Waves F6 is a particularly good dynamic EQ for de-essing.
Where F6 beats the [more popular industry standard eq] is that F6 has attack & release controls, and that other one doesn’t.
The magic happens when you center two EQ nodes on your offending frequency. Adjust the first one to fastest attack, and dial in a low to medium amount of “range”(how much it will cut after crossing the threshold). This node will engage incredibly quickly when sibilance is detected.
That first EQ node should be a standard bell filter. Adjust the Q width (and threshold) until it cuts enough but not too much.
Then set the second EQ node to the same frequency. For the second, you can use another bell shape or a high-shelf filter. Dig in deeper with this one, with medium to high attack settings. Set the threshold by ear.
The way these two work together is the first engages immediately, and the second engages for further cutting if it’s a longer “ess” sound that needs more cutting.
The two dynamic EQ nodes work together to de-ess beautifully, in a way the well-known competing EQ can’t (since it doesn’t have adjustable attack!)
Lastly – if you find you’ve lost too much high end, set a wide high shelf filter (with a Q of around 0.5) at a frequency around 2000 or so, and push it up a dB or two.
The width of that shelf pushes up the overall highs while the de-esser nodes do the cutting.
This makes Waves F6 one of my favorite de-essers.
PS. Be sure to use the “RTA” version with the frequency display! With that display you can see the frequencies which will help you find the centerpoint frequency of your ‘esses’, and will help you adjust the Q width for the filters as well.
PS #2. You can try following up with a -6dB lowpass(highcut) filter. Engage it and dial it down to taste. I find this helpful with cheap condenser mics that over-represent air frequencies.