Homemade wax recipe

I prefer using fresh, homemade wax instead of store bought ones because atleast I'm sure the wax I make at home is completely natural and chemical free. Not to mention homemade wax is alot cheaper than purchasing a ready made one. Some ready made ones can irritate sensitive skin, causing tiny boils or rashes too.

So for this homemade wax, my only disclaimer - it does take some practice! I remember trying to make wax initially and would end up with some hardened, thickened mass which really didn't work like wax was supposed to. But once I got the hang of it, it's been a piece of cake. Do remember, if you can't so much as boil an egg, you won't be able to prepare this wax either. :P

For other adventurous souls, you'd be needing -

• A pot/vessel for preparing the wax
• Wooden spoon (preferable)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8th cup lemon juice (Half of 1/4th cup basically)
• 2-4 tablespoons of water
• A container/tub for storing the wax

Now, to make this task easier, grind the coarse sugar granules into a powder. This makes it super easy for the powder to dissolve in the lemon juice and water and you wouldn't need to slave over the stove for half an hour, stirring in constantly to get the sugar to dissolve. And this was actually my mom's idea to use powdered sugar instead.

So, on medium heat, add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water and stir in till the sugar dissolves completely. Keep stirring for 5 minutes or so and then, let the mix come to a rolling boil. 

You will know your wax is ready when you see a pale golden colour appearing and the consistency is honey like. If you'r not sure if it's ready, simple test with a butter knife. Take a tiny amount and let it cool for a minute (be careful, you don't want to burn yourself!) and then apply a small patch on the back of your hand.

If you've ever been waxed before, you'll know how easily the wax spreads on your skin and how it hardens just a little bit on cooling. If the patch you applied is too runny/watery, then you need to let the mix cook for some more time on low heat only (using high heat will cause the mix to boil quickly and turn deep golden, which would indicate a toughened mass of sugar).

And if the wax you applied on your skin wouldn't spread too easily, then you need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water (don't add all of it together, mix in little by little to see how much more it needs to soften and more or less accordingly).

Finally, the wax needs to be sticky enough and if it isn't, you can add a dash of lemon juice to make it so. Once you get the desired consistency and the pale golden colour, take off from heat and immediately pour into the container that you will be using to store the wax. (If you let it cool in the vessel, it will harden and you'll have to heat it all over again to pour it into the container)

I use a microwavable container, so it's real easy for me to heat it and take out the desired amount to put in the wax heating machine, when I need to wax.

This makes roughly a cup of wax, and can easily be stored at room temperatue. Remember, it may be a little difficult in the beginning, but after so much practice, I don't even measure the amounts of lemon juice and water anymore and make it perfectly anyhow!

PS: For anything gone wrong, well, it's happened to me too and there's always a second time. Also, to get rid of burnt/hardened sugar, just keep the vessel and spoons dipped in water for a few hours and then wash as usual.