I’ve written pretty extensively about my quest to embrace my natural hair texture. Like many people, it has taken me years—35 to be precise—to feel comfortable enough to leave my hair to dry naturally rather than attempting to tame it into submission with a hair dryer (something that I’m not anywhere near skilled enough to do) or to immediately tackle it with whatever hair straighteners or curling tongs I have at my disposal. However, in a recent quest to reduce the amount of heat that I use on my hair, I became obsessed with testing all of the best air dry products on the market. And there’s one that is, in my opinion, far superior to every other air dry product out there—the JVN Complete Air Dry Cream.
A leave-in styling cream, it’s one of the very few products that I’ve tried that genuinely does enhance and define my natural curl shape without weighing my hair down or changing the feel of it. I really hate the sensation of having product in my hair, but this manages to smooth frizz, define waves and add shine without adding any crunchiness or stickiness at all. In fact, you can’t tell there’s any product in my hair at all with this stuff. (Other than the fact that it looks markedly better when I’ve applied this than when I haven’t.) I’ve gone through countless tubes and truly now think that my favourite way to wear my hair is when I’ve applied this and then left my hair to its own devices—truly unimaginable a year or so ago.
But how does it work and what makes the JVN Complete Air Dry Cream so much better than other air dry products I’ve tried?
My honest review of the JVN Complete Air Dry Cream
First Impressions
(Image credit: Mica Ricketts)
I was unsure when I first squeezed this air dry cream out of its (very chic) tube as it feels almost like a gel-cream moisturiser. It’s quite thick in texture, and I was instantly worried that I’d have wasted a hair wash by applying this to my freshly washed hair. Preconceptions aside, however, I instantly loved the smell of this product. A mix of clean florals, uplifting grapefruit and tangerine, and a subtle sweetness from violet and honey, this stuff smells incredible. Imagine you’ve just had your hair washed and styled at the fanciest of hair salons—this captures a similarly expensive-smelling scent. I’m also a big fan of the packaging. Not only does it look chic and simple, but it’s easy to dispense just the amount of product that you need, and the fact that it’s a squeezy tube means that you can get every bit of cream ou,t so you’re not wasting any of it when you get to the end.
The Formula
(Image credit: Mica Ricketts)
So, what’s actually in the JVN Complete Air Dry Cream that means it can deliver on its promises to enhance texture, fight frizz, and provide a soft hold? The star of the show has to be hemisqualane—an alternative to silicone which aims to improve the health and strength of your hair both on application and with continued use. While silicone is great at coating the hair to add shine and smoothness, I find that using too much of it can weigh my hair down and lead to that tacky feeling that I hate. This alternative is brilliant as it delivers the same frizz-smoothing, glossy benefits but without that build-up. Alongside that, there’s also chia seed and linseed extract, which work together to enhance your hair’s natural texture and provide some lightweight hold to your style. Plus, there’s moringa seed oil for hydration and glow—and it smells great, too.
How I Use It
(Image credit: Mica Ricketts)
One of the great things about this cream is that you can start by applying a small amount and then add more to your style if you need it. As I use it so regularly, I know that for my hair type, a 50p-sized dollop is the perfect amount to apply to my hair. Once my hair is washed, towel-dried, and I’ve combed through it, I rub the cream between my hands and then smooth it through the lengths and ends of my hair—taking it quite close to my roots. Once it’s evenly distributed, I twist my hair into small sections (like I’m creating a ringlet) and then leave it to dry. For me, my hair tends to dry naturally in about an hour, and the result is really impressive.
The Results
(Image credit: Mica Ricketts)
All I can say is thank you, Jonathan van Ness, for this absolute game-changer of a product. If I leave my hair to dry on its own without using this, then the end result tends to be puffy, hugely frizzy and dull. However, with just a minute of work from my side, my natural hair ends up looking shiny, defined, and a whole lot healthier than it would otherwise look. My natural waves and curls, which are somewhat haphazard in their size and shape, look voluminous, shiny, and like I’ve intentionally styled them, and I love that I can still run my fingers through my hair and it will feel soft rather than crunchy. I’ve gone through an entire tube of the stuff over the last year, and I will happily repurchase it until the end of time.