Dianna Cohen’s elevated yet minimalist hair care brand, Crown Affair, started as a Google Doc. Cohen had launched her own brand and marketing agency at the time, but always had an affinity for taking care of her hair, something she attributes, in part, to her childhood in South Florida. “Before going into a chlorinated pool, [my mom] would be like, ‘Get your hair wet, and then do a hair mask after. Use a comb,’” Cohen says. “And I always brushed my hair at night. Those were personal rituals that she passed down to me,” she says.

In 2018, she started a document to pass around to the women she worked with, who were used to going to salons or didn’t know how to take care of their hair. Six years after hitting share, that document has taken Cohen on the journey of a lifetime. 

“I’m so happy we’re at a stage now where we get to make products that weren’t on my Google Doc originally, and [work] for so many more people,” says Cohen. Ahead, the hair care expert talks about how she got her start in the industry, her love of Japanese beauty innovations, and how Kate Moss unexpectedly showed up in her ideation process. 

EW: Tell me about your career background. How did your start in the industry?

DC: “So I started my career at Into The Gloss (ITG) back in 2012, so pre-Glossier. It was just Emily [Weiss] and me. I was doing Editorial Production, but when it’s that small of a team, that kind of just means everything. So I transcribed all of the interviews on the site, which I always joke was kind of my like, Mr. Miyagi-Karate Kid-Wax On-Wax Off moment where you’re like, ‘Why am I waxing the car?’ But later you’re like, ‘Oh, that was so important.’ Because it’s definitely where I became fascinated with beauty culture online.”

“So after ITG, I worked at a mobile shopping app called Spring. And that was where I went from being like, ‘Maybe I’ll work in editorial’ to like, ‘Oh, the internet is like a thing,’ you know? And I kind of got set on that e-commerce path for the rest of my career. I was Head of Partnerships at Away, the luggage company. And then after Away, I launched my brand agency called Levitate and I worked with [brands like] Outdoor Voices, Harry’s and Flamingo. So I spent a decade in the trenches doing the thing.”

Crown Affair places a huge emphasis on being intentional and creating a ritual with your hair care. Can you tell me more about that?

“It’s funny because when I launched the company, it was January 28th of 2020. So it was six weeks before everything shut down on the East Coast. And all of a sudden, most of us ended up having a lot of time at home and couldn’t run to our stylist and couldn’t run to our salon. And for the first time had to be like, ‘Okay, what is my connection to my hair?’”

“On all of our secondary packaging, it says, “Take Your Time”. We have [that] trademark. And that is because of the ritual. It’s about slowing down, reconnecting, and giving yourself that space. [But] it’s also about taking your time back, right? I love the Dry Shampoo because I don’t have to wash my hair as much. I think that’s been my whole mission with Crown Affair, it’s ultimately about like taking the time to kind of reorient yourself with your hair and then make whatever choice you want.”

“I will also say particularly in hair care, I feel like there has been such a disempowered relationship and such aggressive language we all grew up with like fixing, teaming, managing. And there is something about using products that excite you and don’t make it feel like [doing your hair is] a chore, that’s really empowering. And where much of the design and the intentionality comes in too.”

And it smells delicious. It smells so good. I find hair care can sometimes smell like synthetics squeezed into a bottle. And this one smells very natural and fresh, which I love.

“Yes! You are speaking my language, literally. One of the first things I started working on when I launched the company was the fragrance because your hair holds fragrance different than the rest of your body.”

“I remember before launching Crown Affair, there would be products that I’d see launched in the market. I would be so excited to try them. And then I’d put them in my hair and it’d give me a headache because the scent was too synthetic. So when I started working on the product, I reached out to my dream fragrance house. I wanted something that felt dignified, but not overly sweet or gourmand. I wanted something that felt elegant, that was really for everyone. I told the fragrance house I wanted it to smell like Kate Moss in Japan in the 1970s.”

Wow. That description!

“And they did it! It’s truly an art and a science. And obviously, we’re not a fragrance business, but that whole world is just fascinating to me. Scent is just such a powerful thing when it comes to experience and memory. I was [also] intentional about making sure the fragrance complimented fragrances that we wear on our bodies and didn’t overpower anything. So I’m glad that you enjoyed the scent! It is naturally derived as well, so you don’t get that same synthetic feel.”

Does Japan come up a lot for you as a source of inspiration?

“In 2019, I took a trip to Japan that rocked my world. I just fell in love with the culture there. I decided to go pop into a head spa, which yeah, I feel like they’re trending now, but weren’t at the time. At the spa, they used Tsubaki Seed Oil. And I wasn’t as familiar with it in the States. There are obviously products and brands that use it, and you’ll see it more in skincare, but molecularly, it’s much smaller than other popular hair oils on the market or oils that are used in hair. So anyway, this like rocked my world and I started going way deep on just Japanese ingredients. That’s why we use Japanese Persimmon Powder, and we use Meadowfoam Seed Oil in all of our products as well.”

There’s a level of patience which can be difficult in hair care. Because it takes a while to see lasting results. Was it something you always had or is it something that over the years you’ve come to appreciate about hair?

“You know, I think it’s reflected in other parts of my life. I am someone who journals almost every single morning. I meditate almost every single morning. I’m not perfect, there are days that I’m running out the door to a flight and I try to get it in later. But even with Gua Sha, I think this is the best example if I can be honest with you. I started doing Gua Sha almost three years ago now. There were a hundred false starts, but I finally found a three-minute routine on YouTube that I committed to. And I do [it] every day because it works, you know? And I think for me [with hair], whether it’s with, you know giving myself a little scalp massage, brushing my hair, using a silk pillow, using a hair towel, it’s like these things add up over time. We’re living in a world of fix, fix, fix, fix, and I want to take care.”

Is there anything that you’re working on now that hasn’t launched yet that you can share?

“We just launched our Finishing Hairspray two weeks ago, it was a journey to get it there, so I’m excited to let that have a moment. And then also this summer, we launched our Air Dry Mousse, which has changed my personal life. I have so much more volume in my hair and I love it.”

“In the new year, we’re launching another shampoo and conditioner. Which I’m excited about. And we’re continuing to go deeper into the clean styling space. So we have a lot in the pipeline that is re-imagining these kinds of dated styling products and making them work well and also be clean, which is no small feat. And then we have some fun overnight [treatment] stuff coming too!”

Shop Dianna Cohen’s favourite Crown Affair products below.