Sugar waxing is an ancient method of hair removal that is perhaps the most effective method to date. It's nearly 4000 years old and I think it beats even the latest and greatest technology. It's 2026, we can target lasers at your butthole to remove body hair, and yet still, we cannot beat the effectiveness (let alone cost-effectiveness) of homemade candy.

Sugaring...

• requires only sugar, lemon juice and water to make the paste, and requires only cornstarch or baby powder for application (paper strips optional)
• can be done in two ways:
  1. Traditional sugaring, where you apply a ball of sugaring paste on your skin against the direction of hair growth before yoinking it off. You want the paste to be pliable at room and body temperature.
  2. Sugar waxing, where you apply a thin layer of warmed sugaring paste with a popsicle, stick a paper strip on top, allow it to harden (as it cools), then pull the strip off. You want the paste to be hard at body temperature.

Traditional sugaring is the kind I prefer, since it requires less equipment and it's portable for backpacking. However, getting a consistent paste texture is difficult; there are many unhelpful tutorials online that claim to use colour (ie "until it's brown") or time on the stove to achieve a desired texture.

TL;DR: for a (roughly) 300ml jar of traditional sugaring paste, I heat the following on medium, stirring constantly until the sugar's dissolved, and then turn it up as high as you dare, stirring occasionally until it's 135ºC (soft crack). It will take much longer to heat between 100-120ºC; I usually turn it way down when it hits 120ºC so I don't miss the cutoff point.

• Stainless steel pot
• Kitchen scales
• Thermometer (that goes up to 150ºC)
• 200ml wide metal bowl, glass jar or mug (ie something with high heat tolerance)
• 200g (1 cup) sugar
• 61g (1/4 cup) lemon juice
• 60g (1/4 cup) water

For the long version, read on.

Experimental process

How do you create the right texture of sugar for you and your climate? In short, with a thermometer (and scales).

The ambient temperature makes a difference because it affects the heating rate of the paste while you apply it to your skin. Your body imparts heat to the paste each time you hold or apply it, but so does the air. As a result, you may need a harder paste (ie higher temperature on the stove) in warmer climates.

The good news is that the hardness of the paste is determined uniquely by the maximum temperature it reaches. This means that if we gradually raise the temperature (to ensure consistent heating throughout the mixture), and if we use a pan without high heat-capacity (so that turning the heat off near-instantly stops the temperature from further rising), then we can make a reproducible recipe for cooking sugar paste.

I'm yet to test this, but this relationship between the maximum temperature and its sugar concentration should mean that the final mass of the mixture also uniquely determines its texture. So if you have scales that can tolerate a hot pan, and you zero it with the empty pan on it, you can simply weigh the pan while cooking until its the desired weight. However, temperature is probably easier.

Materials

• Scales
• Thermometer
• 4 small dishes (ideally metal, so they cool to room temperature faster)
• A warm shower, or a place to wash yourself with warm water (as some of the pastes will likely be too runny and stick to your skin)
• 200g sugar
• 61g lemon juice
• 60g water

Method

1. Heat the mixture slowly on medium heat, stirring constantly.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved, switch to a new spoon/stirrer or wash the one you've got to avoid recrystallisation. After it dissolves, you can also stir less frequently as long as nothing is sticking to the bottom.
3. At the following temperatures (or once per sugar stage), remove about 3 tbsp of mixture into separate dishes.
   1. 118ºC firm ball aka soft caramel
   2. 121ºC hard ball aka nougat
   3. 132ºC soft crack aka taffy
   4. 146ºC hard crack aka toffee
4. Allow the pastes to cool to room temperature (or about 36-38ºC if you're waxing with strips). For funsies, taste them and notice the texture. Then, if possible (not too runny at room temperature), scoop them out of the dish and attempt to use them for sugaring.

Adapted from this kind redditor