Things No One Tells You About Creating a Conscious Brand with Kadi Lee: Ep 7
Highlights from the episode:
How a personal blog became the foundation for a beauty and wellness brand
What really goes into launching a product line with purpose
Why Kadi designed her salon as a sanctuary
Why conscious beauty means more than just clean ingredients
The quiet power of creating a space where you’re fully seen
Podcast show notes:
You may know Kadi Lee’s work, even if you don’t recognize her name. Her artistry as a colorist is behind some of the most iconic hair in Hollywood (yes, that Julia Roberts transformation). But what moved me most about this conversation was her honesty about what it took to build something of her own.
From Jamaica to Connecticut to California, from salon chairs to supper clubs, Kadi’s story is about building something that reflects your values, holds space for others, and still leaves room for rest. Kadi is candid about what it’s really like to grow a beauty business while staying grounded in her purpose, and she talks with me about what no one tells you about being the first to do it.
What You’ll Hear:
• The path from blog to beauty brand (05:45)
• How Kadi’s childhood shaped her journey (08:49)
• Building a peaceful, intentional space for gathering (24:52)
• The moment Julia Roberts changed everything (30:27)
• What no one tells you about launching a product line (42:17)
• The quiet signs of stress that show up in our hair (01:06:15)
If you’ve ever dreamed of building a business that reflects your values, or wondered what happens when success still doesn’t feel like ease, this episode is for you.
Connect with KADI LEE
Check out more from Kadi Lee on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highbrowhippie
Be sure to subscribe to Things No One Tells You—Lindsay’s podcast all about the real, unfiltered conversations we don’t always have but should. From big names to everyday voices, each episode dives into the moments that shape us. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Follow along with Lindsay below!
Full Transcript
[00:00:00] Lindsay: So he was just literally like do you wanna come work with me on Julia Roberts?
[00:00:05] Kadi: Literally that was just...
[00:00:06] Lindsay: And with that day, what do you remember thinking?
[00:00:10] Kadi: Not being able to breathe. I work with chemicals, so it's no pressure. Come with me and you have a few hours to take Julia from brunette, which she was at the time, she had just finished filming a film. And I had to make her blonde in one day for a Lancome commercial. Gosh, I just remember that day finishing and he called and I still remember what the message was: “She loved you so much, but she wants to know, ‘Does she speak?’” Because I was so just focused and silent the entire time and working, head down, military precision, that she thought I was like mute. I just remember it being like the most magical moment of my career and that maybe that's why it's still so vivid in my mind.
[00:01:10] Lindsay: Hey everybody. I'm Lindsay Czarniak, and this is Things No One Tells You. This is a podcast about the behind the scenes moments that shape who we are, those things that also are really relatable and really connect us.
[00:01:22] So each week I'm gonna talk with newsmakers, trailblazers in the worlds of sports, entertainment, all things, but also everyday folks, people who are talking about the real stuff that no one tends to share. Follow me at Lindsay Czarniak and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review things no one tells you wherever you like to listen.
[00:01:42] Hey guys, welcome to this week's episode of Things No One Tells You, TNOTY for short. This episode is one that is Things No One Tells You about the challenges of the process as in the process of building a business that you've always dreamt about or quite literally the process of coloring hair. I am so excited for you guys to hear from my guest this week, Kadi Lee. She is a business owner, entrepreneur, co-founder, hairstylist of Highbrow Hippie, which is this amazing community that really encompasses salons, also services, product. but it's more of like a movement because what she's doing is really incredible, trying to bring people together and to be able to cater to all sorts of men and women.
[00:02:30] But first sidebar, hair coloring. I did wanna share, and also I'm a bit embarrassed that this is what my hair looks like on an episode where I'm talking about hair. I am one of those people that drives more than an hour to get my hair colored, cut, what have you.
[00:02:51] Because for the past few years, I have been going to one woman who I discovered.
I met her and she's a really good friend of mine, Maley Torres. I met her at ESPN because she was my hairstylist at ESPN. Not always, but I would always be crossing my fingers when I walked in the makeup and hair room that she would be the one there because Maley, I call her magic fingers. She just has this way.
[00:03:07] And you guys know if there's someone that you love who you've gone to for a while, it's like you can just tell them and they just do their magic work, whether it's color or styling. But anyway, she is my go-to. And what I find also is I just love the experience of being in her space. And that is so important because I've also realized as I get older, I don't love to go to a hair salon and spend three hours, right?
[00:03:30] But if I'm forced to do that, because there's stuff on my head, at least I wanna be in a place where I feel zen and relaxed and have good conversation if I want it. Anyway, this takes me back to Kadi. Kadi Lee is amazing and you've probably seen her work without even realizing it because some of the biggest a-listers in Hollywood go to her. Among them. Julia Roberts. Also Meghan Markle, has started going to Kadi Lee and has been very open about how much she adores her. But what makes Kadi Lee really unforgettable isn't just her client list because it's really her philosophy. She talks about being from Jamaica, but growing up in the town actually where I live, Westport, Connecticut.
[00:04:12] And I really, really appreciated her honesty about growing up in a place that was not diverse, how that impacted her and what her life was like after that, where she moved and why. In this conversation, Kadi opens up about what no one tells you when you're the first and the only, and the one expected to hold it all together.
[00:04:32] We talk about being a black colorist, her perspective in a segregated industry, what it took to launch her own product line, and why she is always always chasing excellence over attention. Kadi Lee, I am so excited to be talking with you. Thank you so much for joining me.
[00:04:50] Kadi: Of course. Thanks for having me.
[00:04:52] Lindsay: So you're in LA right now. Can you tell me a little bit about where you are and what you have going on there?
[00:04:58] Kadi: Yeah. I live in Venice, California, and, gosh, I've been here for 23 years. My business is based here. I live here. My whole life really is within a two mile radius, I'll say.
[00:05:19] Lindsay: That's nice.
[00:05:20] Kadi: Yeah. Which is nice. I've obviously lived many places in my life and, but this is where I became an adult in which I probably call home now.
[00:05:33] Lindsay: I love, there's so many things I wanna chat with you about. I'm excited to hear about your entrepreneurship, about your company, about what you've experienced from the actual work that you do.
