DIY hair removal wax

Waxing is one of the most popular methods of hair removal. Personally, I prefer waxing because I get more ingrown hair and blotches from shaving and depilatory creams. Out of all the methods, not only do I find waxing as the most effective in hair removal, but it also takes the longest time for hair to grow back.

Over the years, I've been going to this affordable waxing salon called Lay Bare to get my waxing done. They use cold wax and I find that it is less painful than hot wax. But since I'm flat broke (and stuck at home), I opted to try the DIY wax. Thanks to my good friend, Google I found the perfect recipe for a homemade wax. For this, you will need the following:

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup honey

- juice of 1/2 lemon or if not available, 3 calamansi

- cornstarch / baby powder

- clean cotton cloth strips

- wooden stick or spatula

1. Combine and mix the brown sugar, honey and lemon/calamansi in one microveable glass bowl.

2. Microwave it for about 2 minutes but stop and stir your mixture every 30 seconds. The mixture should have a thick consistency.

3. Let it cool to a comfortable temperature. (NOTE: Now I could not emphasize this enough. Be careful not to touch it as it is super hot. I was stupid to dip my finger to check the temperature and I ended up with a mildly burnt finger)

4. Dust the area that you want to wax with cornstarch / baby powder. (This will  make the wax stick more)

5. Use the wooden stick or spatula to spread a thin layer to your desired area, in the direction of the hair growth (since I don't want to use our kitchen utensils and I can't find a wooden stick, I used the spatula included in Veet. It's plastic but it worked well. Just be sure the mixture is not too hot). I suggest you do small patches first.

6. Immediately cover the patch with a strip of cotton cloth. Briskly stroke the strip several times in the direction of the hair growth then pull the skin taut, and quickly pull the cotton strip against the direction of the hair growth.

As so you proceed with the waxing, you may opt to reheat your mixture in the microwave to keep it warm (just make sure not to overheat it as you could easily burn your skin). In my case, even if the mixture was cold, it still was able to get the hair)

I still had some leftover wax. So I stored it in a plastic container and placed it in the refrigerator. You can just heat it up to use it again. As for the cotton strips, you can reuse it by washing and hanging it to dry.

My verdict: The wax is perfect. It was not painful at all. I actually had fun doing it. Plus I think the honey left my skin soft. My only problem was that I do not know how to go about the process of waxing, so there were really small areas that I accidentally skipped and had to go back and wax. I'm pretty sure 1 or 2 tries will get me accustomed to it.

So if you're on a tight budget and have plenty of time in your hands, I suggest you try this DIY wax. You can actually have fun, while keeping yourself hair-free. :)