Comments on: Rewilding Beauty: DIY Hair Removal

By: Spruce up for Summer with Pine Resin « Tracker of Plants

Spruce up for Summer with Pine Resin « Tracker of Plants — Sun, 22 May 2011 00:06:27 +0000

[...] ago I wrote about leg waxing with sugar. But since I’m always interested in going even more “primy”, I wanted to try a [...]

By: wargonzola

wargonzola — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:14:22 +0000

The lemon juice is probably to keep the mixture from crystallizing when it cools or is stored, as well as increasing shelf life. Totally optional if you’re going to use the mix immediately. Acidifying cooking sugar converts it to an ‘invert’ form, which stores better and is slightly sweeter.
It doesn’t take much more than a few ml per liter, so maybe that large amount of acid is for something else as well. It’s entirely possible someone just added it ’cause they thought lemon juice was good for their skin.
Lacking lemon juice, some honey would cause the same reaction – I use it that way for caramel sauce and other syrups.

By: Emily Porter

Emily Porter — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:14:55 +0000

If you only use the sugar, as in the first method described above the same ball can be reapplied several times. Maybe eventually you could could remelt it and strain out the hair, and try again… Once you use a cloth strip it will be pretty difficult to separate from the cloth. Here is a video on youtube that demonstrates the hair taffy technique I haven’t quite mastered:

By: pixieBlighter

pixieBlighter — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:26:16 +0000

Hi Emily
Could the hairy sugar ball be reuses?

By: Emily Porter

Emily Porter — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:08:50 +0000

Good suggestion Dana. I just tried this with some wild beeswax I snagged from the hive in my post “Honey If You Love Me…” and it didn’t burn but it was pretty damned hot. If you only had to go though it once, it would be a pretty good initiation ritual! But to have to do it time and time again I don’t think I’d use it without some secret softening ingredient.

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:25:38 +0000

Beeswax may not actually burn the skin. It might feel hot when you apply it, but not do any damage. After hearing rumors to that effect about soywax I took a candle that was a mixture of soy, bee and palm and dripped some of the hot wax on my skin. Not even a first-degree burn, just a little stinging. It was actually one of the selling points of the candle, that if a little kid got hold of it they wouldn’t scar themselves for life. (Unless they hit the open flame, and maybe not even then.)

It might be something to cautiously experiment with. A couple of drops won’t do anything, after all. I do know it has a lower melt point than paraffin, which DOES burn the skin.