[00:05:43] And, just a lot of other things too. I am, as people that are listening or watching would know probably, joining you from Westport, Connecticut, which I know is where you lived also for a stint. So I also wanna get into that and talk to you about that. But first, can you tell people that, maybe new to it or may just not be aware of what your brand, your work, Highbrow Hippie is?
[00:06:08] Kadi: Gosh, Highbrow Hippie is so many things. It's interesting to me now that it's what people now know it as, is a product line. Because it's been a part of my life and my business partner's life for so long. We started it as a blog back in 2010, and it began just as a place for us to dump all of our thoughts and feelings, whether it be about what we were eating, drinking, wearing, politics, anything that we thought was worth discussing lived on that site. And we both had a similar sensibility of the world and our approach to life. And she used to be called like a “bourgeois bohemian” by one of her exes. And we were like, we can't use that. People will butcher that name. They won't even know how to spell it. So let's, I don't know, I just said the word highbrow one day and she screamed out hippie afterwards.
[00:07:14] Lindsay: I love it.
[00:07:14] Kadi: We love the alliteration and we just scooped up all the trademarks and, and it's just been our life for many, many years.
[00:07:24] Lindsay: So how did that seed begin? What was your thought behind, let's start this blog and let's talk about these types of things?
[00:07:32] Kadi: It was back when people even called them blogs. Yeah. And we've always been a chatty duo. I don't know, I've always been pretty opinionated and it just was cool that there was a place that we could just design to have all these things exist somewhere. And then we always knew it had the makings of a good business, just because of the name itself. And we both are pretty entrepreneurial and we didn't know how we would monetize it. But eventually, we just went to the obvious and made it first, a service-based business. And then out of that, a product line.
[00:08:19] Lindsay: How did you know, I guess what was at that point you were, doing the hair, right? You were at that part of your business already, right? Yeah. So let's take it back for a beat. And where, when did that happen? Can you take me to the beginning of that story? And actually maybe let's start with Westport. Let's start with yeah, tell me about just your backstory is a great place to begin.
[00:08:44] Kadi: Yeah. so I moved to Westport in 1988. It was about 10 years old.
[00:08:54] Lindsay: Wow. From where?
[00:08:55] Kadi: From Jamaica. So I am, the hot word of the moment, I'm an immigrant, a proud one. And, we ended up in Westport quite by accident. It was just a place that my mom got a job, cleaning houses and babysitting. Okay. And, so we were never... I loved Westport, I loved growing up there. It was obviously a very safe place to be, not a very diverse place. And, but we stayed and wanted to stay because of the school system. And, but it was not an easy thing to do. Obviously it's not a very affordable place, but we lived for a time in affordable housing in Westport until my mom was able to, save enough money and buy a house of her own.
[00:09:50] People may look from the outside in as the quintessential American Dream success story, but there were many years where my mom was cleaning the homes of people who I went to school with. That was, oh my god, not the most comfortable.
[00:10:06] Lindsay: What was that like?
[00:10:08] Kadi: It was, it's what you think it was like.
[00:10:10] Lindsay: Yeah. I know
[00:10:13] Kadi: So. I am definitely, again, like I had a great time in Westport. We were really popular kids. I had, I did all the things. I had a nice group of friends. I was also not sad to leave and see what else was out there. And then I took a major departure from Westport and went to Spelman College, which is all black, all female in Atlanta, Georgia.
[00:10:42] And, that was by design. because being one of only a handful of black students in Westport, it's not a natural thing, and or it could be if you stay in a place like Westport and make that your longtime existence. But obviously, I like the skin I'm in, and wanted to be around other people who felt the same. And just wanted to be in a place specifically where we as black women were judged strictly on our merit and not, compared as the exceptional Negro, if you will.
[00:11:33] I just wanted to be with a lot of smart, beautiful black women Who were just, we all had the option of going to any ivy we wanted, or, but we chose Spelman to be in that sisterhood and to, get a very strong sense of self before we had to face sometimes, what can be like a cruel world.
[00:11:56] Lindsay: What, and this might sound like a strange question, but when you're describing that in a town like this, what does it feel like that people would not realize? Like when you describe what that is, like not, feeling a certain way, like how do you describe the ways that that happens? Does that make sense what I'm asking?
[00:12:16] Because I think about that a lot because my husband's African American, and it's not that much more diverse here right now. And we talk about this, I've talked about it with my mother-in-law a lot. Like we don't, I don't know what I don't know. Do you know what I mean? And sometimes it makes me fearful to ask certain questions about it. But I do know that that's a very clear thing that my son for sure will deal with. And I think my daughter for sure as well, and this also sounds like a weird thing, but my daughter looks a lot like me. And my daughter has recently said, mom, what's it like to be the only white person in the family?
[00:12:57] And I was like, what? And my mother-in-law walked in the room. She was here when she said that. And I was like. I don't, I don't, I don't, it was just, it just was a conversation and she's right. So I guess I don't really know the best question to ask with this, but what I do think is really valuable is for people that just don't even register that, what does it feel like in that moment?
[00:13:22] Kadi: Listen, I think there are a lot of well-meaning people out there. I think that race is something that people would rather not talk about, for the most part. Especially when, I think they truly believe that there are no differences and we're all the same. And that's a really, idealistic point of view, but one that, you know, as someone who lives in brown skin, that cannot be mistaken for anything else once you leave that bubble that you have to deal with. I won't say there were like, sure, maybe like microaggressions. There weren't like crazy instances of racism that I had to deal with in Westport probably because, I'm just, I'm a pretty tough cookie.
[00:14:20] And if they were there, if, the big ones happened, I really moved on pretty quickly from it, there was one instance I can remember that was pretty shocking when I was, like in middle school in Bedford, actually, but, oh, I know, but, listen, you gotta, it's just, it happens. And the person who did it had a parent who was, in government, in Westport, in local government. And I brought it to a teacher's attention and it was just, oh, I'm sure he didn't mean it, type of thing. And so when you also figure out that you didn't really have that many allies, in situations like that to have your back, you just, you, I don't know.
[00:15:13] I just moved on pretty quickly and I focused on my great friends. I was really active in soccer and softball and whatever else I needed to do to make sure I was busy 'cause my mom was busy. She was working all the time. So I was taken care of by a lot of the other parents as well, as far as carpool was concerned and so I didn't also have the, I didn't have the... there when she could, she made it, to the sidelines, but I also didn't have that, it was, just not a very privileged upbringing. At the same time it was because it was a pretty idealistic place. Again, it was safe, I was able to get a great education and I met some cool people. But I knew that, like once high school was over, it really was the end of my Westport experience. I think I've been back maybe twice.
