It was my first time sugaring and it was definitely less painful than wax. Although it's too early to say whether it's better than hot wax in terms of ingrown hairs, which was my biggest issue it. I would give it 5 stars but on closer inspection when I got home I could see quite a few little hairs so had to use tweezers. Overall great experience but might need to pay closer attention to hairs in more difficult to reach areas next time.