Who is the ‘hippie’ hairdresser behind Meghan’s new investment? Meet Duchess’ BFF Kadi Lee who runs celeb-loved ‘self-care’ salon in LA

Meghan Markle has mixed business with friendship after investing in her good pal Kadi Lee’s new hair wellness range.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, attended a glitzy launch party for the collection on Wednesday night at the celeb-loved restaurant Gjelina in Venice, California, where she put on a glamorous display in a chic sleeveless top from New York brand Khaite.

Kadi runs the Highbrow Hippie salon in the bohemian LA neighbourhood of Venice, with her clients including Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Sigourney Weaver.

She styled Meghan’s hair for the LA children’s hospital gala in October, the ESPN Espy Awards in July and the Invictus Games in February – but the two are now more than just hairdresser and customer.

They are known to be good friends, having reportedly marked the Duchess’ 42nd birthday together with belated celebrations and put on a cosy display at the launch party earlier this week.

Speaking about her latest investment, Meghan, who is also an investor in trendy oat latte brand Clevr Blends and handbag label Cesta Collective, said: ‘I am so proud to invest in [Kadi] as a friend and as a female founder.’

She told InStyle: ‘Kadi has a mastery of hair health, and her Highbrow Hippie collection is a perfect reflection of that.’

Meghan and the celeb colourist are believed to have met through celeb hairstylist Serge Normant, who famously styled the former actress’ hair for her wedding ceremony in 2018.

He was one of the other guests at Wednesday night’s event, alongside Meghan’s friend and makeup artist, Daniel Martin. The Duchess appeared to attend the occasion without Prince Harry. 

Kadi and her friend Myka Harris founded their salon in 2019 following the success of their shared blog.

Their webpage – which also reveals the owners’ star signs – reads: ‘Highbrow Hippie was created to fill a void. Our goal is to expand the definition of a salon and return to its historical meaning – a gathering place to exchange thoughts and ideas. 

‘Creating a sense of community, self care and a way to drop out for a few hours and focus on yourself. 

‘Our intention is to refocus on self care, community and experience. What works best for our customers is always top of mind and we hope that people will leave feeling inspired, connected, grounded and maybe having learned something new – either about themselves or someone else. 

‘These small steps and attention to detail equal a huge amount of luxury in today’s fast paced and overly connected world.’

Their new collection will include the Root Replenish Active Growth Serum ($88.00) and the Essential Wellbeing Complex supplement ($118.00) to start with.

While Kadi doesn’t have her own Instagram, the stylist often shares posts from her salon, Highbrow Hippie’s, account.

She previously worked at the Aveda Institute in New York as well as a stylist and often blogs about her life, including posts about ‘aligning your period with the moon’ and details on how she colours celebrity’s hair.

As well as being a hair salon, Myka and Kadi’s brand also promotes ‘conscious living’ and sells smokeless incense, California olive oil, Mason Pearson hairbrushes and magnesium food supplements.

In 2020, the pair also attended a BLM march and highlighted how they are the only black-owned business on their street.

They captioned the post: ‘Where are the others?? If we were to take an educated guess, the lack of presence is due to the myriad of systemic roadblocks that begins with the lack of access to capital. 

‘Black women start businesses at 4 times the rate of others, and get the least funding – the most people in the room and yet the least amount of dollars. A dismal 0.34% of total venture capital spent to be exact. Make that make sense.’ 

Myka also took aim at ‘self-serving’ Taylor Swift in an impassioned Instagram post after the star officially endorsed Kamala Harris for US President following her first live debate against Donald Trump.

The caption read: ‘Am I the only one that was not into the timing of this Taylor Swift endorsement? Happy she supports her, but I found her timing lacking in taste and consideration.

‘She couldn’t even let 30 minutes pass of Kamala Harris dominating the news after one of the biggest nights in her life before she jumped in to be a part of the story.

‘I found it self-serving and inconsiderate. The same endorsement today or tomorrow would’ve yielded the same impact. Let her have her moment. It was a big one.’ 

In May 2023, the salon revealed that Meghan had booked in for a hair colouring session with Kadi ahead of the Women of Vision awards in New York.

Delving into the Duchess’ treatment, Kadi – who charges $550 for full Balayage – hinted that Meghan goes to the salon for regular gloss treatments to maintain her hair’s health.

She wrote in the caption: ‘There is nothing like a warm and rich brunette. For this shade, hair is first gently and finely painted, slightly off the root, being careful to not lighten past 3 shades from the natural color. 

‘Layers of gloss are then applied, and left on a minimum of 15-20 minutes, for maximum saturation, shine and staying power. The result is a reflective brunette with natural movement.

‘The key here is to avoid that obvious highlighted look, and to leave others wondering if the final result could, in fact, be your natural hair color. As the warm season progresses, highlights on the under layers (never on the part) only need to be gently touched up, and the gloss reapplied every 2 months or as needed. 

‘This shade is ideal for the warmer months as we enter a low maintenance period where the last thing clients crave is having to maintain their hair color.’