[00:16:19] Lindsay: For people that, that have, kids that are going through situations or that are in similar situations to that, do you, are there things that strike you now looking back that you would say, okay, this is necessary for you to do, to be able to handle that type of scenario, regardless of where it is,
[00:16:40] Kadi: Yeah. I don't know. 'cause kids these days, bless them, like what they're dealing with is 10 times worse than we ever had to deal with,
[00:16:48] Lindsay: Because social media and stuff?
[00:16:49] Kadi: Yeah. I don't know. I also, I don't know. I don't know if kids don't have a choice where they end up and so they have to make the best of it. And I also think people are inherently good. I think if they're not good, it's learned. And, so I would hope that anyone in a town like Westport that would be in a similar situation as me, would just have great parents that are making sure that they're involved and their friend group looks like the real world, and that they're not in a bubble.
[00:17:30] Because I think that's where maybe most of it stems from. I've just always had people of all ilks around me. And I think that when you don't, that's when it becomes dangerous and you become, you're in an echo chamber.
[00:17:50] Lindsay: Okay. So Spelman. Yeah. And when you're at Spelman, what, did you experience and when was the first seed planted for you that you, what you wanted to do beyond,
[00:18:06] Kadi: Spelman, like a lot of people that went to Spelman, we basically found out about HBCUs through a different world than the Cosby Show. And, there are many arguments of why do black colleges exist and, I don't know, I'm just gonna be one till the day I die saying that they are so necessary as just a place to really form your sense of self.
[00:18:34] And a really great one, especially with Spellman, a sisterhood that lasts forever. I know another gentleman who grew up with me in Westport, Mitch, I know he also went to an historically back college when he left. And, another gentleman, Jared, also went to Morehouse and there are a few of us that decided to take that route, which is pretty cool. And yeah, once I got to Spelman, I was an English major, but I would tool around in everybody's hair. Always just knew what to do. No rhyme or reason for it.
[00:19:13] Lindsay: It's just like an art for you. It was like that type of thing?
[00:19:17] Kadi: Yeah. Or just like the necessity of, let me figure out how to deal with this. And, but it's interesting because that's back when I was styling hair per se, and I don't style hair anymore. I'm just a hair colorist. Not just, but that is my specialty. And that just came to be naturally, once I finished beauty school and really figured out that like my love of art and my love of just like colors and something clicked where that became my natural path. So yeah, I'm not sure the English major at Spelman ended up doing it good. I think so, because I write a lot of copy for our business now.
[00:20:02] Lindsay: I was gonna say in the blog, the whole like... But, wait. And was it that, it was a scenario in college for you where I'm like, did you have, your friends were lining up and just they knew that you were the one that would do the thing?
[00:20:17] Kadi: Yeah, they would let anybody who wanted to take a whack at it, go for it. And then, I ended up, I think, being a little bit better than some others and thank God they trusted me. It just, it was enjoyable. Yeah. And I also had I mean I had 20 jobs, like a true Jamaican, like I was working at like a clothing store, which is why I met my business partner. I was working the overnight shift at a hotel. I was
[00:20:43] Lindsay: Oh wow. How was that?
[00:20:45] Kadi: It was crazy. I was in Atlanta, like
[00:20:47] Lindsay: In Atlanta?
[00:20:49] Kadi: The Grand Hyatt and I would go straight to class in the morning.
[00:20:53] Lindsay: In Buckhead? Is that in Buckhead?
[00:20:54] Kadi: In Buckhead.
[00:20:55] Lindsay: That's where, that was where I had my first job out of college, was in Atlanta.
[00:20:58] Kadi: Oh, really? Okay. So, you familiar?
[00:21:01] Lindsay: Yes.
[00:21:02] Kadi: Yeah, I don't know. I did whatever I needed to do To, get through it. And then, was lucky enough to enroll at Aveda after I was done in New York City. Okay. And my first job being at Frédéric Fekkai, which at the time was just one, the greatest salon in New York at the time.
[00:21:23] And to really apprentice was some wonderful colorist, most of them French, with the exception of my mentor Constance, who was an American woman who was in her seventies when I was assisting her. I think she was like 80 by the time she retired. And she was just a mad scientist. She used to be a chemist before she was a colorist, and taught me many things that I still use today.
[00:21:51] Lindsay: Like what did she, when did that job… What did she do that was just so eye-opening with that craft?
[00:21:59] Kadi: We would have a color correction and there would be something that was slightly off with a tone and she literally knew to put like a drop of copper or a drop of this and it would just change before your eyes. It was true chemistry class. But she also, besides the chemistry, she had the coolest head of anybody I really have ever met. Nothing flustered her. And, I learned a lot just by watching that, how to handle many people at once, how to handle many high profile people at once, and how to get through just a very high pressure day. So she taught me many life lessons.
[00:22:46] Lindsay: I think that's so interesting. I was reading something before we spoke, about you describing that piece of the job and, I think it's probably a part that people don't necessarily think about, or maybe this is one of the things no one tells you is like what goes into it? You were describing because you're in a business where you're touching people, you are... the energy that goes into that and how the pressure you're on constantly. But what you're just describing too about the people, whether they're high profile or not, like how do you, what is that like for people that you've been to salons but you're not working in it?
[00:23:27] Kadi: I tend to have a slightly different approach when dealing with clients. I am really known as a very boundary person, so I've never been the hairstylist that's come and dump all your problems in my lap but mostly because it's physically impossible to get through the days that I have, if I do that.
[00:23:51] So I'm booked really tightly. My clients are women who are very busy and most of them are working women, which is honestly my dream clientele. I love them, they respect my time and I respect theirs. Obviously there are times when we are exchanging stories or whatever's happening in the news source, like now, you can't ignore it. And so there are times when we do have to take a minute, but I do respect the fact that they come in there for a bit of a break.
[00:24:32] And, it's their moment to also escape. Or sometimes they have to get a lot of work done while they're there. We have a very different salon in that it is very quiet. We operate, at least, I operate mostly on an outdoor patio that's quite peaceful. So I have natural light and I have fresh air so that I'm not like inhaling chemicals all the time. And you just hear the natural sounds of outside that become like a nice lull, like background noise.
