We often cringe when we learn about historical beauty practices. From make-up containing lead and mercury in Europe to foot binding in Asia, some old-school beauty practices are best left in the past. Sugaring, on the other hand, is an ancient way to remove body hair that is still as useful and healthful as it was back in 1900 B.C.E.
Long before we used plastic razors to shave our legs, humans were removing body hair with various forms of sugaring. For many of us sugaring seems like a new way to remove unwanted hair, but its history reaches all the way back to ancient Egypt! It’s said that even Cleopatra, the famous beauty, used sugaring to keep her skin smooth and hairless. Hairless smooth skin was considered a standard of beauty in ancient Egypt as well as in north and east Africa and Persia. In fact, today some still refer to sugaring as Persian waxing! Back then sugar was confined to Papua New Guinea in the ancient world, so honey was likely the first sugar used for hair removal. It was combined with lemon and water, and a muslin cloth was applied over the sugaring paste to aid in removal.
The same basic recipe is still used for sugaring today: water, sugar, and lemon. Sugar grabs the hairs (not skin) and prevents mold growing in the solution, lemon binds the sugar while giving the skin a vitamin C boost, and water makes the formula soluble, completing the sugaring paste. Other terms for sugaring include sukkar (Middle East and Egypt), agda in Turkey, and moum in Iran.
Although sugaring is an ancient practice it didn’t enter the skin care habits of westerners until fairly recently. Sugaring entered into the western world of beauty in the mid-80’s in the UK, although there is some debate about exactly how this happened. Today sugaring is gaining popularity across North America as a less painful, less irritating, more natural, and long-lasting hair removal method. Many of our clients fall in love with sugaring after just one session because it’s less painful and less messy.
Sugaring has a long history reaching back to the ancient world, but it is still done for the same reasons today as it was then: it’s a way to remove unwanted hair with less pain and long-lasting results! The next time you come by for some sugaring, remember you’re carrying on a practice that Cleopatra and countless other beauties throughout history used to look and feel their best!
