My name is Debb Buhnai and I'm a Sugarer. I've been sugaring now for 4 years. Body Sugaring is a form of hair removal using sugar - it's an ancient Egyptian method so it's been passed down for centuries and centuries. Of course it's been modified and it's more aesthetically pleasing than it used to be, but basically it's sugar and lemon juice.

[Typical Work Day:]

I usually start at nine in the morning and go till about nine or ten at night, so it's a long day, but I do that to myself. I only work three days a week and they're very long days. It depends if somebody would come in for an upper lip, which would be fifteen minutes, as opposed to full body, which could be two and a half hours. So, I can see maybe five clients a day or maybe twenty. It really depends on what's actually being done as to how long my day is or how intense.

[Decision To Enter This Particular Occupation:]

I'm a Registered Nurse and I was Nursing, so I've got a total career change. How do you get into it? I was having it done and I had waxed prior to that and I noticed there was a difference in the Sugaring as opposed to Waxing. So I thought I would try this and do something as long as I recoup the money I invest, I would give it a try. So everybody said "Give yourself two years." and after six months I was really happy with how it went.

[Education & Training:]

The course is a post-graduate Aesthetic course or Electrology. Someone lay…a lay person off the street can take it. Generally, it's a three-day course. You take the three-day course of training and then you have to Apprentice. So you have to do "X" amount of arms, legs, facial, whatever. Once you accomplish that, you come back, we get together and you come in for certification. There's a couple exams that you have to do. It's very easy when you think of, you know, a four-year Nursing Program as opposed to a three-day Hair Removal Course. You can do just as well.

[Skills Needed:]

As in any small business, you have to work very hard, be very self-disciplined, roll with the punches like the ups and downs. Any mistakes that are made, they're your own. You can't blame anybody but yourself. I think, basically, the most important is the people skills - enjoy working with people. What I'm doing, working for myself to be able to work for yourself, being self-motivated, very disciplined - that's important for this career choice, as opposed if you worked for somebody. You wouldn't need that as much because you have a boss. Some days can be very frustrating, depending on what type of hair the person has. Some are a challenge to work on, but I've worked now for over four years and I can probably count how many bad day's I've had on one hand.

[Advice For Someone Entering This Field Of Work:]

I would very strongly recommend to take either business classes, do reading up on it, be set up by an Accountant or a Bookkeeper, have a business plan, know where you want to be, "Where do I want to be in five years. Where do I want to be in ten years?". That is very important. You just can't flounder, you have to have goals and set them. When you achieve them, you pat yourself on the back and it's great, you know, we went there, or we went to this place for a trip and we bought that. Whatever your goals are, mine happen to be monetary.

[Personal Characteristics & Attitude:]

You have to feel comfortable with what you're doing. If you don't show comfort, then you won't make them comfortable. So you have to take the lead and just pretend what you're doing, everybody out there gets it done. Most people that have the hair, whether they're women or men, are very uncomfortable and embarrassed by it. So you just make it out as if everybody has this problem, no matter what body part you're dealing with, as if it is an everyday occurrence for you to be doing that.

[Most Satisfying Aspect:]

The best part is that I get to make my own hours and it's very flexible. I do work out of my home, so I'm there to keep an eye on the kids. That's probably the best, to be your own boss, I enjoy that.

[Most Challenging Aspect:]

The worst part is that you have to be your own boss - you have to know how to push yourself, time management, and that's kind of tough when you're working at home. It's like, "Jeez, I think I'll sit back and watch a soap." or, "Maybe I should make some phone calls.". You have those types of choices to make. I've quit Nursing and this is it, this is my life.