[00:25:07] Lindsay: And if it rains, is it covered? It's covered,
[00:25:09] Kadi: yeah. It's completely covered.
[00:25:11] Lindsay: So nice.
[00:25:11] Kadi: Yeah. and it's such an LA thing, like we know we're really lucky 'cause we could really be out there, 12 months a year. But, yeah, I think. Boundaries with, everyone having this shared agreement that we're not gonna dump on each other unless it's like a moment where, we cannot ignore and we're going to obviously, acknowledge our shared humanity, but for the most part, my business partner, Mike and I have always operated this, we call it atelier, as a place where it's like our home that you're coming into.
[00:25:57] It's a place of mutual respect where they're respecting both our team and then they will obviously get respect in return. So it's not a very catty place, chatty place. It's a place where excellent work is being done, and we keep it moving.
[00:26:16] Lindsay: It's more zen?
[00:26:18] Kadi: It's zen. It's zen, but it's just for lack of better words, it's just adult, Like everyone is there to get it done. and I think our clients really appreciate that about us, that they know if their appointment is at 12, if we're running even five minutes late, we give them a call, a heads up call, because LA traffic is so unpredictable. So I know sometimes people are rushing to get to us, and if you just get that call that then you can like, take a beat and take your time walking in because I need an extra five minutes. Like it's, we literally operate that way every single day.
[00:26:58] Lindsay: And you do the heads of some of the most famous women that people have seen in Hollywood. And how so, from Spelman, from meeting Micah, and then what was that next step?
[00:27:12] Kadi: Let's see. I assisted in New York and then honestly, like one day I just wanted to live in a warm climate again, and Frédéric Fekkai had a salon in Beverly Hills and I just asked for a transfer. It was that simple. And they were like, if you can…
[00:27:30] Lindsay: They're just like, “Okay.”?
[00:27:31] Kadi: Yeah, it was, truly. And they were like, if you can get yourself out there, if you can get licensed in California, then we will get you a job.
[00:27:41] Lindsay: Is it hard to get licensed in California?
[00:27:44] Kadi: It was a totally different program, different hours. So I had to retake the test again after I'd been a hairdresser for many years. And it was wild. Because there, you have to get licensed for nails and skin and it was a lot of studying. I failed the test the first time and was mortified. Had to come back and be like, not so fast.
[00:28:10] Lindsay: Wow.
[00:28:10] Kadi: So then, eventually passed. Once I moved, I thought I was promised a chair, did not get a chair, and had to start assisting again in California. Which was wild because it's a whole different income bracket when you're assisting versus on the floor yourself. Okay. I had, talk about less than $0. So I went back to the whole, let's get a million jobs again. I was working at a restaurant, I was working at a flower shop and during the day I was literally walking to work in Beverly Hills from Santa Monica. Like, it was a trip. Eventually they gave us assistants the opportunity to do models. Once or twice a week. And say the model would come in and pay $50 to get like a single process done, we would keep like $20 and they would keep the rest.
[00:29:12] I eventually just signed up for as many models as I could get. and that became like a different income source. And these models, some of these models are still my clients today. I now do some of their children. So it was a really big lesson in just never saying no. Because these women went on to have huge careers and or some of them are now stay home moms or whatever the case is they're still my clients today, so it's been, and I grew up with them for 23 years.
[00:29:43] Lindsay: Oh my. and when you think back to, so not only those people, but whoever it is that you're working on, maybe some of the actresses, like the ones that obviously Meghan Markle, Julia Roberts, what is, there something that you've experienced that you would say is something that no one tells you just about doing the job, that you've learned along the way?
[00:30:07] Kadi: I have to say I was really lucky in all of the people that have come into my life to guide me also in this career. So once I will say I left Frédéric Fekkai after five years in their Beverly Hills location and went to go work for Serge Normant, who then, and he is the hairdresser's hairdresser, like I had tear-outs of all of his work.
[00:30:38] He was the biggest inspiration to me and to go and work for him was a, first, a dream and then to become not only his mentee, but now one of his closest friends has been like my wildest dream come true. So Serge has really been a guiding light in my life, in my career. And so yeah, there were things no one told me, but I also had a very great bird in my ear telling me, guiding me and telling me things.
[00:31:11] And, Serge has always worked with the utmost discretion and elegance and I just always wanted to be like him. So I emulated him and when he gave me the opportunity to first work with Julia, like well over 15 years ago. I just followed his lead. He was there with me that day. And has really never left my side. We work as a team so I never had to wing it, per se, in a very high pressure situation because he taught me how to be.
[00:31:54] Lindsay: That's awesome. So he was just literally do you wanna come work with me on Julia Roberts?
[00:31:58] Kadi: Literally, that was just…
[00:31:59] Lindsay: And with that day, what do you remember thinking,
[00:32:03] Kadi: Not being able to breathe.
[00:32:04] Lindsay: Really?
[00:32:07] Kadi: Which is so funny.
[00:32:08] Lindsay: Why, but he obviously was like, taken, with the way that you did your work. So like, why did you feel that way, do you think?
[00:32:17] Kadi: I work with chemicals, so it's no pressure. Come with me and you have a few hours to take Julia from brunette, which she was at the time. She just finished filming a film and I had to make her blonde in one day for a Lancome commercial.
[00:32:37] Lindsay: Oh my gosh.
[00:32:37] Kadi: Yeah. And it's like she is a busy person and with raising young children and time was of the essence and it was like you didn't get nine hours to do this. I literally had, perhaps a morning and, but Serge helped. And gosh, I just remember that day finishing and he called and… did he send me a message or did he call? I know what the… I still remember what the message was: “She loved you so much, but she wants to know, ‘Does she speak?’” Because I was so just focused and silent the entire time and working like, I mean head down, like military precision that she thought I was like, mute.
[00:33:35] Lindsay: Oh my goodness.
[00:33:36] Kadi: And now we just laugh about it because now we just chat like old friends.
[00:33:42] Lindsay: Oh my gosh. So you, because you were so in the moment.
[00:33:45] Kadi: Yeah, I just, I was focused to get every single thing right. And it was almost like I was in conversation with myself, like I could, I don't know, I was telling myself like, you're gonna do a sweep of color here and you're going to pop that little piece there.
