Months ago, the Duchess of Sussex revealed to the New York Times that she invested in Cesta Collective, a woven-purse company operated and owned by women. Meghan also revealed to the Times that she has now invested in five to ten other brands. It was a big, rich mystery, one which the British media only acknowledged to mock (this story is going to upset Camilla Tominey so much). Well, as it turns out, Meghan has invested in another female-owned company – Highbrow Hippie, which was founded by her good friend and colorist Kadi Lee. Kadi has been Meghan’s colorist (and colorist to celebrities like Julia Roberts) for years. Now Kadi has turned her successful hair salon (Highbrow Hippie) into a product line of the same name, a product line in which Meghan invested. From InStyle:
Kadi Lee on her mission: “I work with some of the most visible women in the world; keeping their hair healthy has always been at the top of my mind,” says Lee, who specializes in sun-kissed balayage that radiates warmth and makes skin glow. And while Lee insists that good hair health is holistic, she’s bottling some of the magic in her new Highbrow Hippie hair wellness line, developed alongside her salon co-founder and longtime friend Myka Harris. The pair, who first met as students and opened their hair atelier in 2019, designed their debut offerings—a supercharged scalp serum and wellbeing supplement—to optimize all the tenets of good hair health, from luster to density.
Why these products: Lee and Harris have seen their clients through many seasons of life, including postpartum and aging into their 40s and 50s, when hair loss often becomes more pronounced. The duo point to statistics that have motivated their work: 80 percent of women experience hair loss throughout their lifetime; it’s among the top issues affecting women’s self-esteem. Moreover, hair health is often an early indicator of various larger health issues, such as chronic stress or hormonal imbalance, but is not always taken seriously. So, they set out to formulate comprehensive, science-backed formulas that prevent and treat the root causes of hair loss. “We always knew we wanted to start a product line, and the conversations being had with clients made it clear that it needed to be about hair health,” the pair explain. “We knew that we needed to start there and provide them with a comprehensive system that treats the root causes of hair loss and damage while holistically supporting overall wellness and longevity.”
Meghan’s investment: The line’s potential has drawn attention from Markle not just as a client, but as an investor, as well. “Kadi has a mastery of hair health, and her Highbrow Hippie collection is a perfect reflection of that,” Markle tells InStyle. “I am so proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder.” In an increasingly crowded space where overnight solutions for hair loss are being pushed on us from every direction, Lee and Harris offer something with integrity. They are mindful of all textures, only use premium-grade ingredients backed by clinical trials, and, of course, offer unmatched experience tending to the world’s most famous heads of hair. As the pair put it, “Women of any age looking to have healthy hair that thrives even under the most stressful of circumstances now have a product they can trust.”
I love that Meghan is investing in her friends and investing in female-owned brands which share her personal ethos. It’s really cool. While I’ve thought the makeup and skincare industries have been oversaturated with celebrity-run lines, there’s so much room in haircare to make a good product which could really catch on. Beyonce has that with Cécred! But it sounds like Highbrow Hippie’s products will be more of an industry/California thing for now. I’m sure Meghan would love to see her friends go national in a big way though.
A photo of Meghan from last night’s launch party, via Highbrow Hippie’s IG:
Photos courtesy of Highbrow Hippie’s IG Stories and Kadi Lee’s IG Stories. Additional photos courtesy of Cover Images.