Many men have an issue with hair. Love it or hate it, have too much or too little, or have it in the wrong places, hair can be a problem for everyone involved with it.

For those of you who hate the stuff and want rid of it all together there could be an answer for you. Forget shaving, plucking and waxing and try the technique of sugaring.

Sugaring, I hear you cry, what's that? Well, basically it is a similar but more gentle technique than waxing. I met with Stuart Green, one of only three male IHBC certified sugaring practitioners in the country, to talk about the benefits of this method.

He told me that this style of hair removal dates right back to the ancient Egyptians who used a combination of natural ingredients (sugar, lemon juice and water), to remove their unwanted hair. Today the basic style of the method hasn't changed much, the same combination of ingredients is still used and the application is the same.

The 'sugar' comes in paste form and is spread over the body area that needs de-hairing - unlike waxing the sugar is not hot so there is no worry about burning - the paste is then peeled away.

Because the sugar only attaches itself to the hair and not the skin there is less pain involved than with waxing and less chance of bruising the skin. Does it hurt? is a frequently asked question about sugaring and the answer is a difficult one. Pain is a subjective matter so it really depends on the persons threshold and, of course certain areas of the body are more sensitive than others! However, the technique is said to be less painful than removing a plaster from a hairy arm and one of Stuart's clients even found the method ticklish!

Stuart works on a home visit basis and can travel to call out areas in Brighton, Hove, Lewes, Worthing, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath and various points in-between (but please don't get confused, there are no 'extras' to his service!).

He finds that the most common body parts that people want treating are backs and shoulders followed by chest, arms and legs. Stuart is sensitive to the needs of his clients and finds that people want the treatment for a variety of reasons. Some people find that excess hair can be embarrassing or uncomfortable, some want it removed for hygiene reasons and others because their partners don't like it. Hair removal can even enhance tattoos.

Sugaring is far more effective than shaving because, like a lawn, if you mow it, it is encouraged to grow back stronger. As sugaring removes the hair from the root any hair re-growth is finer and therefore easier and less painful to remove the next time round, there is also no stubble to worry about. Anyone can be sugared, even people with sensitive skin. As well as removing hair, sugaring removes dry and dead skin cells leaving you with soft and smooth skin - which can often help improve dry skin conditions - as well as allowing the skin to easily absorb moisturisers (and sun tan lotion). Although there is no guarantee that hair is permanently removed, if the area is treated regularly the hair will not have time to re-establish strong growth and it will grow back lighter and finer. As hair grows at different speeds on each person and on each part of the body (and also varies depending on the time of year) then the following could be an approximate guide to how often you would need to be sugared:

Stuart offers reasonable rates for the treatments starting at just £15 and can be contacted on: TEL (01273) 891432 or MOBILE (07976) 625117.
If you wish to find out more about the treatments available then you can either call Stuart or pick up a Sugaring for Men leaflet at The Brighton Oasis, Scene 22, Out Books and The Jack Horner pub in Worthing.

Stuart is available Monday to Friday afternoons and evenings to carry out treatments and you will need to have about an hour to spare.

If you are heading to the sun, make an appointment to be sugared 2 to 3 weeks before you hit the beach.