Crown Affair leave-in conditioner makes my thick hair silky smooth

A universally loved hair product is more of a dream than a reality. How could a formula work on the infinite spectrum of hair? At least, that’s what I thought until I got my hands on Crown Affair Leave-In Conditioner. I know what you’re probably thinking: vacation? ! Of all the products?! That’s right, I could put on the Dyson Airwrap, K-18 hair mask or even something from Olaplex and Briogeo for Miss Congeniality of the Top Shelf. But I throw this milky, silky, smooth potion in the ring.

The Leave-In is one of Crown Affair’s newest products, which was launched in conjunction with the Sephora brand’s debut earlier this year. It’s not the first show-stopping hit on shelves: Crown Affair’s hair mask won a Glamor Beauty Award in 2021 and The Hair Oil is a known Gwyneth Paltrow favorite (rightly so, you can check it out). buy from Goop).

Dianna Cohen, who founded Crown Affair in early 2020, built the brand to merge thinking around wellness and self-care rituals with people’s hair routines. This piqued my interest because I tried to embrace my natural hair and use “cleaner” ingredients in all aspects of my routine (you know, postpartum stuff). It might not surprise you that my first foray into the world of Crown Affair was the brand’s dry shampoo, which avoids some creepy ingredients like talc, formaldehyde and benzene (because it’s a loose powder, not propelled by an aerosol). I was hooked on dry shampoo right away, but it was Crown Affair Leave-In that defined my routine.

The Leave-In looks as good as the rest of the Crown Affair range, with its misted glass case and minimalist branding. And its ingredients are equally dreamy: Tsubaki Seed Oil (extracted from the seeds of the camellia oleifera wildflower, with a consistency similar to sebum) works to hydrate and nourish hair, eliminating flyaways and frizz ; then there’s meadowfoam oil, which is a kind of emollient that also works as a heat protectant. Turns out these ingredients were exactly what my thick, coarse, frizzy type 2C/3A hair needed.

No matter how or when I apply it, it smoothes my hair and makes it soft to the touch. Yes, it sounds like BS marketing language, but it’s a fact: my hair is visibly softer and more bouncy on sight. I tend to use it on damp hair right out of the shower and it gives me the best waves and curls of my life. I love how it enhances my natural texture and pattern. Unlike products that make my hair feel like it needs ‘fixing’, the Leave-In doesn’t try to turn it into something it isn’t. Just like makeup without makeup, it gives me my hair, only better.