DIY Beauty: Hair Removal Wax

Shaving tools, razors and blades are a giant business in the United States, with over $1.76 billion dollars spent on blades alone. You can save that money and create your own natural and very inexpensive hair removal wax in the comfort of your own home. I have been a huge fan of epilators for hair removal since I purchased mine a few years back. I love the convience of them, but find removing an entire leg or arm of hair quite time consuming. I have bought at-home wax kits but the clean up was so insanely difficult that I quickly crossed them off my lists of things to ever buy again. And I haven't gone back into a salon for waxing since having a bad experience (breaking out in areas that the wax touched me).

I created this homemade hair removal wax last night and I must admit, I was blown away by how easy it was. The mixture did explode in my microwave and cause a very sticky mess, but clean up was easy and in just a few minutes, I had my very own natural wax. The recipe isn't set in stone, so feel free to play around with the ingredients to suit your needs. If you are sensitive to wax, patch test a small spot on your arm or leg to see if reactions occur. Here's a pain-free removal tip from one of our previous articles to help with skin sensitivities.

HOW TO Homemade Hair Removal Wax

1. In a microwavable safe container, mix the honey, sugar and lemon together and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. You can use lemon concentrate if you don't have real lemons on hand.

2. Stir the mixture and put it in the microwave for another 30 seconds and stir. A total of one minute was sufficient to make my mixture ready but it also made it explode (My microwave had the high setting on) so heat in increments of 20 - 30 seconds and stir in between to ensure your wax does not burn. You can also heat the wax in a saucepan over the stove, but make sure it does not boil or go past 250 degrees.

3. Be careful when taking the mixture out of the microwave since it will be hot. Let it cool down until the temperature is comfortable enough to place on your skin without burning. I let mine cool for about 20 minutes before attempting to test it on my skin and the consistency was exactly like thick honey.

4. You will need strips of fabric to place on the the wax to rip it off so use old t-shirts, cotton muslins or even sanitary liner pads.

5. Apply a thin layer of the wax onto your desired area in the same direction as the hair growth and immediately apply your strip of fabric to the area. Press down on the fabric and over the wax to make sure it's bonded. Gently pull your skin taut and pull off the fabric in a quick motion, opposite the direction of the hair growth.

6. Since the wax is a sugar mixture, clean up is easy with some water and soap. Cover the lid of the container with the wax and store it in your refrigerator. To reuse the wax, either microwave or run hot water over the container until the wax becomes pliable.

Beautylish Tip: If the mixture is too watery, add more sugar until you get the right consistency.