After hiding under jeans and leggings during the long winter months, it’s finally time for your legs to come out of hibernation and greet the world again. You may have yielded to laziness, used razors and skipped your daily moisturizing ritual, but unless you swore off sexy summer fashion, you’ll need to revamp your legs. In order to strut your stuff with confidence when you wear the “barely there” shorts and skirts, just follow a few simple steps and glamorize your legs for the summer:

Lose the hair the Turkish Way: Waxing has been practiced and mastered in the Middle East and Turkey for thousands of years. So ditch those razors, and head to a kuaför (hair salon) to get your hair removed the old fashioned way. You can opt for a luxurious salon in Etiler or Nişantaşı, or simply walk into a local salon near where you live. In the past, women would make their own ağda (sugaring paste) at home with a sugar and lemon mixture (this method is known abroad as sugaring—see below if you want to try it at home yourself.) These days, the more technologically advanced and convenient version of wax (called sir ağda) is commonly used at salons.

DIY: The ingredients to make sugaring paste are sugar, lemon, and water, although the particular formulas vary as some choose to use white sugar instead of natural and some prefer to add lemon salt instead of lemon juice. Here is what you’ll need:

• 2 cups of sugar
• ¼ cups of lemon juice
• ¼ cups of water

Put the ingredients in a bowl, and slowly bring to a boil over low heat, stirring continuously. The mixture will take a liquid form, and once it starts bubbling up, remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. It’s imperative that you wait for the liquid to cool properly or you’ll burn yourself. Then, pour the golden-colored mixture on a wet surface. Make sure that the surface is made of marble or stone so that the mixture doesn’t stick. Here is the more difficult bit: you need to work the mixture in your hands until it becomes easy to smooth on the skin (this may require a few practice runs for the novice). After the paste reaches the right consistency, either apply the paste on the desired area with your hands (it should not stick to your hands) or store in a microwaveable container for later use (you’ll need to reheat the paste to a lukewarm temperature for future application). Spread the paste on your skin (either with a spatula or your hands) in the direction of hair growth and rip it off (with your hands or using strips of cotton cloth) in the opposite direction. Do this quickly with the flick of a wrist for minimal pain.

The procedure may sound a bit complicated and time-consuming, but sugaring is known to be less painful than waxing as the paste doesn’t stick to the skin, so it would be worth your time and effort.

Rejuvenate your skin at a hamam:

In the days of the Ottoman Empire, ladies would spend an entire day at the hamam (Turkish bath), bringing along a retinue of attendants with large baskets containing food and refreshments, as well as various utensils and towels. The day would be spent idly chatting, alternating between the steam room and the cooler atmosphere of the relaxation rooms. You can still get a taste of this age-old experience today in a traditional hamam. A visit to the Turkish bath is a more sober affair these days, but you will still be handed the peştemal to wrap yourself in and the metal bowl to pour water over yourself. Attendants are also still available to give customers the vigorous and foamy scrub that removes layers of dead cells and leaves the skin as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Learn more about hamams and pick a hamam from our beauty listings.

Bring your toes to life:

Now is the season for flip flops and sandals, so make sure your feet look the part before you put your boots away in storage. Get a pedicure and put on some lively nail polish. How about Pantone Honeysuckle?

Dress up your feet:

Now that your legs and feet look fantastic, get yourself a nice pair of sandals to show off what you’ve got. High-heeled or flat, opt for something that’s comfortable and sexy.