September 10, 2023 • 26 mins
Are you wrestling with the sticky challenges posed by humidity in your sugar waxing room? Do you dream of mastering the perfect sugar paste texture, regardless of the weather?
Courtney and Ben Leddy, the dynamic sugar duo, come to the rescue in this enlightening episode, armed with their valuable insights and experiences. They pull back the curtain on the often-overlooked topic of managing humidity levels in the treatment room, revealing how this vital aspect can significantly impact your sugar paste's texture and overall results.
The Leddys don't just stop at the problem; they delve into the solution, discussing the various tools you can leverage to manage these humidity levels, and, in turn, your sugar paste.
However, this episode isn't just about sugar paste and humidity. Courtney and Ben also share their inspiring journey into the sugar business, a tale of dedication and persistence that's sure to sweeten your day. They wrap up the episode with a rundown on where to find sugar goddess products. So, cozy up and prepare to get your world sugar-coated!
More About the Leddy's:
Courtney and Ben Leddy are the owners/operators of Sugar Goddess since 2017. Courtney operates the salon side of the business while Ben does the manufacturing and shipping of all the products Sugar Goddess offers to professional Sugarists. Working together in tandem, both have left their careers and dedicated themselves strictly to the art of Sugaring. Courtney and her husband have three children. Ben is an avid golfer 5 months out of the year when there is no snow in Minnesota, and Courtney spends much of her free time reading.
Buy a Humidity Gauge Here
Check out Sugar Goddess Here
If you’ve connected with or been inspired by this episode in any way, leave us a review and let us know your biggest takeaway - I’d love to hear how you embrace Sugaring For All!! And while you've got your phone out, make sure to follow us on Instagram @Love2Sugar.
If you are interested in learning more about Radeq Lab's Premium Prebiotic Sugar Line of products, you can find them at www.radeqlab.us.
If you are interested in our business planner you can find the SugarBoss Planner here --->https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/love2sugar
The link to our Monthly SugarBiz Blueprint: https://www.love2sugar.com/offers/cMhp76LA/checkout
Cheers to your Sweet Success!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to this sugar show, my beautiful sugar
babes.
It's Shannon, your sugar mama.
I am really excited to be back.
I had a really nice summer, notonly relaxing but really
engaging with our clients atSugar Mama's Beauty Collab in
Folsom, as you know my shop iscalled.
(00:20):
I got to spend a lot of timewith my clients, kind of getting
them ready for their vacationsand weddings and just really
focusing on them, and now we areready to put our focus back on
to love to sugar and making surethat our students and our
alumni are really, reallyprepared to kick butt in their
(00:44):
sugar business.
So I do welcome you back andit's good to be here, and I am
really excited to share with youthat we will be coming to you
twice sometimes more dependingon what I have to say, but at
minimum twice a month withguests and sweet success stories
and ingredient information andbusiness coaching, things like
(01:06):
that, so that you can reallytake your sugar business to the
next level.
It is an absolute honor to havesome of the guests that you
will hear, and I have beenstudying my friends and I am
going to share in the next fewmonths my studies and what I've
been working on and reallytaking my own knowledge.
(01:28):
I was a student, it was great,and I'm taking my own knowledge
to the next level to reallybring you some cool information
about skin health and as itrelates to sugaring.
So this next episode is withCourtney and Ben Letty.
I had a really greatconversation with Ben about the
(01:48):
troubles that you all werehaving over the summer and still
continue to have because it'swarm pretty much for the next
couple of months as well.
For a lot of you humidity a lotof you struggle with Poor
Texans, man, y'all are havingstruggles in the South.
So if you struggle withhumidity, ben and Courtney have
so graciously spent some timewith us to really educate you on
(02:11):
sugar paste.
As you know, it istemperamental and sugar paste
and how it reacts in thetreatment room and what you can
do, and they are just a fountainof information.
So cheers to all of you in yourhumid treatment rooms that have
been hanging in there allsummer and I hope you enjoyed
this episode as much as we didrecording it.
(02:31):
Welcome to this sugar show.
I'm Shannon O'Brien, bodysugaring expert and licensed
esthetician, who's taken my ownskincare business from zero to
multiple six figures and hashelped over 3,000 students learn
how to do the same.
Now let me tell you it wasn'tall that long ago that I lacked
the time, budget and knowledgeneeded to grow my small business
(02:52):
as a body sugaring pro.
If we were to press rewind,you'd see the many failed
attempts and lessons learnedthat have helped me build the
profitable business that I havetoday, one that runs on its own
and gives me the lifestyle andfreedom that I only used to
dream of.
I created the sugar show tohand you my secrets and give you
the simple, step-by-stepstrategies to help you do the
(03:14):
same.
So if you're a cosmetologist oresthetician or wax professional
who's looking to fill yourbooks, make more money in your
business and enjoy greaterbalance between your work and
home life, you are in the rightplace.
Let's dive in.
Courtney, welcome back.
(03:44):
First of all, thank you, andthis time you have brought your
partner in crime.
We've referred to Ben beforeand people see Ben inside the
app answering questions andvarious things, but we thought
we'd bring him on this time tochat a little bit about the
science behind the paste.
So welcome, ben, thank you.
(04:06):
Thank you for having me.
So, ben, I take it you don'tactually physically sugar.
We know that, courtney.
