Last Updated on by Bree
I use vinegar to make sugar wax when I don’t have lemons.
Vinegar is a great substitute for lemon in sugaring wax recipes as it is acidic, just like lemon or lime.
Though I don’t use it that often because of the smell, I only do it when I have no choice.
But recently, I wanted to make DIY hard wax for sugaring, and after bringing out all the ingredients, I thought, “why not use vinegar instead of lemon?”.
So I substituted lemon for vinegar in my sugar wax recipe, and the result was good, just like regular, of course, with the smell of vinegar.
And I thought I’d share it with you because you may need it one of these days when you’re out of lemons.
So keep reading for how to make sugar wax without lemon juice and use vinegar instead.
How to make sugar wax without lemon juice
This sugaring paste is thick and does not require strips for sugar waxing. It holds and applies well, and removes hair without the use of waxing strips.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp vinegar (apple cider or white)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water
Tools
- A saucepan
- wooden spoon or spatula
- a candy thermometer (optional)
- a folded dishcloth or wooden chop board
Directions to make sugar wax with no lemon
- Add the sugar, salt, water, and vinegar into a saucepan, stir and cook it on a stove.
- Cook your sugar wax on medium heat and keep stirring until it starts boiling.
- After some time, the mixture would get light and syrupy but not brown yet.
- But don’t stop stirring and watching it closely.
- Your sugar wax is ready when it turns golden brown (about 295 F).
- This temperature would vary for each person. But I’m adding it here because some of you may find it useful.
- Anyway, take your saucepan off the stove and onto the folded dishcloth or wooden chop board.
- Use your wooden spoon and keep stirring the wax until it begins to cool and thicken.
- At this point, you can pour the sugar wax into your mason jar.
- If you let it cool completely in the pot, you may find it difficult to take out of the saucepan, and most of it would go to waste.
If making sugar wax on the stove is not your jam, check out this microwave sugar wax.
Cleaning up after making sugaring wax
- Fill your saucepan with water, and leave it on the stove or in your sink.
- After some minutes, the sticky wax will melt out, and your pan will be clean.
- Just rinse it one more time, and you’re done.
How to remove body hairs with sugaring wax
Prepare the body part you want to wax
Normally I’d say knead the wax first, but you can’t knead it and put it down to prep your skin.
It would stick to whatever surface you place it on, making cleaning up harder.
So I suggest you prep your skin first with these steps:
- Before sugar waxing, take off any clothing you think might be in your way (tops, underwear, bottoms, whatever).
- Next, fold some paper towels; about three to four pieces will do. Use it to dab sweat and oil on your skin, which makes it difficult for the wax to stick to the hair.
- If you are waxing your legs or underarms, you can dust some baby powder on them.
- But make sure to use a paper towel in your bikini area.
Knead the wax
Once your skin is ready for waxing, it is time to knead it.
- First, wet your fingertips just a little bit.
- Next, scoop some sugar wax with a spoon onto your wet fingers or palm,
- then with your fingers, fold and pull it apart until it is soft and sticky.
Apply the wax
- First, make sure your room or bathroom is well-ventilated. I prefer to wax in front of a fan because I don’t want to sweat. Moisture and body oil prevents the wax from sticking to the hairs. Which leads to pain and a prolonged waxing session.
- Next, pull your skin taut, apply the wax in the opposite direction of your hair growth, and pull it out swiftly.
- (If you’re waxing your bikini area) Place your palm with a paper towel on the spot. This would soothe the spot and also soak up sweat and blood.
- Apply the sugar wax to all the hairs until there are no more hairs to remove.
- Then follow with the post-waxing care.
Things to consider when sugar waxing
- When applying sugar wax to your skin, make sure to pull it taut.
- This helps the wax spread well and gives you a clean hair removal session with minimal pain.
- Trust me, if the skin isn’t taut, the wax would stick to the hairs but may not pull them out clean. And this can be very painful.
- In some cases, the sugaring paste would stretch, some in your hand, and some stuck to the hair, especially in the bikini area.
