Creating Zendaya's Desert Look Required Sea Salt Spray — and Only That
Speaking of Zendaya's hair, Mowat confirms there's no wig in sight — everything you see is the actress's natural head of hair. (Note: the only wig Mowat recalls using on the main cast was on Oscar Isaac, who plays Duke Leto Atreides, for pick-up shots because he cut his hair during quarantine.) Better still, not much was done to overly style it either. Considering the fact that Zendaya plays a Fremen of Arrakis, also known as "Dune," it makes sense for her look to be influenced by her desert environment.
Most of Mowat's inspiration came from books, not previous adaptations. Instead, he sourced anthropology books all about Monasticism (see: House Harkonnen) and used photographs of Bedouin groups who are known for being desert dwellers and nomads. And Zendaya's wind-swept undone look was created using one hero product: sea salt spray.
Mowat also mentioned that, being familiar with Zendaya's work on Euphoria, he wanted to create a look for her character that didn't feel like what audiences are used to seeing, i.e. lots of Emmy award-winning glitter.