You know you indeed love a hair product if you are trying to extend its life by pouring a little water into the bottle as it runs out. That’s exactly what I was doing with Crown Affair The Leave-In Conditioner. I was sad and in denial about running out of this ultra-hydrating, lightweight cream, until news of the product launch arrived in my inbox. On January 27, Crown Affair Smoothing Air Dry cream will join a line of nine hair care and styling offerings as the first curl product, three years after founder Dianna Cohen saw the need. “There are people who like to go out but need 10 pumps. So that problem is where the journey of this product began,” said Cohen. Seduction.
I’m one of those people who spends a lot of leave-in (that’s why I tried so hard to extend your life). My coarse type 4 hair is made up of tight coils that tend to frizz, and while I love going out, it’s admittedly very light on my texture (and watering it probably didn’t help). For styling, I often reach for heavy curl puddings and creams to achieve a defined twist-out, so the thought of using only a dry cream raised my eyebrows. Can it actually describe my hair? Was it technically a product of style? How do I use it? These were a few questions that went through my head when I tried to test the dry cream.
Some of these questions (like how to use the product) are answered in the Zoom interview with Cohen. “So, start by showering, conditioning, and towel drying,” says Cohen. “I personally will wrap my towel around my hair, dry it a little bit…Then I use more than a nickel, but a nickel-sized amount is recommended on the bottle, and then I just start spreading it through my hair,” Cohen tells me. Even though she has curly hair, Cohen still loves and uses this product and says it gives her hair more softness than the original air-dry mousse. Unlike mousse, air-dry cream is meant to be used as a stand-in instead of a follow-on.
The Smoothing Air Dry cream is formulated to “define, hydrate, and soften natural texture,” the press release states. After looking at the ingredient list, cosmetic chemist Amanda Lam feels confident that the product can do what it claims to do. “It looks like they’ve replaced traditional styling polymers and conditioners with hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, which is a modified starch that provides styling properties like curl retention and frizz management without much hassle,” says Lam. The product also promises touch-soft curls, which Lam says are achieved with “advanced agents,” in the formula like coconut fruit extract and squalane.
Many Crown Affair products are packaged in frosted glass bottles that look great on your bathroom counter long after they’re empty. The Smoothing Air Dry Cream, however, comes in a plastic mint green tube, which fits the style. “We love the glass bottle, and it’s beautiful, but we really thought about how it’s going to be used,” says Cohen, referring to the way things slide when you do your hair after a shower.
How I Tested It
I tested the dry cream on my kinky hair clip-ins. Extensions usually match my hair texture (curls are a little loose), so I figured I’d still get a good feel for how the product works on my hair. (Also, I leave the front part of my hair out when I wear these extensions.)
