up if you want but also mold it in your hands to warm it up)
4️⃣ Hold skin taut to avoid bruising
5️⃣ Apply in the opposite direction of hair growth. Mold the wax onto your skin 3-4 times and pull in the same direction of hair growth (Pro tip: let the sugar sit on area for 15-30 seconds before pulling to really let it adhere to the hairs for best result)
6️⃣ Repeat step 4 until desired hair is removed
7️⃣ Cleanse with a damp towel
8️⃣ Apply Post-Sugaring Soothing Gel
9️⃣ Avoid touching the area, sweating, pools/hot tubs/saunas, serums/lotions (besides the calming serum!), tight clothing or repetitive friction against that area for 24-48 hours
🔟 You can also take cooler showers to help your pores close back up!
💡 Pro Tip:
✨ If you are in a cooler environment or your body runs cold: Warming the doh between your hands or in the microwave in 5 second intervals will help make it more malibale!
✨ If you are in a warmer environment or your body runs hot: Sitting in front of a fan is super helpful to keep the doh from melting in your hands. A fan will help maintain the perfect environment for the doh and help it last longer. Our powder is also really great for this as well!
✨ A mirror will help you fully see the area!
Preparing Your Skin 🫧
Grow your hair out
Whether you are sugaring or waxing, your hair needs to be a specific length in order for your hair to be properly removed from the follicle. Your hair should be at least ¼ of inch long (think a grain of rice or the length of your pinky nail). Your hair may also be too long. This may cause discomfort when you are applying and removing the sugar. An easy way to tell if it’s too long is if you can pull your hair and use small scissors to cut it, then definitely do it! It’ll make your experience much more enjoyable!
Exfoliate, Hydrate, Moisturize, Repeat
Sugaring is a form of self care, so it makes sense these would go hand and hand. Exfoliating on a regular basis will help slough off dead skin cells that are piled on the hair follicles, which will help the sugar to grab your hairs easier! Internally hydrating and externally moisturizing daily will also help your hair grow out more smoothly. Depending on your skin type will depend on how often you want to exfoliate. Some people may exfoliate every day while others exfoliate every 3 days. Some people mix and match physical and chemical exfoliation. One day you can do a physical exfoliation and then 3-5 days later you do a chemical exfoliator. Get in tune with your body and skin and see what feels best for you! Just remember, everyone’s body is different and what could work for someone else may be too harsh for your skin type.
Two forms of exfoliation:
Physical Exfoliators:
- Sugar/Coffee Scrubs
- Loofahs
- Exfoliation Gloves
- Dry Brushing
Chemical Exfoliators:
- Glycolic/Salicylic Acid
- AHA/BHAs
What to Avoid 🙅♀️
Tanning
Sun exposure can lead to your skin being sensitive. Try to avoid the sun for at least 48 hours before and after your sugaring session. If you spray tan, beware that you may turn into a spotted leopard if you sugar over it!
Acidic Foods and Drinks
The day of, we recommend minimizing caffeine, alcohol and acidic foods. These can cause inflammation to the body, making hair removal feel more painful. This can also make you more susceptible to bleeding. If you are more prone to sensitivity or bleeding, we suggest avoiding these at least 24 to 48 hours before you start sugaring.
Menstrual Cycle
We are definitely more sensitive before our menstrual cycles! We like to sync our sugaring sessions around our menstrual off seasons! (Bonus if you sync it up with your ovulating season because we are literally like invincible during these times)
The Sugaring Basics 🍑
(Sugardoh's long version)
Day of:
✅ Make sure you stop exfoliating 1-3 days before your session.✅ Do not moisturize the day of.
✅ Make sure your skin is clean and dry.
✅ Your hair ¼ inch long.
✅ You can take a warmer shower to open up your pores to make it easier to remove hair.
✅ If you know your body runs warmer, you can have a fan nearby or turn up the AC to help your sugar not melt on you!
Applying with our Applicator:
1️⃣ Apply powder to the area to the clean, dry skin you are sugaring. This will make the sugar adhere to the skin like magic!