How did you get him in the mix?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
With the humidity piece of it, with the sugar
piece of it.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
How did you convince him that this little ball of
lemon, sugar and water he shouldget involved in the biz?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Well, because he's very mathematical and I'm like,
like I had said before, it'sjust sugar, lemon and water, so
it can't be hard for us.
We'll just pick a recipe offthe internet and tweak it.
So then, yeah, we decided wewere going to try, and then it
wasn't easy like we had thought,like I'm sure a lot of people
(04:49):
think you can just make it on it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
You're doing, playing your persistence, a lot of
persistence, and then there wasa lot of trial and a lot of
error, just keeping and gettingfrustrated and trying again, and
trying again, until finallyfinally getting to a point where
it was where she wanted it.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, it does take a lot of tweaks and I really
appreciate that you have joinedyour beautiful wife to really
support her and raise thisbusiness up to the next level,
because it's really hard to doit on your own when you're in
the treatment room and you'resugaring the masses.
To also have a production armof this business, that's no
(05:34):
small feat.
So kudos to you both and thankyou, ben, for being so
supportive of this badass bossbabe that you have been so lucky
to marry.
But thank you for being just apositive force in our community,
because you're answeringquestions in the app and in the
community and we reallyappreciate you and we're glad
that you're here.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's?
I don't know.
I've never thought I'd be hereto say that, yeah, I'm making
sugar and this is what we now do, for our life is just.
It blows my mind it really does.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Hey never say never and you never know where your
life is going to take you forsure.
So Courtney and I have beensugaring for a long time and we
get questions all the time abouthumidity, and before we started
recording the show, I admittedto them that I am very blessed
(06:27):
with living in California wherewe don't have crazy humidity
problems.
We do have temperaturefluctuations and if we do have
humidity it's like a fluke thingand you can really tell the
difference in your paste.
And so, ben, when you startedtalking about this in the app, I
was overjoyed because I knowenough.
(06:49):
I was telling them, I knowenough to be dangerous.
But the actual science and whatto do about a super humid
climate is just not what I dealwith every day.
So Courtney and I were talkingabout it as well, and that paste
can be tricky if you don't knowwhat you're doing in the humid
months for sure.
So talk about where you are,what your climate is, where your
(07:15):
treatment room is, and then,ben, we're going to let you take
it away on exactly what ishappening with the paste and
what we can do.
So, courtney, tell the audiencewhere you're located and kind
of when your seasons are thatthis is really a struggle for
all of you.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So we're located in central Minnesota and in the
summertime that has been a hugestruggle with the highs and lows
of the humidity.
So the paste is getting supersoft throughout the summer and
fall and then once winter comes,then it gets super stiff
because of the lack of thehumidity.
So all winter long it was verystiff and I was switching out my
(07:54):
balls of sugar more often, whenI can use one ball of sugar for
one whole leg at least, and Iwas using like five balls, which
is like this is ridiculous.
So then, yeah, so then we foundBen helped me find our sweet
spot and where the humiditylevels should be, and ever since
we have figured that out it hasbeen a game changer.
(08:16):
Yeah, for those of you that arelistening in the audience, it's
not just whether or not theroom is warm or cold.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
It's the air in the room and that's what the
humidity is, and Ben's going totalk about that in a minute.
But it's also the way differentcompanies make their paste and
whether they hold up when thathumidity happens.
So you know, it's not justsugar, goddess paste, it's all
(08:44):
pastes, because it's lemon,sugar and water Condensed down
into a paste.
It's food, and if food changestemperature or humidity, it's
going to change the consistencyof the product.
It just is.
So, ben, this is your time toshine.
My friend, help us tounderstand the humidity piece
and then the second piece willbe what we can do about it.
(09:06):
So, yeah, really, in thewintertime, courtney was
struggling to find the humidity.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, really, in the wintertime Courtney was
struggling and she had to startwearing braces because she was
going through a lot of sugar,and she's wearing braces on her
wrists at night, so she's stillon me.
What's going on?
We went through all differentthings.
We're trying to figure out whatwas wrong with sugar.
(09:34):
Eventually, as I eliminated allthe stuff where it wasn't my
product, it wasn't what wasbeing made in the process of
that, but it had to be somethingelse.
So I started looking intoscientific properties of sugar,
and sugar is hygroscopic, whichmeans it absorbs moisture from
the air.
There's also a coefficientwhere, if like where you're at
where there's not a lot ofhumidity, then it will draw
(09:56):
moisture from there.
So that's why it gets a littlebit more hard when there's very
little humidity, which was whatCourtney would do.
But so as I looked into that, Ifound out that, yes, that comes
a huge thing.
We started, I got a hygrometerto measure the humidity levels
in the room it also does thetemperature and we started
(10:18):
playing with it.
And once we started becausewhen we did it we did in the
wintertime we were working withabout 20% humidity level, which
is similar to a no-transcript.
Once we started putting somemoisture in the air, she noticed
a big difference.
And as we kept going andplaying with it, trying to find
that sweet spot, we were able todial it in through enough
(10:40):
workings of just multiple daysand trial and error and finding
out where we like, where wedon't like, and then threw it
out to the app and to othersugars to try and see if we had
similar results to them and thenso that they could also use
different pastes.
Because my theory was that, asyou said, all sugars the same
Basically.
I mean it's all lemon, sugarand water.
(11:01):
So it's all going to beaffected.
Yes, but it depends upon howmuch sugar or how much water,
how much lemon juice is put inthere.
It's all going to vary.
So our levels are specific forours, where other ones are going
to be a little bit different.
