I picked up a container of Parissa Strip free Hot Wax a few weeks ago and have used it a few times, and I have to say it’s great stuff. You heat it a little on the stove till it becomes gooey, smear it on with the tongue depressor, wait till it’s mostly dry, and rip it off. I tried it, and all my hair was removed instantaneously. It’s pretty amazing how well it works without using linen strips or anything. I actually wish it would remove less hair — it really, really hurts to have every single hair removed at once. But then I had absolutely no hair whatsoever for weeks. It’s fantastic! And much more effective than the Parissa cold wax strips. Also, the azulene oil it comes with is nice for removing remnants of wax.
Unfortunately, while Parissa wax is not tested on animals and is made from all natural ingredients, it is not certified vegan or organic. This doesn’t bother me, but I know some people only like to buy organic and/or vegan products, so if you’re looking for that, Parissa isn’t for you. (Though I’m a little confused — Parissa claims its products are “made from natural ingredients,” and for the most part they contain natural ingredients like resin or beeswax, but one of the ingredients in this wax is paraffin — isn’t paraffin an oil by-product and therefore not natural? Maybe this is one product of Parissa’s that isn’t all natural?)
I only had a few problems with the wax that were so minor I decided not to remove a star from them. The first minor problem is that heating up wax is always messy and time consuming — it’s much less prep work to just shave. But that’s true of all waxing products. The second minor problem I had with the Parissa wax was that it’s green, so when it drips on something (which of course it does the way all wax products do) it leaves green wax that’s very obvious on the stove, on my tee shirt, etc. The green stain on my tee shirt is never going to come out — luckily I don’t care about that tee shirt, but still, it’s annoying. If I had used nongreen wax, of course that wax wouldn’t come out either, but it wouldn’t be so obvious. The third minor problem I had was that I don’t care for the metal tin you heat up to melt the wax. I don’t have a special wax melting kit, so I ended up having to heat it on low on the stove. I much prefer microwaving little plastic bottles of wax — they don’t drip wax that catches fire and causes flare ups and nasty black burnt wax spills on my stovetop, and it’s easier to control the temperature — sometimes it’s hard to watch the stove to make sure the wax isn’t getting too hot and boiling over or fallen over and spilling wax everywhere because the little metal tin is unstable. However, I’m sure this is perfect for people who hate microwaves or have a special wax melting kit. Plus I had an old surgi-wax plastic bottle that I put the Parissa wax into and microwaved after a few messy wax spills on the stovetop, and that works perfectly.
Parissa Strip Free Hot Wax is available for $5.97 at Amazon.com, and many natural groceries/drugstores.
Ingredients: Wax: Gum Resin, Beeswax, Paraffin, Azulene Oil: IPM, Vitamin E, Azulene (chamomile extract), Menthol
Categories : 5/5 stars, Parissa, cruelty free, cruelty free companies, hair removal
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fardad
June 12th, 2007 at 11:38 am
hi emily, thank you for the review and the comments about parissa hot wax. i thought i would take the time to personally answer some of the concerns/questions that you had:
1) organic/vegan: unfortunately, a number of the ingredients that we use are unavailable in the organic format or simply cost prohibitive. for example, most people buy at-home hair removal products in order to economize vs salon visits. regarding vegan…as you know, all our products are certified cruelty free. none of our products use any animal ingredients, however, several of our products use beeswax, therefore, we can not claim that these items are vegan; however, our warm wax, wax strips and body sugar products are vegan.
2) green: a major advantage of our hot wax vs other hot waxes is that the product contains azulene (the active ingredient in chamomille), azulene is extremely blue and gives our wax a green colour when it mixes with the yellow beeswax.
3) tin package: we have been unable to find a container that can withstand the heat in the microwave for melting this type of product. as soon as we do, we’ll be able to have a plastic container. as you’re aware, some people also do prefer not using a microwave. fyi, you can heat your wax on a coffee cup warmer or on your coffer perculator. finally, wax warmers are available on our website for under $15. alternately, you can buy a full kit that includes the warmer, aftercare oil and the hot wax for under $30.
4) “natural ingredients”: the parissa hot wax is the only product we produce that uses a petroleum product (parafin wax). although we are looking to replace this with a soy wax, we have been unable to find a certified soy wax that is GMO free. when referring to natural ingredients, we use a guideline of natural ingredients provided by natural food retailers. most natural food retailers accept mineral oil and parrafin wax as ‘natural ingredients’ for body care products since the products are not synthetically derived.
should you have any further questions or concerns please let me know. have a great day.
fardad moayeri: co-owner, parissa labs.