[00:33:59] And I just converse with myself for hours, like, almost transcended to another place in time. And then I looked up and he was drying the hair and everything that I had coached myself through was coming to life with each piece that was being dried. And I just remember it being like the most magical moment of my career and that’s… maybe that's why it's still so vivid in my mind.
[00:34:26] Lindsay: Yeah. Oh my. I love that. And two things. It's first of all, it could have been any actress, but obviously what's the first thing everyone thinks about when you say Julia Roberts? It's her hair, right? Yeah. So it's besides the fact that she's an amazing actress. so that's funny. Just, and I think that's so awesome. 'cause I think about it like on the course of my journey or other people I talk to, and it's like there are these moments along the way where you're just this is exactly where I either am supposed to be or like want to be in this moment where it's like the thing that you have had the passion for, it gets reaffirmed. Like it sounds like that's what it was, right? It's just like this is, yes. Like it's lighting you up.
[00:35:11] Kadi: Reaffirm, but also you couldn't make it up. You, it was just wild. To this day it's still wild. Like to this day I will just look around and shake my head because I feel like the luckiest person on the planet and I am very aware of that every moment of every day.
[00:35:32] Lindsay: I would love to ask Serge what it was, 'cause obviously he saw immense talent, but also something else that struck him about you the way that you present yourself. I do love it when you're using words like elegance in that. I think it's such an interesting, awesome way to frame something for people to think about. 'Cause obviously so many people have the experience of going to get their hair done, but it's really cool when you're talking about it that way.
[00:35:57] Kadi: Yeah. Yeah. He just, I don't know, he just always focused on bringing the best out of each client and Serge was also one of the first hairdressers that I saw that knew how to do every kind of hair.
[00:36:13] Oh, okay. And because salons to this day are still quite segregated when it comes to hair. And, part of the reason why when I was in Westport, like I didn't get my hair done in Westport 'cause no one knew how to do my hair. But with Serge, I just looked at his body of work and it didn't matter what the model looked like or what the actress looked like, he, everyone looked amazing.
[00:36:40] So I knew that when it was time for us to have our own salon, that it was going to a place where women of all kinds could sit next to each other and feel comfortable coming. And obviously there are things that we specialize in. And because I am a colorist don't come to me to get your hair blown out and I don't know how to do that.
[00:37:06] But I do have someone that does, you're gonna point it. And our team is the best because they've always been open to that. We have a team that is made up of the most fantastic individuals who have never been opposed to learning different textures because they don't teach you different textures in beauty school, you learn on a mannequin with straight fine hair, even though only I wanna say it's about 10% of the population.
[00:37:43] Lindsay: I would be that mannequin .
[00:37:44] Kadi: Yeah. But only 10% of the population has hair like yours. Most people have wavy or curly or self.
[00:37:51] Lindsay: I would love to take myself outta that population…
[00:37:54] Kadi: Yeah. And the population is only getting more diverse, so our hair textures are getting more diverse. Yeah. Seeing Sege know how to work with it. Hector and Ashley, two of our members who have been with us since the day we opened our doors, Hector practiced his blowouts on Micah and I, and or practiced styling curly hair on us.
[00:38:23] And so there's not what client that can sit in his chair where he's thrown by, intimidated by, or you can go into another salon on, and if they don't, if they've never touched black hair before or even heavily textured hair, you sense the tension. You sense that this person doesn't have full command of this and then all of a sudden the client feels like the problem.
[00:38:48] And that should never be the case. And even with coloring textured hair, it's once you do it, you know how to do it. But you've gotta do it at some point and you can't fake it and then it all just becomes hair. Ashley, who is one of our master colorists, she assisted me for five years before she went out on her own, and therefore, knows every texture of hair.
[00:39:17] So our small and mighty team is, what I love the most about them is that nothing really makes us blink. We're just like, all right, like there was a day when I looked around and most of our more famous clients may be white. I looked around and the majority of the clients in the salon were not white.
[00:39:40] And that felt pretty awesome. It was like, okay, like we're doing something here, so yeah, I don't know, I just think it's really nice to have a place where you can set your ground rules of like how you wanna exist at work, and then also know that others that look like you are welcome and that the people that you're working with are also on the same page.
[00:40:11] Lindsay: So when you get to, you're in Beverly Hills, you're working there, you go from the what and I'm sorry, you call it an assistant? Is that what that role is at that point?
[00:40:22] Kadi: Yes. I was first an assistant or an apprentice. Yeah.
[00:40:25] Lindsay: Oh, the apprentice. Thank you. So then what happens? So how did it eventually become your thing?
[00:40:33] Kadi: You get promoted and then, yeah, you literally start with one client and then you, I built the old fashioned way before social media, where it was referrals. So again, I feel. I feel for anyone in this day and age because, the way that social media is used now, especially in the hair industry, it is like your resume. And, but I'll tell you that most of us who are at least 40 and up, 45 and up, because we built it just by word of mouth, sometimes I hardly post, because we're too busy and if the person is just posting all the time, it means that they have a lot of time on their hands, in my opinion.
[00:41:25] Lindsay: It's relative like to, it feels relative a little bit to my industry because I don't like, sometimes if I'll be at sporting events and I'm like working and it sometimes it's like it takes me so long to sit down and just do the thing, to be like, what am I? It's just embarrassing how long it might take me, and so, yes, I get that. I think that it's similar too 'cause that's how it's evolved in our world. So that's funny.
[00:41:51] Kadi: Yeah. And now too, obviously we've evolved from just a service-based out the gate, to having now a product line. And we have to be on social media, obviously. It's like, for lack of better words, like Meta has you by the balls and you cannot build a business without it.
[00:42:11] And it's, whether it's TikTok shop or Google ads or it's all encompassing. It drives us nuts, but it is just a necessary evil. Yeah. And it takes up so much of our time and I think about all of these smaller brands like ourselves, and obviously we have even a leg up from some of the smaller brands because of maybe who we're associated with.
[00:42:39] But, the amount of time and resources it takes when you are already strapped thin for time and resources and you're navigating, the cost of just trying to launch a business like that, then you're navigating the unknown, like tariffs. Then you're navigating Yeah. You know how to be on social media and deal with real time events.
