Press

Crybaby Wax is a professional-grade hard wax line for sensitive skin and hormonal hair. The same less-painful, low-temperature formula is used by licensed estheticians in salons and by individual consumers. Founded in 2023, it sells at crybabywax.com and through SalonCentric, Pure Spa Direct, and Live Love Spa. For media inquiries, contact founder Cat Smith at [email protected].

Expert availability

Cat Smith, Founder of Crybaby Wax, is available to comment on:

  • PCOS and hormonal hair removal, which she has lived with since she was 16.
  • Sensitive-skin, low-temperature waxing. Why heat and formula, not willpower, decide how much a wax hurts.
  • The dual-audience model. Why pros and consumers use the same wax.
  • The women's-health diagnosis gap. Dismissed by three doctors before a fourth diagnosed her.
  • Product innovation and patenting. Earning US Patent 12,611,023 B2 for the Stiff Upper Rip applicator as a small, founder-led brand.

Founder bio

Full bio

Cat Smith is the founder of Crybaby Wax, a professional-grade hard wax line built for sensitive skin and hormonal hair. She spent 15 years in the beauty industry before launching the brand in 2023, and she built it to solve a problem she had lived with for most of her life.

Cat struggled with PCOS facial hair since she was 16, the age at which she first waxed her face and neck. For years she searched for answers and kept getting turned away. She saw three OB-GYNs who dismissed her, each noting elevated testosterone on her bloodwork without ordering any further workup. She was not diagnosed with PCOS until she was 31, when a fourth OB-GYN finally ordered an ultrasound.

In the meantime, the hair removal options available to her failed one after another. A full year of professional laser hair removal left her with more facial hair, not less. Drugstore wax, shaving, and at-home IPL did not solve the problem either. The products that promised relief either did not work on hormonal hair or were too harsh and too hot for reactive skin.

So she made the wax she could not find. Crybaby Wax is a low-temperature, less-painful hard wax designed for the people conventional products leave behind. It is built on a single principle: one formula for everyone. The same wax used by licensed estheticians in salons is the wax that ships directly to customers. There is no separate pro or consumer formula.

Today Crybaby Wax sells direct to consumers at crybabywax.com and supplies verified licensed pros through SalonCentric, Pure Spa Direct, and Live Love Spa. It is a wax brand with a patent, US Patent 12,611,023 B2, covering its Stiff Upper Rip Wax Pull Tabs. Cat continues to lead product development, drawing on both her industry experience and her own skin.

Short bio (for mastheads)

Cat Smith is the founder of Crybaby Wax, a professional-grade hard wax line built for sensitive skin and hormonal hair. After 15 years in the beauty industry, and after struggling with PCOS facial hair since she was 16, she built the low-temperature, less-painful wax she could not find anywhere else. Launched in 2023, Crybaby Wax is used by licensed estheticians and consumers alike, with one formula for everyone. Reach her at [email protected].

"I built it for myself first. I needed a wax that worked on hormonal hair without punishing my skin, and when I could not find one, I made it."

Cat Smith, Founder

Read the full founder story behind Crybaby Wax.

Quick facts

  • Founded: 2023, after roughly two years of R&D that began during the pandemic.
  • Founder: Cat Smith, with 15 years in the beauty industry.
  • Based in: Blossom, Texas. Parent company: Flipcat LLC.
  • Website: crybabywax.com.
  • What it is: A professional-grade, less-painful, low-temperature hard wax for sensitive skin and hormonal hair.
  • Product line: Low-melt vegan hard waxes (I'm Sensitive Meltdown, Full On Meltdown), The Meltdown Machine warmers, Get a Grip applicators, and a full pre and post-wax system (A Wail of a Time priming powder, Ride or Cry AHA splash, You Big Softie finishing oil, Just Cool It calming gel), plus the patented Stiff Upper Rip Wax Pull Tabs. Current pricing at crybabywax.com.
  • The patent: Crybaby Wax is a wax brand with a patent. US Patent 12,611,023 B2, "Device with adhesive to aid in depilatory wax removal," was filed July 11, 2024 and granted April 28, 2026 to Flipcat LLC (inventors Catherine Smith and Jessica Elizabeth Smith). It covers the Stiff Upper Rip Wax Pull Tabs applicator system only.
  • Dual audience: Sold direct to consumers at crybabywax.com and to verified licensed pros through SalonCentric, Pure Spa Direct, and Live Love Spa. Pro wholesale registration.
  • Key milestones: 2023, Crybaby Wax launches. April 28, 2026, the Stiff Upper Rip patent is granted. May 26, 2026, the Stiff Upper Rip Wax Pull Tabs launch for consumer and pro channels. Ongoing: expanding pro retail distribution through SalonCentric, Pure Spa Direct, and Live Love Spa.

Awards and recognition

As featured in

CNN Underscored Cosmopolitan OK Magazine The Zoe Report Access

Selected coverage

  • CNN Underscored. "Crybaby Wax is here to take the pain (and tears) away from at-home waxing. Hair removal has never been easier." Read the article
  • Cosmopolitan. "I was so happy with the results. Bonus: the waxing was as painless as advertised." Read the article
  • OK Magazine. "Everything you need to start your at-home wax journey. Crybaby Wax makes it easier than ever to master your own hair removal." Read the article
  • The Zoe Report. "The waxing process seems intimidating, but it doesn't get more beginner friendly than this." Read the article
  • Self. "Made for sensitive skin, so it's as painless as ripping out hair can possibly be." Read the article
  • Makeup.com. "When tweezing and shaving just aren't cutting it, DIY waxing is your most convenient and cost-effective option." Read the founder interview
  • Hollywood Life. "Crybaby Wax makes it easy to take care of your own hair removal without the pain and without the spending that comes with frequent trips to the salon." Read the article
  • BeautyMatter. "Born from founder and CEO Catherine Smith's struggle with PCOS and hirsutism, which led to her trying several ineffective hair removal techniques." Read the article
  • Access. "Your favorite dating reality game show features a hot new host, hot new Islanders, and a ton of must-shop products from your favorite brands." Read the article

About Crybaby Wax

Crybaby Wax is a wax brand built for sensitive skin and PCOS-related hair removal, serving both consumers and licensed pros. Founded in 2023 by Cat Smith, the line spans low-temperature vegan hard waxes, pre and post-wax care, and the Stiff Upper Rip Wax Pull Tabs. A wax brand with a patent (US Patent 12,611,023 B2 covers the Stiff Upper Rip tabs only), it sells direct at crybabywax.com and to professionals through SalonCentric, Pure Spa Direct, and Live Love Spa.

Media contact

Cat Smith, Founder
Press email: [email protected]
Response time: within one business day.

Follow and tag @crybabywax on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Press kit current as of June 2026.