But once we found that sweetspot, it's been awesome.
It's made a huge difference forCourtney.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Which is the most important part of this story.
Yeah, right, right, okay.
So let's talk about what we cando.
So you're someone that lives inhumid conditions, how can we
tell how humid our room is?
Because maybe you're someonewho, like me, doesn't live in
humid conditions, but you'rehaving a humid day.
(11:45):
How can we measure the humidity?
And you mentioned that a momentago and we're going to put that
in the show notes but how doyou measure the humidity?
And then what do you do aboutit?
What is there to do with thepaste?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
but also in your room , so the way you measure
humidity is with a hugrometer.
That 15 bucks on Amazon givesyou real time as to what the
humidity level is in your arearoom, wherever you're at.
So if our range is 30% to 40%humidity, so as we were at 20%,
(12:21):
that means we needed to addmoisture into the air.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You get a humidifier.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You can find those on Amazon.
There's all different kinds ofprices in that, where most
people are going to be in thehigher humidity range.
So if you're above 40%, yoursugar is going to be softer,
it's going to be stickier, it'sgoing to be you're going to get
stuck more.
You need a dehumidifier thattakes moisture out of the air.
It's really and that's all itis.
(12:47):
It's not hard to control yourenvironment.
Most people already sugar in asalon, or have their own room or
something.
That's temperature controlled.
The environment, though, is, Imean, once the moment your sugar
is open to air, it is reactingto its environment because of
its hygroscopic nature.
So if you need to yeah, if youneed to put moisture in, you
need a humidifier, and if youneed to take moisture out, you
(13:08):
need a dehumidifier.
That's really all it is, and thehygrometer is simple.
If you read real time, it'ssuper simple to see, and if you
don't have something that willeither put in moisture or take
it out, you can at least usethat hygrometer to give you an
idea like okay, my levels are at45% humidity today.
(13:28):
I know I'm going to need to usesome more firmer paste, or I
can mix and blend, as your sugaris seen to love to do and get
to hear a lot about blending.
So if, yeah, if it's a higherone, then you know that you need
to use a higher paste, so atleast you can have a game plan
for that day, whereas if it'slower than okay, I'm going to
have to go with a softer pasteso that it will just make for a
(13:50):
better day, because, I don'tknow, I would not want to work
with a tool that doesn't workthe way it's supposed to and
that just makes it harder dayand you notice, efficient.
It costs time, money and sugarand gloves products.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
And frustration and client comfort, all of that.
So, courtney, what's yourtypical in the middle of summer?
It is hot, it is humid.
What is your typical day looklike when you get in?
For the temperature as itrelates to like keeping the
paste and the temperature andall of that about right.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Well, since we just started doing that, 70 degrees
is my sweet spot fortemperature-wise, but then
humidity it's usually about 40%.
That's what I find the paste isperfect.
Today when I got to work, it'sbeen really warm here, unusually
warm.
It went from freezing cold lastweek to 80 degrees today and
(14:48):
the so back.
When it was freezing cold lastweek I would come in.
Temperature was still was that70, but then the humidity levels
, because it was so cold, wereat 24%.
So then I would come in and Iturned on my dehumidifier excuse
me, my humidifier and broughtthe humidity up to 40% and then
I would turn it on really lowand so then it just can stay
(15:10):
consistent 40% all day.
Then today when I come in,still 70 degrees, but because
it's 80 degrees outside, thehumidity level was 50% today.
So starting off trying to bringthat down, it was sticky, it
was stickier.
I did a half a leg and it wasmy smooth was a lot more sticky
(15:32):
than normal.
So definitely that 40% isdefinitely that sweet spot for
us.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
How long does it take to get your room humidified or
dehumidified, would you say?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
For me.
I have a decent size room and asmaller humidifier.
It takes a couple of hours,probably like an hour and a half
, but I have it on full blastand then once it hits that, then
I just turn it down.
Either turn it off or I justturn it on very low, just so it
stays consistent throughout therest of the day.
Do?
Speaker 1 (16:05):
humidifiers or dehumidifiers have like a
thermostat.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
They will have.
There's some that have digitalcontrol on it, so you can put
the exact percentage that youwould like.
There's also an option of acontroller that if, depending on
which one you have, if youdon't have one with a digital
readout, you can plug it into acontroller which then plugs into
the wall, and then you will setthe percentage on the
controller and that will run thedehumidifier or humidifier at
(16:31):
that level.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I would imagine that's super helpful, huh?
Because then you're not havingto kind of adjust or get in
there.
Maybe you get in at 10 aminstead of 8 am one morning and
you realize your humidifierhasn't gone on.
You have, you're playing catchup almost at that point, yeah so
that at the you know the same.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
My warmers are always at a consistent level,
depending on you know how muchsugar is in the jar.
But it doesn't matter what yoursugar paste is set at, and the
warmer it's still gonna bestickier due to the humidity
levels.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Right, right.
So you would say it takes acouple of hours to if you're
super prepared, especially ifyou know it's hot, humid season
and then it takes.
Does it can stay consistentpretty well in your room, or is
it kind of a battle throughoutthe day?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
You know we I just ordered the dehumidifier, so,
being that we're just startingto play with this, the
humidifier, that piece that ifyou gotta watch it throughout
the day it will dip if I turn itoff, but it doesn't take that
long to bring it right back up.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Okay, okay.
