Flat
Lackluster haystack-dry hair is one of the most common problems I get
asked about. So I was intrigued when a reader wrote to me rhapsodizing
about a hair care brand called Ojon, based on rare nut oil only found in
the Central American rainforests of Honduras and Nicaragua.
‘My hair is very fine and looks quite thin, but using the Ojon
Restorative Hair Treatment – a solid that turns into an oil when you
warm it in your hands – plus the thickening shampoo and conditioner, has
made it look thicker and very shiny. Even my hairdresser remarked what
good condition it’s in.
My dry-haired colleague Victoria
is a great fan too: ‘The best shampoo I’ve ever used,’ she told me.
Recently, I met Denis Simioni, the ‘crazy Canadian’ founder of Ojon, who
told me about the extraordinary genesis of the range. In 1999, a
relative from Honduras brought Simioni, who was then heading an advertising agency near Toronto,
a little jar of brown paste – the ojon oil. ‘It just sat in my bathroom
until one hot Saturday, two years later, when the whole family decided
to have a hair party and try it. We all had really dry hair, partly due
to chemicals in the swimming pool. The results of just one application
were instant – and incredible.’ It was the start of an Indiana
Jones-like quest for Simioni to find the source of ojon oil. Through
the internet, he discovered that ojon nuts have been used for more than
500 years by the Miskito Indians (whose nickname, Tawira, translates as ‘the people with beautiful hair’). Simioni flew to Tegucigalpa;
the town where his original jar had been bought, chartered a
single-propeller plane and after a five-hour flight landed on a dirt
road in the jungle. A two-hour hike, followed by a five-hour trip alone
in a wobbly, hand-carved canoe across a shark-infested lagoon, brought
him to one of the Tawira villages. ‘I looked on the bank and saw a
little girl in red shorts braiding a boy’s hair and thought, “This has
to be it.” ’ About 200 villagers lined up to meet him. ‘They wore their
hair up in buns,’ he says, ‘but when I asked about the Tawira name, they
unraveled it for me and I saw the most beautiful hair – very long,
healthy and hydrated. They’re the only indigenous group in that area
that don’t [need to] wear hats. Instead they apply ojon oil daily, from
the day a baby’s born – it’s their own intensive treatment.’ (Later,
clinical trials showed that one 20-minute application of Ojon
Restorative Hair Treatment dramatically improved the condition of dry,
damaged hair by 52 per cent; if it’s left on overnight, the figure goes
up to 64 per cent.) Over the next few years, Simioni trialed different
formulas of ojon oil in Canada
and established an enduring relationship with the Tawira and a local
non-profit group, Mopawi, dedicated to promoting sustainable
development. The nuts are still harvested – and the oil extracted – by
hand, each tree giving just four litres of oil a year. It provides a
steady source of income for the Tawira families involved, and they’re
consulted on everything from product development to marketing. The Ojon
corporation, now part of the Estée Lauder empire, also funds initiatives
to help protect the environment in Honduras and preserve the traditional lifestyle. ‘I truly believe I was chosen to go there and create a business for them.
By SARAH STACEY (Beauty Magazine)
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