humidity, Its Effect On Your Sugar And Why You Should Care
There is a reason why your sugar may seem too soft and sticky causing you to get stuck easier. There is a reason your sugar seems a bit too hard and is not as pliable. The environment where the sugar is used determines the consistency of sugar paste so much more than one would ever think. Almost every sugarists is not using sugar paste properly and that costs you time, money, and it wears on your body. Let’s change your life as a sugarist for the better.
Sugar paste is hygroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture from the air. Humidity is the percentage of water vapor in the air. Humidity levels differ every single day. Sugar paste reacts directly to the humidity in its environment from the moment it is exposed. So, you are working with sugar that is always changing, due to its environment. The body temperature of the sugarist (how warm the sugarists hands are) and the body temperature of your clients are small factors. There is a difference with regards to parts of the body, for example, legs are cooler than the bikini area. Typically, a sugarists would simply use a different paste for those two areas. My wife Courtney uses our smooth paste on legs and our soft on the bikini area. For years she has had 3 different pastes (smooth, soft, and medium) ready in warmers to djust to how the sugar is behaving that day. For over 15 years she has not been getting the most out of the sugar by doing what most every other sugarist does, adjusting on the fly. Reacting to the environment instead of controlling it.
As the maker of Sugar Goddess sugar paste, I want to make the best possible sugar. Every batch I want perfection. I formulated our sugar paste exactly to my wife’s specifications. It’s the best sugar she has ever used. Since achieving that mark, which was quite a long journey, I replicate the exact recipe for every batch of sugar I make. Courtney started noting a change in our sugar a few winters ago. There were no changes to anything in the cooking process so how could it not be perfect? She noted a change in all our sugar consistencies (we carry 4 consistencies of paste). It wasn’t that I simply made a bad batch, or our raw materials were bad. Something was affecting the sugar. Now, I like to be right, and I especially don’t enjoy being wrong. Courtney will attest to this. I wanted to know what was happening and I really wanted to know that it wasn’t a result of something I did or was doing. Courtney needed to know because was taking longer to preform services. She was using more sugar per service, which is an increased cost, as well as adding to the toll on her body each day. That started a research and elimination process that has yielded truly game changing results.
I started to systematically eliminate possible variables to determine what was affecting our sugar. We ship out sugar across the United States. I asked myself, how then is our sugar preforming in Florida, in Texas, or in Hawaii? How could I possibly account for the differences in each state, as each one is affected differently with seasons, temperatures, and humidity levels every single day. What can I control? What can my customers control? Most sugarists work in a room or salon that is temperature controlled. Clients body temperature is a constant range. I can’t control the weather outside. I can, however, control the environment is where the sugar was being used. I started to measure both the temperature and humidity levels in our salon. Courtney noted the temperature basically stayed constant at 71 degrees (no more than a couple degrees variance) and the humidity levels were hovering just above 20%. That is a very low amount of moisture in the air. Deserts have similar humidity levels to put it into perspective. Got to love Minnesota winters. I began to refine and target my research to humidity and its scientific properties. How it behaves and why.
Again, sugar paste is hygroscopic. It absorbs moisture from the air. It does this the moment it its open to an environment. Fact. So, I began experimenting with humidity levels in our salon. With levels of humidity just above 20%, we had to get a humidifier to add moisture into the environment. Immediately Courtney noted a difference in the sugar. A big difference. Through daily trials, we were able to determine a specific range at which our sugar preforms optimally. Next, I put it out to multiple sugarists to monitor their humidity levels and see if they noticed a difference in their sugar relative to their humidity levels. I had sugarists using multiple brands of pastes and they all noted how much the sugar behaved differently relative to their humidity levels. Every company makes their sugar paste a bit differently, but the base product is the same, and no matter the brand, it behaved in a similar manner.
Sugar behaves a certain way because of its scientific properties. It does not change, the environment in which it is being used does. Sugar begins to react the moment it is exposed to its environment no matter the brand or consistency. For too long now sugarists have simply adjusted on the fly, just struggled through, blended pastes, or made do with what you have because you must. By controlling the environment, you are able use the sugar the way it is meant to be used. Every. Single. Time. That level of consistency will make you a better sugarist, no doubt. You will be faster, more efficient, and you will make more money. We are not talking by a few dollars either. Hundreds to Thousands of dollars in being in use of less material and being able to offer more services because speed is increased. Oh, and your hands, wrists, and shoulders will thank you too.