[00:43:06] Like today in LA we're dealing with the ICE raids and the fake protests that people think are happening when it's just, they're peaceful, they're not riots, they're peaceful protests. So but you wanna be appropriate and you want to be, you don't wanna be like, "hey, buy my hair serum. It's just, you've gotta watch the tone, you've gotta watch your cadence.
[00:43:33] Lindsay: Gotta have a sense of awareness that's different.
[00:43:35] Kadi: Absolutely. And it never goes away. It never stops. So every morning you're just taking a temperature read and, it's tricky, it's tricky to have a business right now and to keep your wits about you. And, not to mention we still are running another separate service-based business. So It is, it's just a lot.
[00:43:59] Lindsay: It's a lot. And is it, what are you, really excited about right now about the product?
[00:44:08] Kadi: When I step back and I can be excited about it, it's that we're doing things in a slightly different way. We knew that if we were ever going to launch a product, it had to really speak to who we were as a brand, which was always about healthy hair, caring for people's hair, and providing some sort of other solution to women and men that didn't exist before. So when we opened our atelier, obviously we turned it on its head.
[00:44:44] We were like, salons can be peaceful, salons can be a place of respite. And the people may have been like, huh? At the time, we've been booked and busy since the day we opened. With our product line, it was clear and timing had a lot to do with it. When we launched it, it was obviously during, or right after the pandemic when people were dealing with a lot of stress and a lot of hair loss.
[00:45:13] And our clients were just asking for a solution for that. So it became clear that like it was hair health, hair loss, a long-term hair health solution and it's not launching a shampoo and conditioner. So everything that we do is from the angle of hair health, which excites all of us. We're not really known as the team that does like, come to us for like platinum hair or pink hair or whatever. We do like beautiful, healthy hair. and our clients stay with us for that reason or come to us to get fixed, and be on that path. So it's nice to be able to then offer things that support that philosophy.
[00:45:58] Lindsay: Yeah, you should come back to Westport more often. I know some clients over here. So I did wanna ask you, because I love what you mentioned earlier in this conversation, just about your desire and you and Micah, I think, to have a place where people could have authentic conversations. What did you say? like the old school type of salon, the safe space where the exchange of ideas. What was that vision like? Can you explain more about what you were hoping really that would be? Because I loved that. I was like, Ooh, it's barber shoppy to me, ish.
[00:46:36] Kadi: Yeah. Listen again, we're chatty. We've always been chatty, we've always been very opinionated. and whether that existed on the page of a blog or, because this space was going to be our safe space, for us to also share what was on our minds, if and when appropriate.
[00:47:06] We just felt that okay, the appointment time may not be the right time to do it, but what if, the, since the space feels like our home, like what if like after hours we could turn it into a little salon where people come back and exchange ideas And, we were like, why not? So ironically enough, the first big dinner that we got together. And when we designed the space, we designed it so that all of our furniture is modular. So everything's on wheels. And it all forms into, our three outdoor stations come together and form like a marble bar. So when we're outside, we could easily set up like a station for champagne and, yeah. We're also the most highbrow, bougie bitches on the planet. So of course we were like, where are we serving the champagne?
[00:48:09] Lindsay: But, and how many bottles do you need, by the way? My mom texted me randomly today, She's like, “We have eight people. Is one bottle enough”? I was like, “Mother, no.” Like, how much are you? No. What, anyway…So that was on my mind.
[00:48:22] Kadi: Exactly. And we're like, Ugh. Do we get the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs or do we like, go up? I mean we're, just, we're very particular. And I love that for us. I love that about us, but we designed the space to have these amazing supper clubs and everything.The patio becomes a very big open area, because everything is so modular. So we had our first dinner on MLK day of 2020. Before the pandemic. Wow. 'cause we thought it would be a great idea to get different clients together, different races and religions and ages, which is also important. And talk about feminism and intersectionality. When it came to race and we were like, this could be spectacularly good. Or like really bad. And honestly, it was one of the best nights of my life. It was, we put all these women next to each other that they didn't know.
[00:49:34] Lindsay: Love that.
[00:49:34] Kadi: At the end, everyone had,
[00:49:36] Lindsay: Did you have name tags? You were, you had them seated?
[00:49:38] Kadi: Yeah.
[00:49:39] Lindsay: I love that. Okay.
[00:49:39] Kadi: Yeah.We are in a big square. No one's back was to each other. There wasn't like off-conversations. We were in one conversation, which we led and then it went from there. We let it naturally, organically unfold. There were no photographs allowed. No videotaping allowed. We got some content before and after.
[00:50:07] So everyone felt safe to really just be, and I do think that if we had not had that dinner at the time that we had, and then, with COVID happening so soon after, we wouldn't have established ourselves as the personality of what the place could be or should be. And so then going into the pandemic and then being forced to be remote with these women who we had just completely bonded with, it gave us then the idea to continue it.
[00:50:47] And we started with these like patio chats, like on Instagram Live, where we continue talking about subjects that one could be, one could consider uncomfortable, which we never have because again, we started this blog never being uncomfortable with anything and never being afraid to talk about anything.
[00:51:11] I think, not to get so political, but I think part of the reason why we end up in uncomfortable positions is because we don't talk to each other. So we've never been afraid to have those difficult conversations.
[00:51:30] Lindsay: It's, you assume, maybe what you think the other person is thinking or feeling. I think that's a key in not just social scenarios, but also in marriage, in relationships. It's like such a common mistake people can make. So how did you guys kick off that first conversation? Was it you that led the, like the group or, and what were, do you, maybe you can't talk about this 'cause I understand what you're saying about everyone feeling safe. But were there some key things that came out of that really blew you away, that were online with what you guys were talking about?
[00:52:07] Kadi: Yeah, and I think, I could probably say this because we had a follow-up reunion, during the pandemic with all of the women that were at the patio chat, and that's very cool. They all came on, Instagram live and from, at that point, everyone had fled to maybe their parents' homes or oh, I'm gonna, quarantine in Maine. And it was just wild to see that like everyone's lives had been so upended. And, the biggest takeaway I guess for me is at the end of the first in-person dinner, we really asked how many people think about race on a daily basis.
[00:52:49] And, the black women that were there raised their hands and most of the white women did not. And, and then some of the women who I guess you could call like not black or white, also did not. and some did. So that was an interesting kind of divide where, it's something that, depending on no fault of your own, just how you were born and what skin you were born in, you carry with you every day mostly because this country doesn't really let you forget. And then that was a huge eyeopener. And then another was how many people had friends, really true deep friends, of different races. And that was also eyeopening for most of black
[00:53:43] Lindsay: 'cause they did or didn't? What would you say? They did not?
