Are The New Dyson Omega Nourishing Hair Products Really A Miracle For Frizzy, Heat-Damaged Hair?
Marrying James Dyson’s twin passions of technology and farming Omega aims to combat dry hair – the number one problem for women in the Middle East
Fact: Dyson, a name that was once instantly associated with home appliances, now counts 50 per cent of its portfolio as beauty. In under a decade, its styling tools (launched in 2016) and hair products, have become synonymous with technology, luxury – and now, perhaps paradoxically, farming. Last year the buzz was about the debut of hair products – the brand’s Wiltshire labs had conjured up haircare serums and creams using mushroom cells – Chitosan – as a key ingredient.
Key to their success in the Middle East? The fact that they were made to keep frizz at bay, and tested at 80 per cent relative humidity. The half a billion dollars invested in hair care research in 2022 was finally reaping rewards. And this year the world’s beauty journalists were whisked off to another secret location – and made to sign iron-clad NDAs – before the latest range of products was unveiled.
This time the reveal was in Lincolnshire, where James Dyson’s utopian vision of high-tech meets high-yield future of farming is being incubated under the Dyson Farming banner, which has ownership over 36,000 acres – the equivalent of over 20,000 football fields. And the problem the team were asked to solve? In a study done in 2022, one in three people stated their primary hair concern was dryness.
“It’s something that women deal with globally,” Justina Mejia Montane, Product Development Director, told us, “They’re constantly on a quest to find a product that is going to be able to deliver on hydration, nourishing benefits, without compromising on texture and the aesthetics of the product.” Someone living in Dubai would still have dry hair. Not due to the humid climate but because of what they are doing to their tresses, from colouring to chemical treatments and intense heat – even brushing and swimming in chlorinated pools. The Middle East also has a higher mineral content in its water, so that dries the hair out even more. It makes the hair heavy.
The problem to solve pin-pointed, Dyson’s researchers, scientists, chemists, and mechanical engineers got to work. The fact that they had boots on the ground on the farm, provided the breakthrough: the 800,000 sunflowers that grow to over six-feet high over a nine-hectare field. Design Manager Ben Hogan explains, “It all dovetailed beautifully. Sunflower seed oil was chock full of omega fatty acids, and that is actually an ingredient really beneficial for dry hair.” The team are really keen to differentiate the problem-solving ability of their products too.
While Chitosan’s specific purpose was style retention – especially for Airwrap owners – Omega is the second chapter of that story, putting the focus on heat protection (something that was raised repeatedly during the Chitosan launch).
The two new heroes are the Omega hydrating hair oil, that nourishes and restores brittle hair and a leave-in conditioning spray that transforms from a cream in the bottle to a mist that covers hair quickly and evenly, reducing breakage by over 74 per cent.
I can confirm that the new oil is intoxicating to use, and instantly makes the hair look – and feel – shinier, without the added weight and greasiness provided by most in-market products that rely heavily on silicone. Its subtle scent feels functional, yet pleasant. In a nutshell, you might not love it, but you certainly won’t dislike it. The upshot? It works.
The conditioning spray is even more of a revelation, easy to use, and instantly changing the texture of hair, re-perking it up, once you’ve mastered how much to use to suit its thickness. It’s ideal for the region’s climate – and for the local love of regular blow-dries. It certainly seems that Dyson’s beauty products are now as transformative as their at-home hair styling tools.
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