So I know that if it's a littlebit humid in my room and we're
talking a little bit which iswhy I ask all these questions
because where I am a littlehumid is like a breeze for you
guys, you know.
So you're up in Minnesota,there's a lot of Texas and
Florida and the Southern statesthat listen into the sugar show.
(18:08):
That's why I ask all thesequestions, because some people
maybe have just been doingfacials and the humidity doesn't
really bother them, you know,and they don't realize that
sugar is really temperamental.
So I think there's a lot ofpeople that are listening to the
show thinking no wonder why mypace felt different yesterday.
You know, they're like becauseI get people that say, oh, I
(18:29):
think I got a bad batch of sugar, it's sticky all of a sudden,
and the answer is not oh,probably.
The answer is probably checkthe humidity of your room or the
temperature of your room.
You're not at 68 or 70, you'regonna be in trouble.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
It does it makes a huge difference, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Do you find that you switch to firmer pastes,
courtney, like will you switchto hardened medium because your
medium will just get so soft, orcan you stay with like medium
and soft, for example?
Can you stay there, or do youreally have to switch to the
firmer paste in the summer?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
I got a switch.
Now it's gonna be a gamechanger because now I'll be able
to use my smooth way more.
It'll be so nice, it won't beso sticky, whereas, like by
Brazilians, I use soft for byBrazilians across the board, but
when that humidity levels high,I have to go to a firmer paste
and grab the medium.
This could, yeah, just don'twant to get stuck in that area,
(19:33):
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
No, not at all.
Not only got.
Always have your strips on hand, just in casers Whoo, because
if you get stuck, sweat drippingdown your back and it's humid.
Yeah, there's almost nothingworse for a sugar pro.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Nope, and the sugar knows.
Like I told my students, I'mlike the sugar knows when you're
stuck and you're anxiousbecause you're just going to get
more stuck.
You know, it's just prepared.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So then obviously you're usingyour powder, your cleansing.
You have to make sure if you'relistening to this make sure you
cleanse properly, make sure youhave ample amount of powder.
You don't want to overdo it andhave it be cakey and kind of
gum up on you, because then yougot a whole powder mess too.
So there really is.
Now let's talk about shipping.
(20:22):
So there's probably a Benquestion because you are the man
behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
I'm the Coke and I'm the shipper.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So let's talk about the shipping of product in the
summer.
What is your recommendation?
Is it best, when you live inhumid areas, to order a lot of
it early, like they should beordering now for the whole
summer, or is it better to orderin smaller batches?
Just order firmer paste.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
First, I would say it depends on what your
environment is.
How controlled is it?
If you don't have control, isit going to be where you're
storing it then as well, is thatgoing to be stored in a
completely different area?
Whether or not to buy more orless, I wrap all of my sugar so
that no air can get into it,whereas sitting with a different
(21:11):
kind, if it's open to the air,it is going to react to there.
So it's sitting on the shelffor three, four months.
If you're down in Texas or inFlorida, where the humidity can
get extremely, extremely high,which you can't do too that
could definitely do something tothe base.
You open it up and you seespots around it and stuff.
(21:32):
It does get affected that way.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It's that gummy layer on top, probably when people
are talking to you sayingthey're getting a bad batch of
sugar.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
And for those of you that are in the audience, you
really should need to understandtoo that make sure that you
have it delivered somewhere,especially if you live somewhere
hot, that it's not going to besitting on the porch, Because so
many times I'm sure you getthis, we get this with the
training pace.
People say, oh, like you said,this paste is no good and it's
(22:05):
literally been sitting for threedays on your front porch and
100 degree weather.
In essence, cooking on yourporch it's like overcooking your
meat.
If you leave it out there, itis going to keep cooking.
So really be mindful with yourmailing address too.
So if you can send it somewherewhere it'll be delivered and
(22:29):
brought inside, like my shop, Iwouldn't leave it somewhere that
it's going to sit on the porch,Because I bet you get calls a
lot in the summer, huh.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It's not too bad.
We've gotten a couple, but I'vebeen one of the jinxed myself.
I've been quite lucky witheverything that goes through so
far, so I'd love to keep it thatway.
Because obviously I always wanteveryone to get their sugar and
have it be.
Oh, what is it supposed to be?
I don't want to know.
Returns or no fun.
(22:59):
I don't want to have to do thatWith what I'm able, I mean we do
shipping within 24 hours.
Usually everything that is sentout is within two days getting
it.
So people know that it's comingand hopefully they kind of wait
and take it so it's not sittingout on the porch in 100 degree
weather.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So anything else we need to know about humidity?
I mean, it seems like a reallysimple topic, but it can
literally be the bane of ourexistence as sugar pros.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
I would say definitely.
It's not expensive at all.
I mean, we got our dehumidifierand dehumidifier.
The dehumidifier was like 80bucks, humidifier was $50.
It's not hard, it does not takea class to do it all.
You just have to pay attentiona little bit and it makes such a
difference Even for newsugarists that are doing the Ice
(23:52):
Shred University.
If you're struggling, there's areason, and it could very well
be that the humidity levels arenot where the sugar pace is
supposed to be used at, which isgood to struggle.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah, yeah.
So get with your educator folks, get with your educator.
Get with your company.
Make sure that you are orderingthe proper amount of paste in
the proper formulas for yourarea.
Open your mouth, talk toCourtney and Ben, ask them
inside the app or the Facebookcommunity, or message them.