Emily
June 12th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Hi Fardad,
Thanks for writing a great response and addressing all my points! I had no idea the green color of Parissa wax was caused by azulene — that’s nice to know — and it’s great to know there’s a reason for the nonorganic- and nonveganness, tin package, and paraffin. I think Parissa products are definitely a step above what’s available at the local drugstore, and I think they are they only actually CCIC-approved cruelty free wax product, so I’m definitely going to keep using them. Good luck finding a soy wax that is GMO free — that sounds impressive!
Sylvia
September 15th, 2007 at 2:25 am
I’m sorry, but I just have to stop biting my tongue here.
Emily, you were right in the first place. Paraffin is a petroleum product and is not natural. The term “natural” is very loosely used in the beauty industry and does not always translate to what we know “natural” to mean. Therefore if the product is marked natural and it has paraffin in it then, strictly speaking, it’s not natural. Simple.
PhytoWax utilises soy product made from GMO free stock although the price is higher and this may well be a factor in its omission from the Parissa product. I really don’t buy what Fardad has told you, sorry.
Using a stovetop is dangerous. Buy a wax warmer if you can.
Emily
September 15th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for the information — I agree that paraffin sounds like a weird component for a “natural” wax, and I think that’s wonderful that PhytoWax has a soy wax that is even GMO free — that sounds fantastic! I hope Parissa starts buying it. I think it would really appeal to people who like natural products.
I really should buy a wax warmer, but right now my surgiwax bottle is working so well, I’d hate to get rid of it. I don’t know why Fardad said Parissa couldn’t find a container that would withstand a microwave — my surgiwax bottle works quite well.
Regards,
Emily
fardad
March 6th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
hi sylvia & emily,
thank you for your feedback. a couple quick points here: 1) we have found a supplier with a vegetable-based wax to replace the parafin in the parissa hot wax. presently we are testing some formulas and hope that we will have it ready within the next several months. so parafin should be replaced in the product shortly.
2) phytowax: i’ve tried to locate information on this brand and haven’t found anything about it being GMO free, if either of you can forward me additional info, i can check into it.
3) price: price of ingredients is an issue for most product marketers…the big issue always is whether or not consumers will pay the much higher price or whether retailers will retail it. although price for ingredients is an issue to consider, the more important factor is the product’s stability and performance.
4) surgiwax: i think if you look at the surgiwax formula, you’ll find that there are a number of ingredients that don’t qualify as ‘natural’. we are still looking at microwaveable options that will allow us to have a high performance product.
if either of you would like any additional information or have questions about parissa, please feel free to contact me toll-free @ 1.888.986.9974.
thank you for your comments…we strive to be the best and your comments help us achieve this.
have a great day,
fardad
Emily
March 6th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Hi Fardad,
Thanks for the updates — I’m thrilled to hear that Parissa is coming out with a vegetable-based wax to replace the paraffin, and staying GMO free.
But really for me the best part about Parissa was is that it’s 100%-animal-testing-free, and it works beautifully! Last time I checked the CCIC’s list I couldn’t find anyone else who makes cruelty-free body wax. So, thank you very much for providing it
Regards,
Emily
fardad
March 14th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I’m happy to be proving you with a product that works. I also appreciate all the feedback people give us. It helps us improve our products all the time.
f
Lisa Miller
December 4th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Hi Emily,
Since you are interested in natural, cruelty-free products, you must try sugaring! It’s a centuries-old method of hair removal, much like and much unlike waxing. You make candy out of sugar, lemon juice and water, cool thoroughly, apply it to your skin, lay on cotton strips, and rip off the strips with, not against hair growth. The differences between waxing and sugaring are amazing. Sugaring is;
Cheap
Do-able at home
Hypoallergenic
Sanitary (sugar and lemon are antiseptic)
Much less painful-sugar sticks to hair and dead skin, not viable skin
Can be done over varicose and spider veins (I have some)
The ingrowns are much fewer than shaving, especially in the pubic area
It’s as comfortable as ripping your hair out by the roots is ever going to be
The leftovers are delicious lemon candy
I’ve done it 3 times now and thinking of writing a tutorial on my experiences. If you’re interested, send me an email.
Emily
December 4th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Hi Lisa!
Cool! I’ve heard of sugaring but never actually seen detailed instructions — thanks for telling me about it! I would definitely be interested in a tutorial — if I forget to email you, drop me a line at emilycrueltyfree at gmail dot com.
Regards,
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