Sweet Sweet Beauty

The next time a sugar craving hits, think beauty instead of bakery! A spoonful of sugar in some of your beauty products could really sweeten the deal.

"Many people don't realize that some of our favorite beauty products are actually sugar-based beauty products," says Rachel Gower, owner of The Upper Hand salon. She says five types of sugar commonly show up on the beauty shelf: white sugar, brown sugar, black sugar, glycolic acid and keto sugar. While they're all derived from sugar cane, each one has a different sweet spot in your beauty routine. Here are some of her favorite sugar-based beauty products.
White Sugar:

• Bliss Blood Orange & White Pepper Sugar Scrub (about $36 @ Sephora)
• Primal Elements Sugar Whip (about $22 @ The Upper Hand Royal Oaks)

Make Your Own Sugar Scrub:
Mix and slather on your skin

• 3 tbsp Turbinado Raw Sugar
• 2 tbsp Jojoba Oil
• 1 tbsp Castor Oil
• 1 dropper of liquid Vitamin E

Brown Sugar:

• Fresh Sugar Lip Polish (about $23 @ Sephora)
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment (about $23 @ Sephora)
• Fresh Brown Sugar Hand Cream (about $19 @ Sephora)
• Jane Iredale Sugar & Butter (about $26 @ The Upper Hand, not featured)

Black Sugar:

• Shu Uemura Tasai Cream (about $38 @ The Upper Hand)

Glycolic Acid:

• Jan Marini Bioglycolic Cleanser (about $32 @ The Upper Hand)
• DDF Glycolic 10% Exfoliating Moisturizer (about $50 @ Sephora)
• Jan Marini Bioglycolic Resurfacing Body Scrub (about $38 @ The Upper Hand)

Keto Sugar (The most widely used active ingredient in sunless tanners is DHA (dihydroxyacetone), a keto-sugar that produces an enzymatic reaction within skin cells, causing them to turn varying shades of bronze.):

• Image Body Spa Bronzer (about $29 @ The Upper Hand)
• Jan Marini Sunless Tanner for the Face (available @ The Upper Hand)