[00:53:45] Kadi: Yeah. yeah, we were the only black people they knew most part, which I was like, guys, come on. Okay. Not all, but some, And so we, that was also mind blowing because I don't think people realize, again, how you can sometimes.
[00:54:06] Get into this pattern in life where you just fall in step with everyone who looks like you, who's from the same socio-economic background as you. And then you forget that there are all these different kinds of people out there that make up the world and make up this country. And then you're shocked when something you know goes down and you're like, how did this happen? And it's how could it not have?
[00:54:34] Lindsay: And so what do you do with that and what, like with that information, those things that blew you away, what, do you take? How do you further what you realize in that moment or that realization? And I don't mean you, but I mean everyone understanding that is your… I think that's a great idea of doing that. Raising your hands.
[00:54:53] How do we move forward in a way that is better and is, and and like the other question I have is, my daughter's eight, what do, not to turn this into a parenting thing, but I do think about all the time that, all the time, like, how, what, should I be doing to just be more aware or just set her in the best way of just moving forward with, I don't know, being open or, having the right conversations.
[00:55:29] Kadi: I think especially if you're in a physical place where diversity may not exist, there's still surrounding towns that activities happen in. It starts with a curious parent. If the parent is curious and wanting that for their child, then the child's gonna get it no matter what. But there are people that couldn't care less, and of course then their child is going to grow up thinking it's not an important thing to have in their life. Having people of different walks of life surrounding them, some people may still disagree and say, it's not that important, and like, why focus so much on race, I happen to think it makes your life richer. And I know that because of all of the different kinds that I have, I love them all. My one litmus is just don't be a jerk. And like I have more words to say than jerk, but, just don't be that, be cool and we're cool. And. Yeah. I don't know. I think maybe I have also Westport to thank for that. I'm never been in a room where I never thought I belonged in that room. No one can make me think that.
[00:56:50] Lindsay: That's a great point.
[00:56:51] Kadi: Yeah. Like I'm comfortable anywhere and 90% of my clients are white women, so I have to know how to speak to them. But I want the cool ones. I want the ones that are nice. I want the ones that are open-minded and, and I think by just natural selection, it happens anyway. You find your people.
[00:57:12] Lindsay: Yeah. I agree. But do you, for, people that would fall in the bucket of the group that you mentioned that raise their hand, that does not have, don't have many other friends that don't look like them. What do you think? What are the conversations that people should be having? Do you think when there is opportunity to have conversations about race, what would you, what do you think is most important? And seriously, what are the questions and the dialogue?
[00:57:43] What is the dialogue? And I think that's, really, that is just something I think about a lot. Like what, should we talk about that isn't just natural conversation that you would have, like what are experiences that should be at the forefront to be talking about, to be sharing? Does that make sense or is that...
[00:58:03] Kadi: That makes sense. And that's a tough question to answer because then it becomes we're writing this playbook, which is… I know it takes away the humanity of it. So I really do think it starts with having a natural and genuine curiosity about other people's lives. And I think you just start there. I know it's maybe an overly simplified answer, but knowing that someone may have a different experience in this world than you, so just starting wherever.
[00:58:35] Lindsay: I love, I think that answer is great because I, because sometimes, I felt like I feel apprehensive, even asking that question because it seems really strange. But it's, but yeah, the way you just answered it, I think makes a lot of sense.
[00:58:50] Kadi: Yeah. No fear. My partner Mike and I are always like, F fear, all just humans trying to navigate this crazy time we have here on earth. So if you are naturally curious, reach out, and talk to people. Start somewhere
[00:59:12] Lindsay: And just ask. And just ask. It's just it's the same thing if you're.
[00:59:17] Kadi: Yeah. 'cause then you really find out you're, not to be hokey, but you really find out that at the end of the day, so many things, crossover, family values, everyone wants the same thing for their kids. They want their kids too. And, I'm saying this as someone who's not even a mother by the way, but obviously has many children in my life. They want their kids to be happy. They want their kids to be healthy. They want their kids to succeed and have an equal opportunity to do so if you can put yourself in somebody else's shoes, lead with empathy first.
[00:59:52] That person may have had a different starting point than you, and how do I maybe help that person along then I think we'll all be in a much better place. But if you erase that person's existence by thinking that it is kumbaya and there are no differences, then we're really not starting off well.
[01:00:15] Like you've gotta just acknowledge that hey, this might be a difficult experience for her, or what's going on in the world right now may really be affecting her. let me check in, and check in truly as a friend and so if you have people in your life that you know, who may be a little scared right now, reach out to them. Just be human. And I think, again, not to be hokey, but I think it's really why, our business operates from a very human level and whether it's a common sense level or whether it's just like meeting people where they are, we want everyone to have the same thing, which is you're coming to us for guidance on healthy hair.
[01:01:07] So we're all starting from the same spot, And if we can agree that that's why you're here and we're gonna do our very best to get you there, then this is the place for you. And we've always just kept that very simple. It's been a nice thing to always go back to, we always, we started the company with our tagline was always like, beauty, wellness and conscious living.
[01:01:35] And we put the conscious living in there because it can encompass a lot of things. And it gave us freedom to, if we ever really wanted to talk about things that are affecting our lifestyle or how life is, we can talk about them. Yeah. Because I think as a brand, as a human, and as a brand. We want to be able to stand for something and sometimes some brands are very leery of doing so.
[01:02:05] But then there are other brands that are known for that throughout their entire lifespan as a brand. and who's to say we're not gonna be as political as like a Ben and Jerry's, but we could also, we can have a point of view. And I think it's great to have that from the beginning so that people really don't ever get confused about where they ended up. We never want someone to even come to our social media and be like, "Stick to hair." Be like, "What? You made a wrong turn. That's not who we are. And we've never said that. That's who we are."
[01:02:40] Lindsay: Yeah. I love that. 'cause that's, honestly, that's part of when we were talking about themes for this podcast, that's part of why we landed on things no one tells you is because it's like everyone, our experiences are all so different, but along the way, we'll be in conversation and be like, the thing that no one tells you about that, I mean it, and I thought if that, there's so much value in just sharing those things.
