Fab or flub: Does Veet’s sugar wax ease the pain of hair removal?

With summer right around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to try a hair removal process I’d recently heard about on one of my favorite beauty blogs.

Considered a less painful alternative to waxing, sugaring is a process that combines lemon, sugar and water into a caramellike substance used to remove hair from all over your body. Also referred to as Persian waxing or sugar waxing, sugaring originated in the Middle East and is said to have been used as far back as 1900 B.C.

So, what makes sugaring so special? That would be its ability to remove hair quickly without traumatizing your skin. Unlike traditional wax, sugar wax is used at a low temperature and only adheres to your hair (not your skin). Sugaring also removes hair directly from the follicle, instead of breaking the hair at the surface of the skin.

For those who want to go the cheap way with sugaring, you can make your own sugar wax at home (Pinterest is loaded with recipes). If you are like me and want to be lazy, you can also head to the nearest drugstore and buy a pre-made version. After finding out that the brand of sugar wax I’d originally intended to buy was not available, I settled on Veet Warm Sugar Wax (available in-store at Walgreens for $11.49).

First impression

Much like traditional wax, Veet Warm Sugar Wax is packaged in a plastic tub and comes with a wooden spatula for application. Also included with the wax are fabric strips, which are used to help remove the sugar wax from your skin.

The instructions for Veet’s Warm Sugar Wax turned out to be similar to the ones for traditional wax. Users can either heat the tub of wax in the microwave for 40 seconds or in boiling water for 10 minutes. The wax is then stirred with the spatula, which indicates whether the wax is ready to use (NO! means it is too hot, a blue square means it is ready).

When it’s ready, users spread a thin layer of wax in the direction of hair growth and then smooth one of the fabric strips over the wax. To remove hair, users are instructed to hold the area of skin taut, then pull back as quickly as you can against the direction that the hair grows. The end result should be a clean, hair-free area.

Fab or flub?

Flab! After trying Veet Warm Sugar Wax, I can report that sugar waxing is significantly less painful than traditional waxing. While I still experienced some discomfort, I found it to be more on the level of the pain you experience with plucking. Overall, I’d say that Veet’s sugar wax did a good job of removing the hair on my arms and legs.

Unlike traditional wax, Veet’s sugar wax did not leave my skin irritated or damaged. The only negative thing I have to say about this product is that it fell short on its claim to remove short, stubborn hairs. I tried it on my armpits and it was not able to remove stubble.

For those who end up trying Veet’s version of sugar wax, I must stress that you apply the product in thin layers. I got carried away a few times and applied too much sugar wax, which resulted in a somewhat painful and messy experience when I tried to pull the fabric strip back.

Another word of advice is to work in small sections. After sugar waxing both large and small sections of my legs and arms, it became clear that I was getting the best results when I went small. This does make the process a bit more tedious, but the results are definitely better.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 1:14 PM.