wax

There's nothing more romantic than a candlelit dinner, but waking up to a table covered in wax is no picnic. Before you reach for a razorblade that will scratch up your gorgeous dining table, or even think about tossing your tablecloth in the washer, I have some tips for safely and easily removing that candle wax. If the wax has dripped onto a hard surface like a metal, wooden, or glass table, use a blow dryer to melt the wax. As it liquefies, wipe up the melted max with a paper towel or a cotton rag. To hear how to remove wax from your table linens, read more

Aging isn't an easy thing to do. For antiques, the phrase "things get better with age" is nearly always true when it comes to aesthetics and market value. But sometimes they do need a little love to get their groove back. When it comes to a chest or bureau with sticky drawers that no longer slide open and closed easily, did you know that the antiaging remedy is as simple and household-ready as a candlestick? Just pull out the chest drawers and grab a piece of wax or an old candlestick that's down to its last legs. Rub the wax along the tracks where the grooves of the drawers will run. Now, put each drawer back, and they should slide in smoothly.

One of the most effortless ways to bring Summer style to your home is to set basic votives at your outdoor dining table or around any outdoor space. But melted wax gets messy, and trying to scrape your candle from your votive holder is never a fun task. So I was delighted to learn a helpful trick from Martha Stewart for cleaning votive holders. Just put your votive holder into the freezer for a couple hours, and then the votive will shrink and pop right out. No mess. No fuss.

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Many of our favorite fruits and veggies have nutrient rich skins. Unfortunately, some conventional veggies are usually coated with wax.

The wax is used to increase the shelf life of the produce by preventing moisture loss, plus it protects them from bruising during the shipping process. The government does regulate the waxes used on food, but some of them may contain ingredients you don't necessarily want to put in your body like petroleum based solvent and wood rosins.

Organic produce is never waxed, so you can eat the skins of your organic fruits and veggies to your heart's content – after you wash them, of course! Here is a list of the most commonly waxed conventional produce:

• Apples
• Bell peppers
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Potatoes
• Lemons (if you use the zest)
• Potatoes

Fit's Tip: If you are curious about the produce wax, you should ask your grocer what kind of wax is used.

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Arezoo Kaviani worked at posh Mayfair salon in London for years, where she had a constant client waiting list. After much success she decided to venture out on her own. She now owns a private salon kitty-corner to the world-famous Harrods department store. Her specialties are extremely gentle waxing and facials, but she is so talented that her one-stop shop also offers a gamut of alluring body treatments.

While in London, I had the pleasure of meeting Azeroo for a bikini wax — not an easy feat, considering her schedule is jam-packed with clients that include Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. I was dying to ask her if Jake comes in for a manly parts waxing or just an eyebrow shaping, but I resisted — I didn't want to put her in a compromising position or anything.

The one product she used that smelled great and cut the pain of a wax by at least half was her tea tree oil wax. She also handed me an ice cube before she began to help numb the area —it's kinda fun, actually! When we were finished, she recommended a terrific anti-ingrown hair product that I want to share with you.

Arezoo Ingrown Hair Cream contains no alcohol, but it does have tons of tea tree oil. That acts as an antiseptic and drying agent, so those nasty, itchy bumps don't form on your nether regions. It smells better than most products in its genre, and it won't thin your skin like other alcohol-based ingrown hair products do.

The cream works wonders for anywhere on the body suffering from cuts, scrapes, burns, or blemishes. Plus, men can use it as an aftershave. It costs £15, but since Arezoo has so many international clients, she's willing to ship any orders for a minimum charge of $5.

Woman can spend a lot of time and money dealing with their pubic hair. Most women shave, wax, or do sugaring, so they have less or none at all. That got me thinking - Why do we have it in the first place?

Pubic hair actually serves a very important purpose. Just like your nose hairs trap pollen, dust, and germs from entering your nose, pubic hair protects your body too. It traps bacteria, preventing it from entering your vagina. If you remove it completely, as with a Brazilian bikini wax, you may be increasing your chances of developing bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections.

All of your hair (no matter where it is) helps to regulate your body temperature and can also reduce friction during body movement, which makes it less likely for your skin to get irritated down there.

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Since it's Beach Week here at BellaSugar, I thought I'd talk about a new at-home waxing kit I tried out. It's from Completely Bare, a New York-based spa specializing in nearly painless hair removal. I confess, I scoffed at the idea of a pain-free bikini wax, but after getting a freebie coupon in a Fashion Week goody bag this past February, I decided to try it. And what do you know? Truth in advertising! I had a great, surprisingly easy (and yes, ouchless) wax.

In-spa waxing really adds up, though, so I was excited to learn about Completely Bare Wax Works ($135, on sale for $99). It's an at-home, do-it-yourself kit using the same French wax that estheticians use at the spa. Would it give the same results at home? To find out, read more

Unwanted hair - it's a fact of life. Many women choose to shave or wax, but there might just be a sweeter way. Have you ever heard of sugaring?

Also known as Persian Waxing, it's a method of hair removal that has been around for thousands of years. Similar to waxing, it's supposed to be less painful because it only sticks to the hair, unlike wax which also sticks to your skin.

It's made out of all natural ingredients including sugar (honey or molasses is sometimes used instead), lemon juice, and water. You can play around with different recipes and do it yourself, but I recommend having a professional do it for you.

First, the area is dusted with powder, then warm sugar solution is applied and spread around with a tongue depressor. A porous piece of cloth is then pressed onto your skin. Just like waxing, the strip is then quickly pulled off in the opposite direction the hair grows.

Fit's Tips: If you want to stir up a batch of your own, make sure you have a candy thermometer. You can buy pre-made sugar solutions such as Moom and Nad's and have a regular hair removal party!