A universally loved hair product is more a reverie than a reality. How could one formula work across the infinite spectrum of hair? At least, that’s what I thought until I got my hands on the Crown Affair Leave-In Conditioner. I know what you’re probably thinking: A leave-in?! Of all products?! It’s true, I could put the Dyson Airwrap, K-18’s Hair Mask, or even something from Olaplex and Briogeo up for Miss Congeniality of the Top Shelf. But I’m throwing this milky, silky, smooth hair potion into the ring.
The Leave-In is one of Crown Affair’s newer products, which launched in conjunction with the brand’s Sephora debut earlier this year. It’s not the first show-stopper to hit the shelves: Crown Affair’s Hair Mask won a Glamour Beauty Award in 2021 and The Hair Oil is a known favorite of Gwyneth Paltrow’s (fittingly, you can shop it at Goop).
Dianna Cohen, who founded Crown Affair in early 2020, built the brand to merge the thinking around wellness and self-care rituals with people’s hair routines. This piqued my interest because I’ve been trying to embrace my natural hair and use “cleaner” ingredients in every aspect of my routine (you know, postpartum things). It may not surprise you, then, that my first foray into the world of Crown Affair was the brand’s Dry Shampoo, which eschews some scary ingredients like talc, formaldehyde, and benzene (as it’s a loose powder, not propelled by aerosol). I was immediately hooked on the dry shampoo, but it’s Crown Affair’s Leave-In that’s defined my routine.
The Leave-In is as beautiful as the rest of Crown Affair’s line, what with its fogged glass casing and minimalist branding. And its ingredients are just as dreamy: Tsubaki-seed oil (drawn from seeds of the camellia oleifera wildflower, with a consistency that’s similar to sebum) works to moisturize and nourish the hair, zapping flyaways and frizz in the process; then there’s meadowfoam oil, which is a kind of emollient that also works as a heat protectant. It turns out, these ingredients were exactly what my thick, coarse, and frizzy Type 2C/3A hair needed.
No matter how or when I apply it, it smooths my hair out and makes it touchably soft. Yes, that sounds like BS marketing language, but it’s a fact: My hair is noticeably softer and more supple on sight. I tend to use it on damp hair right out of the shower and it gives me the prettiest waves and curls of my life. I love how it enhances my natural texture and pattern. Unlike products that make me feel like my hair needs to be “fixed,” the Leave-In isn’t trying to turn it into anything it’s not. Much like no-makeup makeup looks, this gives me my hair, only better.
