“From the way I’m acting, you’d think I was pulling out my hair by the roots,” I told my sister Tuesday evening.
She only laughed.
Because, actually, that’s exactly what I was doing.
After a month of not shaving my legs, my hair was the requisite 1/4″ to 1/2″ long–and I was ready to wax.
I’ve waxed before, using Nair’s roll-on wax. But at six dollars or so per bottle and needing at LEAST two bottles (I’ve got very long, very hairy legs), Nair can get expensive quickly.
So this time, I decided to sugar instead. I made my own sugaring mix using 2 cups of sugar to 1/8 cup of water and 1/8 cup of lemon juice. I heat it all up on the stove until everything was dissolved and then let it cool down so it wouldn’t burn my skin.
The waxing process is simple, but time consuming. Spread the wax evenly on your skin, in the direction of hair growth, with a wooden popsicle stick. Press a strip of fabric over top the wax (I used ripped strips from an old sheet I got through Freecycle.) Then, grab hold of the strip and rip it off–this time in the direction OPPOSITE hair growth.
And try not to scream.
That’s the hard part.
Why do I do it? Why does anyone do it?
The disadvantages are many, the advantages few. But somehow, I do it anyway. It takes forever, it’s painful, often it leaves little micro-bruises all over. But the lure of being hairless for weeks is enough to keep me trying. And now that I’m making my own sugaring solution, it’s cheap too.
Pain is a small price when beauty’s the gain.
What are some of the most ridiculous sacrifices YOU’VE made in the pursuit of beauty?