This Is How You Optimize Your Sugar
Use a Sugar Warmer
If you are not using a warmer, you are wasting time and money. Fact. This is the only way to effectively heat sugar. Microwaving is not the way. I know it’s done, and I know it works in a pinch, but it ruins your sugar pure and simple and heats the sugar extremely unevenly making it quite impossible to achieve a desired consistency. Your just making do and making it harder on yourself. When using a warmer it takes a while for the sugar to be heated fully in a warmer. Hours. The professional (and best) way to use warmers is to have them always on, always with a jar of sugar in them. Good sugar warmers cost around $150 and up. DO NOT buy wax warmers. They are cheaper than a sugar warmer, but they run much hotter and do not hold a constant temperature. They heat up and then cool, heat up and cool which makes your sugar basically unusable. I would highly recommend purchasing a warmer from a sugaring company and avoid amazon entirely. We sell the Miratech xp3000 sugar warmer. It’s the only one we use and the only one we sell on our site as it is far and away the best warmer we have found. They are very low cost to keep running. Our warmers at salon run 24-7-365. This allows the sugar to always be ready to go. A tip with using warmers, the more you take from a jar, the warmer the sugar will become because the warmer stays at a constant temperature. Warming less sugar will affect the consistency. Courtney recommends starting to turn down the heat level when the jar is about 1/2 full.
Humidity
Nothing affects sugar, no matter the brand, more than humidity. Sugar Goddess pastes are to be used with humidity levels of 45%-50% humidity. This is where the sugar operates optimally. Levels above 50% the sugar will be softer. Levels below 45% the sugar will be harder. Personal preferences may be a bit out of that range and that is subjective to each sugarist but now you know where you need to be to use Sugar Goddess pastes properly and establish a base for your desired paste consistency.
Controlling your humidity is accomplished by using a dehumidifier to take moisture out of the air or by using a humidifier to put moisture into the air. Both a dehumidifier and humidifier can be found on amazon or similar stores. There are many kinds, sizes, and prices. We spent 300$ on a dehumidifier and 50$ on a humidifier, both are designed for a room based off square footage. Some models offer digital control to set your humidity level at a specific number (or percent). There is also an option to purchase humidity controllers which, the humidifier or dehumidifier without a digital setting, plugs into. The controller then plugs into an outlet and you can set the level of desired humidity level on the controller. They run from around 40$-80$ on amazon.
Temperature
Most people control their room or salon at a certain temperature. That range is typically from 68-72 degrees on average. This doesn’t affect the sugar much, nor will it affect your clients skin temperature or ambient temperature as both take a bit to change. I put temperature in here for the common sense of, if you are sugaring in a room that is 80 degrees that will affect your sugar (and clients) similar to if you sugar in a room that is 60 degrees (brrrr) that will affect your sugar (and clients) but to counter those temp extremes you are be able to simply use a harder/softer paste.
How to Control Your Enviroment
First and foremost, buy a hygrometer to monitor your humidity levels. They are 15$ or less on amazon. The readings are in real time. The range to use Sugar Goddess paste is 45%-50% humidity levels. Your sugar will behave a certain way above or below those levels. Below 45% humidity your sugar will be a bit harder, less pliable. Above 50% humidity and your sugar is going to be softer and stickier. To lower your humidity levels, buy a dehumidifier. To increase your humidity levels, buy a humidifier. If your environment is not controlled, you can use the humidity level to determine what consistency of paste to use. Levels above 50% humidity, you will need a firmer paste, levels below 45% humidity, you will need a softer paste. The humidity range of 45%-50% is specific to Sugar Goddess paste. All companies use different recipes for their sugar. No matter what brand of sugar paste, it’s going to react to the humidity level of the environment. I can only tell you what our levels work optimally at. Summer is coming sugarists. There is no reason to struggle through days when humidity levels are high. I have had multiple sugarists working at levels beyond 50% humidity and they did not enjoy those days. You don’t have to struggle through those days. Controlling your environment is easy, inexpensive and will save you both time and money very quickly. New sugarists, if you are struggling or getting stuck often and getting frustrated, the humidity in the environment is affecting your sugar and could be the main reason you are struggling. This is how you become a next level sugarist. Increase your speed, use less product, and save wear and tear on your body. Most importantly, put more money into your pocket. Why work harder? I truly hope you consider taking control of your sugar, even if it’s not our paste. Sugaring has changed my family’s life for the better and I hope some of the information in this can do the same for you. You deserve it. I can’t wait for you to learn the difference. Any questions please reach out info@sugargoddess.org.
Thank you and God bless
Benjamin Leddy