We have everything that youneed in the show notes and you,
(24:25):
too, can have a successfulsummer season, even if you live
in the humidity.
So thank you so much.
You guys.
I just, I just love you too.
I just you're my favoritehumans in the sugar world.
I think I just love you guys,and I am so honored to have you
always on the show and to besupporting you, and so thank you
(24:45):
for doing this hard work, ben.
We really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I enjoy this stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
That's my kind of thing, so well, we'll leave the
nerdy tech stuff to you.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I'll leave the sugar into you guys' profession that's
there you go.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Ask Mr Ben when it comes to humidity or nerdy
science stuff.
He's got you covered.
You need sugar stuff.
You call Courtney.
All right, y'all thank you somuch and we look forward to
seeing you God, I hope live atsome point soon.
The pandemic really got us in ain a tizzy and I really can
hope to see you at a show orsomething sometime soon, because
(25:19):
I can give you a hug, live.
And for those of you that arewondering how to get sugar,
goddess, like I said, you can godown into the show notes and
all the links will be there.
Have a fabulously sweet week.
Welcome back to this sugar show, my beautiful sugar
babes.
It's Shannon, your sugar mama.
I am really excited to be back.
I had a really nice summer, notonly relaxing but really
engaging with our clients atSugar Mama's Beauty Collab in
Folsom, as you know my shop iscalled.
(00:20):
I got to spend a lot of timewith my clients, kind of getting
them ready for their vacationsand weddings and just really
focusing on them, and now we areready to put our focus back on
to love to sugar and making surethat our students and our
alumni are really, reallyprepared to kick butt in their
(00:44):
sugar business.
So I do welcome you back andit's good to be here, and I am
really excited to share with youthat we will be coming to you
twice sometimes more dependingon what I have to say, but at
minimum twice a month withguests and sweet success stories
and ingredient information andbusiness coaching, things like
(01:06):
that, so that you can reallytake your sugar business to the
next level.
It is an absolute honor to havesome of the guests that you
will hear, and I have beenstudying my friends and I am
going to share in the next fewmonths my studies and what I've
been working on and reallytaking my own knowledge.
(01:28):
I was a student, it was great,and I'm taking my own knowledge
to the next level to reallybring you some cool information
about skin health and as itrelates to sugaring.
So this next episode is withCourtney and Ben Letty.
I had a really greatconversation with Ben about the
(01:48):
troubles that you all werehaving over the summer and still
continue to have because it'swarm pretty much for the next
couple of months as well.
For a lot of you humidity a lotof you struggle with Poor
Texans, man, y'all are havingstruggles in the South.
So if you struggle withhumidity, ben and Courtney have
so graciously spent some timewith us to really educate you on
(02:11):
sugar paste.
As you know, it istemperamental and sugar paste
and how it reacts in thetreatment room and what you can
do, and they are just a fountainof information.
So cheers to all of you in yourhumid treatment rooms that have
been hanging in there allsummer and I hope you enjoyed
this episode as much as we didrecording it.
(02:31):
Welcome to this sugar show.
I'm Shannon O'Brien, bodysugaring expert and licensed
esthetician, who's taken my ownskincare business from zero to
multiple six figures and hashelped over 3,000 students learn
how to do the same.
Now let me tell you it wasn'tall that long ago that I lacked
the time, budget and knowledgeneeded to grow my small business
(02:52):
as a body sugaring pro.
If we were to press rewind,you'd see the many failed
attempts and lessons learnedthat have helped me build the
profitable business that I havetoday, one that runs on its own
and gives me the lifestyle andfreedom that I only used to
dream of.
I created the sugar show tohand you my secrets and give you
the simple, step-by-stepstrategies to help you do the
(03:14):
same.
So if you're a cosmetologist oresthetician or wax professional
who's looking to fill yourbooks, make more money in your
business and enjoy greaterbalance between your work and
home life, you are in the rightplace.
Let's dive in.
Courtney, welcome back.
(03:44):
First of all, thank you, andthis time you have brought your
partner in crime.
We've referred to Ben beforeand people see Ben inside the
app answering questions andvarious things, but we thought
we'd bring him on this time tochat a little bit about the
science behind the paste.
So welcome, ben, thank you.
(04:06):
Thank you for having me.
So, ben, I take it you don'tactually physically sugar.
We know that, courtney.
How did you get him in the mix?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
With the humidity piece of it, with the sugar
piece of it.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
How did you convince him that this little ball of
lemon, sugar and water he shouldget involved in the biz?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Well, because he's very mathematical and I'm like,
like I had said before, it'sjust sugar, lemon and water, so
it can't be hard for us.
We'll just pick a recipe offthe internet and tweak it.
So then, yeah, we decided wewere going to try, and then it
wasn't easy like we had thought,like I'm sure a lot of people
(04:49):
think you can just make it on it.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
You're doing, playing your persistence, a lot of
persistence, and then there wasa lot of trial and a lot of
error, just keeping and gettingfrustrated and trying again, and
trying again, until finallyfinally getting to a point where
it was where she wanted it.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, it does take a lot of tweaks and I really
appreciate that you have joinedyour beautiful wife to really
support her and raise thisbusiness up to the next level,
because it's really hard to doit on your own when you're in
the treatment room and you'resugaring the masses.
To also have a production armof this business, that's no
(05:34):
small feat.
So kudos to you both and thankyou, ben, for being so
supportive of this badass bossbabe that you have been so lucky
to marry.
