This Is the Secret to Maximizing Hair Growth, According to Julia Roberts’ and Meghan Markle’s Colorist

Highbrow Hippie, founded by Kadi Lee, is a new line targeting hair loss and thinning. Markle is an investor.

The irony of Hollywood stars and their hair is that it must always be perfect—shiny, smooth, and voluminous—regardless of the inevitable toll making it perfect takes. Think: non-stop styling, hot tools, and constant color recalibrating. No one knows this better than celebrity colorist Kadi Lee, who tends to the famous strands of Julia Roberts, Meghan Markle, and Gwyneth Paltrow out of her Venice beach salon, Highbrow Hippie. With more than 25 years of experience, Lee has a coterie of A-listers on her roster, and the reason they look to her is twofold: She supplies vibrant and dimensional color and does so while keeping their hair long and lush in the process. “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.

“Kadi is a hair goddess,” says Roberts, whom Lee has made virtually every shade of blonde, brunette, and red. “She is so invested in her artistry and making sure everyone looks the best they can.” 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.

Roberts acted a guinea pig for the line in its many development and testing phases (as did several other famous patrons of Highbrow Hippie). “My hair gets put through a lot at work, and I am amazed it has held up over the years,” says Roberts. “We all can use a bit of hair health and support, and this is it for me. I feel like my hair has had a holiday [after] using 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.”

On the topical front, The Root Replenish Active Growth Serum targets scalp fitness by neutralizing environmental damage and restoring the scalp microbiome. It’s made with probiotics and antioxidant-rich resveratrol, which can promote thicker, denser hair in just 90 days. A revolutionary 7-in-1 formula, the Essential Wellbeing Complex addresses hair health from within by balancing hormones, reducing stress, and improving gut health. The pair recommends taking two pills of the supplement twice daily (once in the afternoon and once before bed) and applying the serum to your scalp twice daily. “As with any new routine, the effects take time,” says Harris. “We suggest committing to at least 3 months to see real changes, though we have clients who have reported results sooner. Keep in mind that everyone is starting from a different point so achieving balance might take longer for some than others!”

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.”