- And the only way to take it off is to reapply more wax and hope that it sticks to the one on your body and comes out clean. Ouch!
- If not, you might have to stop your waxing session and rinse off that thick paste.
- Okay, moving to the post-waxing session.
You may also enjoy the honey sugar wax recipe.
Do your post-waxing care.
After hair removal, always make sure you clean your skin gently but thoroughly. Follow the steps below:
- While waxing removes hairs from the root, you may sometimes miss a few hairs, so use a tweezer to pluck them out.
- Then exfoliate the skin with a gentle exfoliant. I suggest making a thick paste with baking soda and water.
- Apply that paste to your skin, scrub and let it stay for about 5 minutes, then rinse out with lukewarm water.
- The baking soda exfoliation removes dead skin and bacteria and keeps your skin smooth.
- After rinsing out the baking soda, you can apply some honey or aloe vera gel to soothe your skin.
- You don’t have to apply any moisturizers to your skin, but it won’t hurt. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t.
- Wear loose-fitting clothes. Don’t wear anything that would touch or chafe your skin.
- And if you’ve just sugar-waxed your bikini area, please skip the underwear for that day.
How to store your sugar wax
- Always use a microwave-safe glass jar to save your homemade sugar wax.
- You can store your hair removal wax in the fridge, but it would do just fine on the countertop. That’s where mine is at the moment.
Sugar Wax Recipe - No Lemon Juice
Materials
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp vinegar (apple cider or white)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water
Tools
- A saucepan
- wooden spoon or spatula
- a candy thermometer
- a folded dishcloth or wooden chop board
Instructions
- Add the sugar, salt, water, and vinegar into a saucepan, stir and cook it on a stove.
- Cook your sugar wax on medium heat and keep stirring until it starts boiling.
- After some time, the mixture would get light and syrupy but not brown yet.
- But don’t stop stirring and watching it closely.
- Your sugar wax is ready when it turns golden brown (about 295 F). This temperature would vary for each person. I’m adding it here because it may be useful to some of you.
- Anyway, take your saucepan off the stove and onto the folded dishcloth or wooden chop board.
- Use your wooden spoon and keep stirring the wax until it begins to cool and thicken.
- At this point, you can pour the sugar wax into your mason jar.
- If you let it cool completely in the pot, you may find it difficult to take out of the saucepan, and most of it would go to waste.
Want to know more about homemade skincare ingredients? Check out this post: Natural Products For Skin Care: Everything You Must Know.
So can you make sugar wax without lemon juice?
Absolutely! If you need to make sugaring wax and you have no lemons or lime, feel free to use vinegar (white or apple cider, it doesn’t matter).
Though it stinks, it still makes a good DIY sugar wax recipe for hair removal.
Now over to you? Have you made sugar wax with no lemons before? How did it go?
Please share your experience and tips with us.
If you made this no-lemon juice sugar wax recipe, please share and tag me on Instagram @budgetandmomjeans
Thanks for reading! Remember to share this post on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
I’m trying this out, first time sugar waxing. It looks a lot like yknow caramel but the like hard kind and i’m kind of worried since it basically has the same texture. Im wondering if you have to microwave it before waxing 🤔 I will continue to update because I know it’s a bit nervewracking for first time waxers :)
Hi Auggie,
I’m sorry.
Making sugar wax for the first time is tricky.
If your sugar wax is too hard, it’s possible you over-cooked it, or it needs more vinegar or lemon.
If the stove-top sugar wax doesn’t work, please try this microwave sugar wax instead.
I hope this helps.
xx, Bree.
What if you burn it accidentally? Will it still work???
Hi Averie.
I’ve burnt my sugar wax several times.
But I had to knead for longer to soften it and make it work.
Other times I threw it away.
But you can wet your palms and knead the burnt wax until it is soft and sticky before you use it.
It would be annoying and hard, but in the end, it would soften.
And if it doesn’t, please try it again.
Making sugar wax is sometimes annoying. Lol.
I hope this helps.
xx, Bree.