Pour Some Sugar On Me!

Sugaring is an ancient (like, Cleopatra ancient) method of hair removal that a lot of people mistakenly call sugar waxing.  It is not waxing at all, but a paste that is applied by hand.  It is made of the most natural ingredients you can think of, like sugar, lemon juice, and water.

I smooth it on in the opposite direction the hair grows, then flip my hand and pull the hair out in the same direction it grows - kind of like tweezing, but lots of hairs are pulled out at a time instead of just one.  Because I pull it in the same direction as the hair grows, the natural way to take hair out of the skin, you know that all of the hair has been removed by the root, so your skin stays smooth for as long as it possibly can.  It's got to produce an entirely new hair underneath before anything can poke up at the surface!

Because of what is in it, the sugar soaks into your skin, softening the pore and the follicle and making the removal of the hair root much less painful.  And after you are sugared every four to six weeks regularly, you will see a difference in the way your hair grows back - softer, finer, and sparcer, you may even have spots that have just given up on the regrowing process.  This makes your subsequent visits faster and less painful!  Always a plus, right?  I can grab hair with the sugar that is less than 1/8 of an inch long (so you don't have to grow it out but for a couple of days, although for your first appointment, I always recommend 2 weeks just to make sure ALL of the hair is above the skin), and it helps with ingrown hairs because it exfoliates that top dead layer of skin.  Speaking of skin, the sugar is applied at room temperature, so you will never get burned, and the sugar paste only attaches to the hair and dead skin (NEVER the live skin), so you get an amazing exfoliation along with a perfectly hairfree feeling.  Sugaring is safe for even the most sensitive of skin types, and for all areas of the body, brows to bikini!  And it is such a fascinating process you will want to watch while you are having your service done.

Now, why should you choose sugaring over waxing?

Remember all that good stuff I just told you about sugaring?  Well, now I'm going to tell you some things you may not know about waxing.  I am not bashing the waxing process, but I am going to let you know why it is worth the small difference in price to have yourself sugared instead of waxed.  Since I began the process of getting my Esthetics license, I've waxed many people, and although I was always extremely careful, I heard a lot of horror stories when a client was in my chair.  Burns, ripped skin, bumps that lasted for weeks, soreness and sensitivity, irritation and infections, double-dipping, bald patches on the eyebrows, half of an eyebrow gone, fast regrowth, ingrowns, and and so much more.  I mean, no wonder my clients were edgy when they sat down with me for the first time.  I understood though, because I have also had some awful experiences.

When I was first exposed to sugaring, it finally occurred to me that there was a solution to all the torture we go through to have our hair removed so I immediately found a class to get myself certified.  That's one thing you should know - anyone who has been to beauty school can pick up a wax stick and rip the hair out (even some that aren't licensed Cosmetologists or Estheticians can and will do it - nail salons, anybody?), but sugaring is a very special technique you have an extra certification on top of your license to even order the products.  Basically, all the terrible things that can and do happen with waxing are impossible with sugaring.

Burns - applied at room temperature.

Ripped skin - sugar only attaches to the hair and dead skin, never live skin.

Bumps - it is all natural (even the pre- and post-sugaring products) so irritation is at a minimum.

Soreness and sensitivity - only pulls out hair, not any layers of live skin, so any soreness goes away quickly.

Infection and double dipping - absolutely impossible with sugaring because it will never rip the skin, and is applied by gloved hand, so the glob of sugar I use is yours and only yours until it is full of hair, then the glove and the glob are thrown away and a new glove is used to dip into more sugar.  Sanitation is a huge deal!

Fast regrowth - waxing, because it is pulled in the opposite direction of the hair growth, has a tendency to break hairs off at the top of the skin, instead of actually pulling them out by the root, making the regrowth time very quick because the hair wasn't removed in the first place.  If you are going to deal with something painful, wouldn't you want it to be extremely effective?

Ingrowns - waxing can cause ingrowns because it irritates the follicle by pulling in the opposite direction of growth, while sugaring removes the hair naturally in the direction of the growth and exfoliates dead skin to allow that ingrown hair to finally poke through the surface and be removed.

Now, the natural ingredients in sugar are a huge point because wax contains resins and man-made chemicals, and what you put on your body is definitely absorbed to some degree.  Not only that but because of what the sugar paste is made of, it dissolves in water.  Have you ever left a waxing service feeling sticky and having to scrub or dig your fingernails into the already sensitive area to remove the residue because it just wouldn't come off?  The sugar is very easy to remove, because as fast as a cup of sugar dissolves in a gallon of hot tea is as fast as the sugar dissolves under a warm wet wash cloth.
 
So, if you aren't completely convinced, or you have any questions, definitely feel free to comment or give me a call.  Y'all, I am terrible at trying to sell things because I never want to seem pushy, so when I put this much effort into getting the word out about what I do, it is because I believe in it with all my heart.  This process is amazing, and I am so excited to be certified so I can show everyone the huge difference sugaring makes.  I work at 30 Volume Salon in Statesboro, (912)489-0030.

And how fun would a Sugar Party be?  Get all of your friends together at the salon or at your house with snacks and drinks, and prepare for bikini season together!

What I Do & Why I Love It

As an esthetician at 30 Volume Salon in Statesboro, Georgia, I have been advised that one of the best ways to get the word out about what I do is...surprise, surprise...writing a blog about it!  Something I love to do anyway, but I have been so busy trying to let people know that I am here with flyers, business cards, and specials, I have overlooked the obvious.  So here goes - a blog about my job and what makes it so special.

I decided to become an esthetician after four years of fashion school.  I adore fashion, but began to see myself as more of a behind the scenes contributor.  I've always loved makeup and been obsessed with my skin care regimen, and with the blessing of my husband (who dealt with the craziness of five years of school - thank you, darlin') and the support of my cosmetologist sister, I switched schools to pursue my real passion.

The year flew and dragged by at the same time, and winning a state competition got me national recognition, but getting that license in my hand gave me the accreditation to look for my first grown-up job.  The salon I work at is perfect - beautifully decorated, owned by two amazing women (the best bosses I've ever had, and I've had a few crazies), with a booming clientele base.  I was starting from scratch building my own clientele, but I had a very important piece of paper, the skills (pretty mad skills, according to my clients and guinea pigs alike), and the proper backup to succeed.

In addition to my esthetics license, I became certified in sugaring, a way to remove hair from every area of your body without the irritation of wax.  And did I mention it is less painful?  Anyway, another blog for another day.  Sugaring has quickly become my newest passion because not only does it beautify in a very subtle way, it offers a solution to my clients for the aggravation that is hair removal.

Sugaring removes hair, yes, but there's a million other benefits.  Fuzzy face?  Sugaring exfoliates like a mini-facial, making makeup glide on like butter.  Fuzzy legs?  Sugaring will make a spray tan last longer because it removes the dead skin and the need to shave (which we all know takes that expensive bronze color right off).  Fuzzy bikini?  Sugaring eventually eliminates ingrown hairs, very common in this area and caused by shaving and waxing.  And these are just to name a few of the awesome things that keep clients swearing against waxing or shaving ever again.

We are one of the very few salons in the southeast that offer sugaring.  (Remember what I said about having the proper backup?  Only the best salons offer it because in order to start up, an amazing salon owner is required, and I am one of the lucky few to have this support.)  When we work this hard to convince people to come try a service or a product, it's only because we are completely in love with it.  It has offered a solution for my very sensitive skin, and it continues to amaze my clients.  If you try it, I know you are going love it too!