2️⃣ Grab your doh. If this is your first couple times sugaring, we recommend starting off with firm!
3️⃣ Use your hands, applicator or a butter knife to remove doh out of the jar.
Pro Tip: To find the right consistency, you can either set your jar in warm water for 10 minutes or microwave for 5 second intervals until you get a consistency that is taffy like - if it’s a honey consistency, it may be too thin/warm and we don’t want you to burn yourself! You can also slowly sink your hand into the doh, which will warm up the doh and help you pull it out!
4️⃣ Check the direction of your hair growth. This will show you the direction on how to apply your sugar. Pro Tip: You can run your fingers or a credit card back and forth against your hair to see which way gives you more resistance - you will be applying the sugar WITH the resistance
5️⃣ Grab a marble to golf ball size amount of sugar paste to begin with (depending on area)
6️⃣ With one hand, use it to hold your skin taught. You may need to keep moving your hands around to find the best position to keep the skin tight!
7️⃣ Press the applicator against your skin and pause for a few seconds so the sugar can warm to your body and mold onto your skin. Going against your hair growth, start to spread the sugar 1 to 3 times in an even application. Always use the edge of your applicator perpendicular to the area. Spread the sugar 1 to 3 times with your even application, lifting after each spread. As a beginner, start with a 2 inch section and work up from there. (If your doh isn’t spreading, go slower so it has time to work with your body heat. This counts as your slow moving meditation of the day!)
8️⃣ Hinge your wrist and flick down fast in the natural direction of hair growth. Keep your applicator as close to the skin as possible, almost grazing the tip of your skin as you flick. If you lift your applicator up and away from your body, you’ll break the sugar connection. Imagine brushing eraser crumbs off a table. You can also do the accordion fold method to help your sugar stay in tact
9️⃣ If hair isn’t coming up from certain sections, try reapplying in a slightly different angle!
🔟 Continue by section using the same piece of sugar. If the sugar gets too goey or difficult, let it cool on your side dish and/or grab a new piece. If you get sweaty, reapply powder. If you are in a sticky situation, remove as much doh as you can and use the cloth strip to remove (or wash it off with warm water!)
🧼 Use a warm washcloth to remove any residual stickiness and apply aftercare!
Aftercare 💦
💛 Wipe away any residue with a damp towel or if you are sugaring your face cleanse thoroughly. Bacteria is the most common reason for breakouts, especially on the face.
💛 Next, apply our aloe based Post-Sugaring Soothing Gel to soothe the skin.
💛 Clean/sanitize everything that will come into contact with it as well (think phone, pillowcase, masks, sugaring tools, hands, etc).
What to Avoid After:
💛 Keep it bare for 24-48 hours (with an exception of our Post-Sugaring Soothing Gel). Avoid moisturizing creams, perfumed bar soaps, and deodorants on the treated areas for 24 hours as they may leave a film on the skin that may cause ingrown hairs.
💛 Don’t touch the area! We know it’s so soft now, but your hands can transfer bacteria that causes bumps/irritation.
💛 Avoid sweating, pools/hot tubs/saunas and any repetitive friction against that area
💛 Avoid wearing tight clothing for 24-48 hours after. This may also help prevent ingrowns because your hair is able to come out of the pores easier! You can also take cooler showers to help close your pores back up - Your pores are freshly opened so it’s really easy for them to be irritated. The good news is, the more you sugar, the more your skin gets used to having hairs pulled out from the root but the first few times you’ll need to be super careful!
Give Yourself Grace 🫶
Remember to give yourself grace, you are literally learning a new skill set! You’ll run into sticky situations, you might waste more products than you want, and your technique may not be perfect the first few times - that’s okay! It’s those “ah-ha!” moments that make our learning experiences so much more special. We can hear our middle school teachers saying it now “If at first you don’t succeed, pick yourself up and sugar again” .. or something along those lines.
Video Library 🎬
Check out our Video Library for all our fav tips + tricks and troubleshooting resources across all our social media platforms!