But thank you for being just apositive force in our community,
because you're answeringquestions in the app and in the
community and we reallyappreciate you and we're glad
that you're here.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's?
I don't know.
I've never thought I'd be hereto say that, yeah, I'm making
sugar and this is what we now do, for our life is just.
It blows my mind it really does.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Hey never say never and you never know where your
life is going to take you forsure.
So Courtney and I have beensugaring for a long time and we
get questions all the time abouthumidity, and before we started
recording the show, I admittedto them that I am very blessed
(06:27):
with living in California wherewe don't have crazy humidity
problems.
We do have temperaturefluctuations and if we do have
humidity it's like a fluke thingand you can really tell the
difference in your paste.
And so, ben, when you startedtalking about this in the app, I
was overjoyed because I knowenough.
(06:49):
I was telling them, I knowenough to be dangerous.
But the actual science and whatto do about a super humid
climate is just not what I dealwith every day.
So Courtney and I were talkingabout it as well, and that paste
can be tricky if you don't knowwhat you're doing in the humid
months for sure.
So talk about where you are,what your climate is, where your
(07:15):
treatment room is, and then,ben, we're going to let you take
it away on exactly what ishappening with the paste and
what we can do.
So, courtney, tell the audiencewhere you're located and kind
of when your seasons are thatthis is really a struggle for
all of you.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So we're located in central Minnesota and in the
summertime that has been a hugestruggle with the highs and lows
of the humidity.
So the paste is getting supersoft throughout the summer and
fall and then once winter comes,then it gets super stiff
because of the lack of thehumidity.
So all winter long it was verystiff and I was switching out my
(07:54):
balls of sugar more often, whenI can use one ball of sugar for
one whole leg at least, and Iwas using like five balls, which
is like this is ridiculous.
So then, yeah, so then we foundBen helped me find our sweet
spot and where the humiditylevels should be, and ever since
we have figured that out it hasbeen a game changer.
(08:16):
Yeah, for those of you that arelistening in the audience, it's
not just whether or not theroom is warm or cold.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
It's the air in the room and that's what the
humidity is, and Ben's going totalk about that in a minute.
But it's also the way differentcompanies make their paste and
whether they hold up when thathumidity happens.
So you know, it's not justsugar, goddess paste, it's all
(08:44):
pastes, because it's lemon,sugar and water Condensed down
into a paste.
It's food, and if food changestemperature or humidity, it's
going to change the consistencyof the product.
It just is.
So, ben, this is your time toshine.
My friend, help us tounderstand the humidity piece
and then the second piece willbe what we can do about it.
(09:06):
So, yeah, really, in thewintertime, courtney was
struggling to find the humidity.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, really, in the wintertime Courtney was
struggling and she had to startwearing braces because she was
going through a lot of sugar,and she's wearing braces on her
wrists at night, so she's stillon me.
What's going on?
We went through all differentthings.
We're trying to figure out whatwas wrong with sugar.
(09:34):
Eventually, as I eliminated allthe stuff where it wasn't my
product, it wasn't what wasbeing made in the process of
that, but it had to be somethingelse.
So I started looking intoscientific properties of sugar,
and sugar is hygroscopic, whichmeans it absorbs moisture from
the air.
There's also a coefficientwhere, if like where you're at
where there's not a lot ofhumidity, then it will draw
(09:56):
moisture from there.
So that's why it gets a littlebit more hard when there's very
little humidity, which was whatCourtney would do.
But so as I looked into that, Ifound out that, yes, that comes
a huge thing.
We started, I got a hygrometerto measure the humidity levels
in the room it also does thetemperature and we started
(10:18):
playing with it.
And once we started becausewhen we did it we did in the
wintertime we were working withabout 20% humidity level, which
is similar to a no-transcript.
Once we started putting somemoisture in the air, she noticed
a big difference.
And as we kept going andplaying with it, trying to find
that sweet spot, we were able todial it in through enough
(10:40):
workings of just multiple daysand trial and error and finding
out where we like, where wedon't like, and then threw it
out to the app and to othersugars to try and see if we had
similar results to them and thenso that they could also use
different pastes.
Because my theory was that, asyou said, all sugars the same
Basically.
I mean it's all lemon, sugarand water.
(11:01):
So it's all going to beaffected.
Yes, but it depends upon howmuch sugar or how much water,
how much lemon juice is put inthere.
It's all going to vary.
So our levels are specific forours, where other ones are going
to be a little bit different.
But once we found that sweetspot, it's been awesome.
It's made a huge difference forCourtney.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Which is the most important part of this story.
Yeah, right, right, okay.
So let's talk about what we cando.
So you're someone that lives inhumid conditions, how can we
tell how humid our room is?
Because maybe you're someonewho, like me, doesn't live in
humid conditions, but you'rehaving a humid day.
(11:45):
How can we measure the humidity?
And you mentioned that a momentago and we're going to put that
in the show notes but how doyou measure the humidity?
And then what do you do aboutit?
What is there to do with thepaste?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
but also in your room , so the way you measure
humidity is with a hugrometer.
That 15 bucks on Amazon givesyou real time as to what the
humidity level is in your arearoom, wherever you're at.
So if our range is 30% to 40%humidity, so as we were at 20%,
(12:21):
that means we needed to addmoisture into the air.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You get a humidifier.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
You can find those on Amazon.
There's all different kinds ofprices in that, where most
people are going to be in thehigher humidity range.
