What to do in a Sugaring Meltdown
Chances are that either your body or the room is a little warm. Sugaring wax is very heat sensitive so if you like to keep your space cranked at 72 all the time, it’s too warm.
Maybe you’ve just gotten home from a workout and wanted to get those biceps smooth for your next gym visit, and your temperature is up.
A slight increase in your body temperature or room temperature can send the sugar spiraling into a meltdown.
But don’t worry! This is your time to towel off, reassess, and get back out there!
Here are 6 ways to save your skin in a melt down situation:
1. Wash it off. Yup you read that right. Sugaring wax is water soluble. Warm water will melt it and cold water will harden it so you can peel it off.
2. Flick with a cloth strip. You can use a kitchen towel, a t-shirt, or anything else that’s made of fabric (preferably cotton or linen, and not stretchy), press it on the loose sugaring wax and flick it off just like they do in the waxing salons. The good news is that you don’t have to throw it out, you just rinse off the sugar (and hair)
3. Get a fresh lump. If the sugar on your skin has gotten too warm, grab a fresh lump and apply it over the softer sugar and flick as you would normally.
4. Double down on Detox Dust. If your sugar is getting soft fast it probably means that you are running a little warm yourself, and maybe even perspiring a bit. The powder helps absorb the excess moisture and also allows the sugar to adhere better and hold together.
5. Ice, ice baby. If you can’t turn up the AC and cool the room just put a bag of ice over the melting sugar and it’ll harden in 30 seconds. Once it’s hard then you can pull and flick.
6. Keep a fan handy. Having a little cooling mechanism nearby while you’re sugaring can make your lump last almost forever. But fanning the sugar while it’s on your skin is actually counterproductive because on one side you’ll be cooling the sugar wax and on the other side you’ll be warming it with your skin. Simply hold your lump in front of the fan every few pulls.
If you’re new to sugaring it’s best to do it at cooler times of the day when your environment and your skin is cooler. The cooler you keep it the longer your sugar lump will last before it starts to melt.
The worst time for sugaring is midday in the summer.
Even if you have great air conditioning on, your skin is warmest around this time frame and a meltdown is inevitable.
Sugaring wax is a natural substance and that means that it responds to natural elements like the temperature and ambient moisture. Some things are out of our control but we can always learn and adapt our technique. So take a breath, then get back out there!
PRO TIP: Go slow! Make sure that you give the sugar as much time off of your skin as on your skin. If you’re moving fast your skin continuously warms it up. It’s also more meditative to do your sugar waxing nice and slow.