Crown Affair
Crown Affair transforms the way you care for your hair. These products are clean, effective, and essential to self-care rituals leading up to the big day.
Interview with Dianna Cohen, founder of Crown Affair
We’re drawn to Crown Affair for several reasons: the branding is modern and fresh, the ingredients are clean (and vegan), and the smell of each product is divine. Most importantly, however, the products work. We would love to know what inspired you to start Crown Affair. Prior to Crown Affair, I spent a decade working at consumer brands as an early team member at Harry’s, Away, Outdoor Voices, Into the Gloss, and more. I loved working for brands and founders who create things that change the way we feel about ourselves. I’ve always been passionate about caring for my hair, so years ago I ended up creating a Google Doc where I compiled all my favourite products
and the key habits of my personal hair care ritual. At first, I shared it with a close group of friends, but somehow, before I knew it, people far beyond my immediate network were requesting access to the doc. The doc included my recommendations but also notes on what I wanted to change about each product — like the formulation, fragrance, or even the price point. With this realisation, I embarked on a mission to fill the gap and build the brand I felt was missing — something that was effective and performance driven as a salon brand, but much cleaner, contemporary, and better for your hair health. With that goal in mind, Crown Affair was born. Our focus is on luxury, clean essentials that are accessible to everyone. We believe that taking care of your hair shouldn’t be a chore but rather a mindful ritual that enriches your daily life.
You’ve built a brand based on ‘clean beauty’. Can you tell us what that means to you? To me, the most important thing is that the product works. Historically in haircare, clean is not always effective so we have spent years formulating innovative products at the intersection of clean and effective. Being clean means using mindful ingredients that are safe for you and your family to use and won’t cause harm.
For our readers who are unfamiliar with Crown Affair, what three products would you suggest as an introduction? The best place to start is with the holy post-wash day trinity: The Towel, The Leave-In, The Dry Shampoo. The Towel is a baseline ‘tool’ to have at home — we have a patent on the design, it’s truly better than other hair towels on the market in that it absorbs dampness in a fraction of the time, it has a strap in the back to secure your hair in place, and the unique waffle microfibre is gentle on strands to not cause frizz or breakage like other towels would. If you do nothing else post-wash, use The Towel.
The second fool-proof product is The Leave-In Conditioner. This is the equivalent of a face moisturiser, but for your hair. You wouldn’t cleanse your face then not moisturise, the same goes for your hair. This formula improves hair flexibility (meaning less breakage), managing frizz, overall softness and shine, and hydration. You’ll feel the difference immediately when you use this and it’s so simple to use — just apply a few pumps all over your damp hair. Our leave-in is uniquely lighter in weight than ones that leave your hair greasy — it’s so light you can apply it on dry hair any time. I apply it daily to keep my hair healthy, hydrated, and looking its best at all times.
The final Holy Grail is The Dry Shampoo. Our talc-free formula uses the most finely ground Japanese Persimmon powder, which is a natural deodorizer and oil-absorber to soak up any oil at your scalp. We’re the first ever top shelf dry shampoo in that it comes in a beautiful translucent powder jar and kabuki brush application, just like your makeup would. This is the same, targeted application but for your scalp. Even people who don’t like dry shampoo use ours. It refreshes your hair and has it feeling silky, soft, and with incredible volume at the crown. Make the simple switch from aerosol or gritty powders to this dry shampoo and your hair (and scalp health) will thank you.
Considering that we are living in a time with an overwhelming amount of hair products as well as the expectation of immediate results, what advice would you offer to someone on their pre-wedding hair journey? Leading up to your wedding, it’s all about getting your hair in its healthiest state. You want your healthiest, shiniest hair, so you want to use super hydrating products that don’t weigh your hair down. Focusing on scalp care is very important as you prepare for the big day. Using a cleansing scrub every other wash will be crucial. If you have extensions or a sensitive scalp, it is essential that you are hydrating and nourishing your scalp by using the calming scalp serum every day leading up to the big day.
““We believe that taking care of your hair shouldn’t be a chore but rather a mindful ritual that enriches your daily life.”
Dianna Cohen
Dianna Cohen Wedding Photography by Masson Liang
Leading up to a big event (especially weddings), we all want to feel our best. Planning a wedding can be quite stressful, though, and stress has been known to have a negative effect on our hair. What are some of the rituals for self-care you created when planning your wedding? Stress can impact all parts of your well-being and can really show up in your hair. Taking 3 minutes every evening to brush your hair not only helps with hair health, but it’s also meditative. I recommend stress reducing rituals like meditation, journaling, and daily movement. Also, be very intentional with your hair care routine, for example, prepping your wash day with a gentle scalp massage. Self love is also very important!
The wedding/event industry can be oversaturated with visuals and trends. How did you stay true to your vision and create a day that is an extension of you and your partner? I’m a super visual person, so I made a 40-page deck with references of everything I loved and wanted for each touchpoint of the weekend. The deck was a great tool to keep everything clear and consistent across all vendors, and gave our planner something to reference. The funny thing is our wedding got pushed out an entire year because of the pandemic, so I ended up making that art direction almost 3 years before our wedding actually happened. I remember reopening the deck and still being in love with the direction and vibe for our Miami wedding. It feels like the perfect snapshot in time and there’s little I would change about the day or weekend. I remember having my dress and looks for over two years before I could actually wear them! What’s fascinating is even with time and trends passing, it still felt so deeply authentic and aligned with my visual literacy today.
You’ve talked about the idea of intentionality and how it drives your approach to Crown Affair. Most people want their wedding to go ‘perfectly’ as planned but you define setting intentions as a way of doing things rather than the end goal. Did you plan your wedding through the lens of intentionality rather than traditionally strict planning? My partner and I have been together now for 11 years so we were aligned on our wedding being a genuine moment of celebration with the people we love instead of it being as perfect as a checklist. My mindset while planning was “how lucky are we that we get to do this” which made the process so much more fun and enjoyable with our wedding planner. I was also launching Crown Affair at the same time as planning our wedding so the wedding felt like a creative outlet that I loved to spend time working on and being intentional around.
Any styling tips for the day of? It was really important to me that I was comfortable. Find silhouettes and materials that feel like a second skin for your body. I love the idea of a silk slip dress but I know for my body type I wouldn’t have moved with as much ease. It’s easy to get swept up with trends but my best advice is to go with the looks and pieces that feel the most authentic to your style.
Looking back at the time leading up to your wedding and the day of, what’s one piece of advice you would give to a friend who is getting married? Give someone else your phone to take a million casual iPhone photos and videos. I am obsessed with our photographer (Masson Liang) and videographer (I even had my photographer film on Contax T2 35mm and Super8 film) but I wish I also had more casual iPhone videos and photos on my own phone versus just professional shots.
Finally, what do you see in the future for Crown Affair, and what are your hopes for the industry at large? Professionally, I see myself still building and growing Crown Affair for years to come. The dream is that in 10 years, I hope you’ll be able to walk into stores all over the world to get the Crown Affair products you know and love. I’m excited to continue innovating in both the treatment and the styling categories for hair. Making excellent products that transform the way people care for themselves is the core of my mission, and I’m excited to continue building out this movement in a category that’s been so in need of a new vision.
Photography by Masson Liang
Photography by Masson Liang
Crown Affair crownaffair.com / @crownaffair
All images courtesy of Crown Affair unless stated otherwise.