So if you're above 40%, yoursugar is going to be softer,
it's going to be stickier, it'sgoing to be you're going to get
stuck more.
You need a dehumidifier thattakes moisture out of the air.
It's really and that's all itis.
(12:47):
It's not hard to control yourenvironment.
Most people already sugar in asalon, or have their own room or
something.
That's temperature controlled.
The environment, though, is, Imean, once the moment your sugar
is open to air, it is reactingto its environment because of
its hygroscopic nature.
So if you need to yeah, if youneed to put moisture in, you
need a humidifier, and if youneed to take moisture out, you
(13:08):
need a dehumidifier.
That's really all it is, and thehygrometer is simple.
If you read real time, it'ssuper simple to see, and if you
don't have something that willeither put in moisture or take
it out, you can at least usethat hygrometer to give you an
idea like okay, my levels are at45% humidity today.
(13:28):
I know I'm going to need to usesome more firmer paste, or I
can mix and blend, as your sugaris seen to love to do and get
to hear a lot about blending.
So if, yeah, if it's a higherone, then you know that you need
to use a higher paste, so atleast you can have a game plan
for that day, whereas if it'slower than okay, I'm going to
have to go with a softer pasteso that it will just make for a
(13:50):
better day, because, I don'tknow, I would not want to work
with a tool that doesn't workthe way it's supposed to and
that just makes it harder dayand you notice, efficient.
It costs time, money and sugarand gloves products.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
And frustration and client comfort, all of that.
So, courtney, what's yourtypical in the middle of summer?
It is hot, it is humid.
What is your typical day looklike when you get in?
For the temperature as itrelates to like keeping the
paste and the temperature andall of that about right.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Well, since we just started doing that, 70 degrees
is my sweet spot fortemperature-wise, but then
humidity it's usually about 40%.
That's what I find the paste isperfect.
Today when I got to work, it'sbeen really warm here, unusually
warm.
It went from freezing cold lastweek to 80 degrees today and
(14:48):
the so back.
When it was freezing cold lastweek I would come in.
Temperature was still was that70, but then the humidity levels
, because it was so cold, wereat 24%.
So then I would come in and Iturned on my dehumidifier excuse
me, my humidifier and broughtthe humidity up to 40% and then
I would turn it on really lowand so then it just can stay
(15:10):
consistent 40% all day.
Then today when I come in,still 70 degrees, but because
it's 80 degrees outside, thehumidity level was 50% today.
So starting off trying to bringthat down, it was sticky, it
was stickier.
I did a half a leg and it wasmy smooth was a lot more sticky
(15:32):
than normal.
So definitely that 40% isdefinitely that sweet spot for
us.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
How long does it take to get your room humidified or
dehumidified, would you say?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
For me.
I have a decent size room and asmaller humidifier.
It takes a couple of hours,probably like an hour and a half
, but I have it on full blastand then once it hits that, then
I just turn it down.
Either turn it off or I justturn it on very low, just so it
stays consistent throughout therest of the day.
Do?
Speaker 1 (16:05):
humidifiers or dehumidifiers have like a
thermostat.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
They will have.
There's some that have digitalcontrol on it, so you can put
the exact percentage that youwould like.
There's also an option of acontroller that if, depending on
which one you have, if youdon't have one with a digital
readout, you can plug it into acontroller which then plugs into
the wall, and then you will setthe percentage on the
controller and that will run thedehumidifier or humidifier at
(16:31):
that level.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I would imagine that's super helpful, huh?
Because then you're not havingto kind of adjust or get in
there.
Maybe you get in at 10 aminstead of 8 am one morning and
you realize your humidifierhasn't gone on.
You have, you're playing catchup almost at that point, yeah so
that at the you know the same.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
My warmers are always at a consistent level,
depending on you know how muchsugar is in the jar.
But it doesn't matter what yoursugar paste is set at, and the
warmer it's still gonna bestickier due to the humidity
levels.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Right, right.
So you would say it takes acouple of hours to if you're
super prepared, especially ifyou know it's hot, humid season
and then it takes.
Does it can stay consistentpretty well in your room, or is
it kind of a battle throughoutthe day?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
You know we I just ordered the dehumidifier, so,
being that we're just startingto play with this, the
humidifier, that piece that ifyou gotta watch it throughout
the day it will dip if I turn itoff, but it doesn't take that
long to bring it right back up.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Okay, okay.
So I know that if it's a littlebit humid in my room and we're
talking a little bit which iswhy I ask all these questions
because where I am a littlehumid is like a breeze for you
guys, you know.
So you're up in Minnesota,there's a lot of Texas and
Florida and the Southern statesthat listen into the sugar show.
(18:08):
That's why I ask all thesequestions, because some people
maybe have just been doingfacials and the humidity doesn't
really bother them, you know,and they don't realize that
sugar is really temperamental.
So I think there's a lot ofpeople that are listening to the
show thinking no wonder why mypace felt different yesterday.
You know, they're like becauseI get people that say, oh, I
(18:29):
think I got a bad batch of sugar, it's sticky all of a sudden,
and the answer is not oh,probably.
The answer is probably checkthe humidity of your room or the
temperature of your room.
You're not at 68 or 70, you'regonna be in trouble.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
It does it makes a huge difference, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Do you find that you switch to firmer pastes,
courtney, like will you switchto hardened medium because your
medium will just get so soft, orcan you stay with like medium
and soft, for example?
