A quick Google search for side effects and risks of waxing shaving, or sugaring hair removal will turn up gazillions of results. Who can you trust? What parts are real and what are just exaggerations?
Don’t you worry, girl, ’cause we gotcha! We want you to be honestly informed and ready to make your own decisions about going hairless without being careless. Here’s the straight facts about possible problems with body sugaring, and what you can expect when you get the process done. If you want to understand the technique first, our guide to how sugaring removes hair explains why paste texture, direction of removal, and hair growth matter. We’ll go over what we can, but if you’ve got more questions and you want a real-life human to answer them, slide into our DMs and we’ll be happy to explain more.
Benefits of Body Sugaring
Let’s start with some of the things that body sugaring won’t do, and reasons why we think it’s better than the alternatives. It started with Sucré’s founder, Ashley Watt, who became a devoted sugar queen after seeing how relatively gentle and easy it was to use. In her words? “The practitioners aren’t really capable of delivering much risk to the client or their skin during sugaring treatments,” she says.
Why? Because compared to substances like hot wax, sugaring is as gentle as an ocean breeze. It won’t remove live skin, thanks to the actual chemistry of how sugar and the water in your skin interact – you won’t be tearing any skin cells. The sugar is at a much lower temperature, too, so client skin won’t ever be burned. If you’re comparing the two methods, our guide to sugaring vs waxing explains why sugaring can feel gentler for many clients.
In fact, with the right after- and in-between-treatment care (which, Ashley says, is super important to practice at home), the risk can be reduced almost to zero. With consistent exfoliation, hydration, and habits, you can almost guarantee you’ll have minimal side effects. To support your skin between appointments, our full guide to proper body sugaring aftercare explains what to do at home.
Possible Risks of Body Sugaring
With all that said, we can’t pretend it’s ALL sunshine and roses. As with any form of hair removal, there’s always a risk of ingrown hairs, which are the most common reported problem with body sugaring. Even still, this risk is much lower than with shaving or waxing, and it can be lowered even more with proper moisturization and exfoliation between treatments. If ingrowns are your main concern, our guide to products for ingrown hairs after sugaring can help you choose gentle options.
Another pro tip? Your skin will likely be a little more sensitive to heat and strong sunlight after a sugar session. It’s probably best to avoid a beach trip right after leaving the salon, and to give yourself a few days to balance out again before baring it all. You can also read about normal skin recovery after sugaring if you want to know what redness or tenderness can look like.
Are There Other Side Effects of Body Sugaring?
It’s extremely rare, but it does happen (and we said we’d be honest)! Some clients have experienced other adverse reactions, like:
- Histamine production
- Red blotches or swelling
- Perifollicular edema (inflammation of the hair follicles, resulting in itchy red bumps)
These are very unlikely to be an issue with your sugaring treatment, but even if they are, the effects generally pass within a couple of hours. If discomfort is what makes you hesitant, our guide to whether body sugaring is painful explains what first-time clients can usually expect. You can help prevent these by avoiding direct heat sources and practicing proper after-care following your appointment.
Body Sugaring in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kelowna
From the shops a few minutes north of Bernard in Kelowna to the trendy boutiques of Calgary’s Mission and McKenzie Towne neighbourhoods to Sherwood Park and the beautiful views near the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, we’re here to send your unwanted hair packing! Drop us a line to book your appointment, get more information, or talk more about sugaring.
We can chat about it all day long, so don’t be afraid to reach out and go after that smooth, hair-free look you deserve!