Can you stay there, or do youreally have to switch to the
firmer paste in the summer?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
I got a switch.
Now it's gonna be a gamechanger because now I'll be able
to use my smooth way more.
It'll be so nice, it won't beso sticky, whereas, like by
Brazilians, I use soft for byBrazilians across the board, but
when that humidity levels high,I have to go to a firmer paste
and grab the medium.
This could, yeah, just don'twant to get stuck in that area,
(19:33):
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
No, not at all.
Not only got.
Always have your strips on hand, just in casers Whoo, because
if you get stuck, sweat drippingdown your back and it's humid.
Yeah, there's almost nothingworse for a sugar pro.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Nope, and the sugar knows.
Like I told my students, I'mlike the sugar knows when you're
stuck and you're anxiousbecause you're just going to get
more stuck.
You know, it's just prepared.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So then obviously you're usingyour powder, your cleansing.
You have to make sure if you'relistening to this make sure you
cleanse properly, make sure youhave ample amount of powder.
You don't want to overdo it andhave it be cakey and kind of
gum up on you, because then yougot a whole powder mess too.
So there really is.
Now let's talk about shipping.
(20:22):
So there's probably a Benquestion because you are the man
behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
I'm the Coke and I'm the shipper.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So let's talk about the shipping of product in the
summer.
What is your recommendation?
Is it best, when you live inhumid areas, to order a lot of
it early, like they should beordering now for the whole
summer, or is it better to orderin smaller batches?
Just order firmer paste.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
First, I would say it depends on what your
environment is.
How controlled is it?
If you don't have control, isit going to be where you're
storing it then as well, is thatgoing to be stored in a
completely different area?
Whether or not to buy more orless, I wrap all of my sugar so
that no air can get into it,whereas sitting with a different
(21:11):
kind, if it's open to the air,it is going to react to there.
So it's sitting on the shelffor three, four months.
If you're down in Texas or inFlorida, where the humidity can
get extremely, extremely high,which you can't do too that
could definitely do something tothe base.
You open it up and you seespots around it and stuff.
(21:32):
It does get affected that way.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It's that gummy layer on top, probably when people
are talking to you sayingthey're getting a bad batch of
sugar.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
And for those of you that are in the audience, you
really should need to understandtoo that make sure that you
have it delivered somewhere,especially if you live somewhere
hot, that it's not going to besitting on the porch, Because so
many times I'm sure you getthis, we get this with the
training pace.
People say, oh, like you said,this paste is no good and it's
(22:05):
literally been sitting for threedays on your front porch and
100 degree weather.
In essence, cooking on yourporch it's like overcooking your
meat.
If you leave it out there, itis going to keep cooking.
So really be mindful with yourmailing address too.
So if you can send it somewherewhere it'll be delivered and
(22:29):
brought inside, like my shop, Iwouldn't leave it somewhere that
it's going to sit on the porch,Because I bet you get calls a
lot in the summer, huh.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It's not too bad.
We've gotten a couple, but I'vebeen one of the jinxed myself.
I've been quite lucky witheverything that goes through so
far, so I'd love to keep it thatway.
Because obviously I always wanteveryone to get their sugar and
have it be.
Oh, what is it supposed to be?
I don't want to know.
Returns or no fun.
(22:59):
I don't want to have to do thatWith what I'm able, I mean we do
shipping within 24 hours.
Usually everything that is sentout is within two days getting
it.
So people know that it's comingand hopefully they kind of wait
and take it so it's not sittingout on the porch in 100 degree
weather.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So anything else we need to know about humidity?
I mean, it seems like a reallysimple topic, but it can
literally be the bane of ourexistence as sugar pros.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
I would say definitely.
It's not expensive at all.
I mean, we got our dehumidifierand dehumidifier.
The dehumidifier was like 80bucks, humidifier was $50.
It's not hard, it does not takea class to do it all.
You just have to pay attentiona little bit and it makes such a
difference Even for newsugarists that are doing the Ice
(23:52):
Shred University.
If you're struggling, there's areason, and it could very well
be that the humidity levels arenot where the sugar pace is
supposed to be used at, which isgood to struggle.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah, yeah.
So get with your educator folks, get with your educator.
Get with your company.
Make sure that you are orderingthe proper amount of paste in
the proper formulas for yourarea.
Open your mouth, talk toCourtney and Ben, ask them
inside the app or the Facebookcommunity, or message them.
We have everything that youneed in the show notes and you,
(24:25):
too, can have a successfulsummer season, even if you live
in the humidity.
So thank you so much.
You guys.
I just, I just love you too.
I just you're my favoritehumans in the sugar world.
I think I just love you guys,and I am so honored to have you
always on the show and to besupporting you, and so thank you
(24:45):
for doing this hard work, ben.
We really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I enjoy this stuff.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
That's my kind of thing, so well, we'll leave the
nerdy tech stuff to you.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I'll leave the sugar into you guys' profession that's
there you go.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Ask Mr Ben when it comes to humidity or nerdy
science stuff.
He's got you covered.
You need sugar stuff.
You call Courtney.
All right, y'all thank you somuch and we look forward to
seeing you God, I hope live atsome point soon.
The pandemic really got us in ain a tizzy and I really can
hope to see you at a show orsomething sometime soon, because
(25:19):
I can give you a hug, live.
And for those of you that arewondering how to get sugar,
goddess, like I said, you can godown into the show notes and
all the links will be there.
Have a fabulously sweet week.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!