[01:03:05] What are those things like, just 'cause we're all human. We all have these relatable things out there, I don't know. Is there something looking back that, that falls into that category for you of one of the biggest things that no one tells you.
[01:03:21] Kadi: How hard it was gonna be to start a business.
[01:03:24] Lindsay: Really, my gosh.
[01:03:27] Kadi: Like every day. My business partner and I have very different day-to-day experiences. She's a mom and I'm not. And, so our time is also used differently, and there are some days when I'm expected to give all of my time, because people assume that I have all this time to give, but then there's never any time left for myself or the things that I care about.
[01:03:57] And so I've become very depleted in the past. and really trying to like, have boundaries around that on how important it is to always carve out time for myself, because, at the end of the day, we're a startup. So there's a lot on my shoulders. I am, I work seven days a week.
[01:04:23] And happily so because we have this goal and we have this thing that we're marching towards, that we really think is going to change a lot of lives, but it is nonstop. It is unrelenting. It is so hard to run a business. It's hard to run a business today. It's hard to run a business as a black woman to try to get funding when you know, the funding gap is so big in this country.
[01:04:53] It's hard to run a business when there are unexpected tariffs that you're dealing with every single day, and your components and everything else may come from elsewhere. Even though we manufacture here, like you are never… you never have a day where you're like, “Everything's cool.” You're just like, “What is it today?” No one told me that.
[01:05:15] And if we knew and we always say it, if we knew now, if we knew then what we know now, we'd be like, would we have done this? Because it is just wild. But there's also just been, no one also told me how rewarding it would be to put something out in the world where I see it affecting people's lives in a really positive way.
[01:05:43] My clients have been really suffering with hair loss. We've made something that actually helps them with this problem. And for women in hair, it's everything. They'll tell you, oh, it doesn't really matter that much. It matters. Like I know from just being anywhere in the world, everyone wants to corner me and talk about their hair.
[01:06:06] And especially when, whether you're dealing with like postpartum hair loss or COVID recovery or perimenopause and menopause and just all the things that no one tells you is going to happen to you because who, who knows why we didn't talk about this before? Luckily, it's now become such a big part of the conversation now of women and the changes that happen in their lives.
[01:06:38] But we talk about those things at the salon. “Okay, how long ago did you have your baby? Okay. Are you still on your prenatals? Okay. What are you eating” We talk about all of those things that no one even thought to talk about before, but it affects you. The stress that you go through, it affects your hair health, it affects your physical health, it affects your mental wellbeing, all of it. And usually the first sign of that stress is in your hair.
[01:07:10] Lindsay: Really?
[01:07:11] Kadi: The first sign, and…
[01:07:13] Lindsay: Really?!
[01:07:14] Kadi: Yeah,
[01:07:15] Lindsay: Losing it, losing it, or thinning or?
[01:07:18] Kadi: Thinning, the brittleness. And I would've never known a lot of this because when I started my career 25 years ago. When you're 20 years old, your hair is good, you're chilling. Yeah. You're, and right. And you think it's gonna be that way forever. And then you have your first child, and then you have your second child, and then you're like, wait a minute, why is my ponytail half as thick? Or, and then life stressors happen and you're like, huh.
[01:07:51] Why is it like shedding so much and if you just have open conversations about it, then you can find a solution and that's what we decided to do, which is, that's been a great source of pride and joy.
[01:08:05] Lindsay: And is that what, during the appointment or just at any time in the salon?
[01:08:10] Kadi: It's during the appointment, obviously starts with a consultation. Afterwards if they are having a problem, now we have a solution for them. And we have some things in the pipeline that we're about to release. Two, yeah, two.
[01:08:26] Lindsay: Do you wanna give a little teaser?
[01:08:29] Kadi: Let's just say everyone's Sunday ritual is gonna become a lot more pleasant. Like we're giving them something to focus on. It's gonna be a nice experience and that will be launching early October.
[01:08:46] Lindsay: That's exciting. Okay. Yeah.
[01:08:48] Kadi: Yeah. And it'll go well with... everything that we've launched so far feeds into everything that will be coming later. It all just becomes part of this very simple but effective routine that's going to offer a little bit of relief and solution.
[01:09:06] Lindsay: Yeah. All right. I have so much more to ask you, but I'm gonna have to save it for my next conversation with you. Okay. Which maybe will be in, in your salon. Yeah. We do, I love to end and just ask people what are three things no one knows about you?
[01:09:21] Kadi: Oh.
[01:09:23] Lindsay: That you are interested to share
[01:09:26] Kadi: Three things no one knows about me. Gosh. I feel like it's so funny. I feel like I am though, like I am like a pretty private person, that I'm an open book, but maybe not. Let's see. I love… My favorite place on the planet is back in Jamaica at Golden Eye. That may be something people already know, but maybe your listeners don't know. It's very cool. Yeah. it's the place where my nervous system relaxes, immediately upon stepping on the property. And it, I basically just have a smile the entire way through.
[01:10:09] Lindsay: What is it like there? What is the Golden Eye?
[01:10:13] Kadi: Best staff on the planet. They feel like family now. It's, I think, one of the only resorts in Jamaica that still feels authentically Jamaican. That it's not so stiff and buttoned up. They've got the best tennis instructor there on the planet, Norman.
[01:10:35] Lindsay: Norman. Norman. Sign me up. That's my game. I love tennis.
[01:10:38] Kadi: Yeah. And another thing I guess that people may not know, I became a really avid tennis player as an. Awesome. yeah, I could not afford it growing up in Westport. And now that I can as an adult, I put a lot of time and energy into it. Cute outfits, love everything associated with tennis. It's just the best.
[01:11:02] Lindsay: Do you play matches a lot?
[01:11:04] Kadi: No, I just like to hit with a coach. I just like the exercise of it. Yeah. the last thing, I don't know, I don't wanna be boring, but I love to travel and my favorite city is probably for the vibe, for the interestingly now good food scene is London.
[01:11:34] Lindsay: Oh, that's nice.
[01:11:35] Kadi: Yeah, it's really evolved in the past few years and I've got a good friend that lives there and I just, I love spending time there now. And I go there a lot for work now 'cause there's a lot of film shooting there.
[01:11:48] Lindsay: Oh, that's very cool. Yeah. Kadi, congratulations on everything and just thank you for all that you shared and I just, there were so many just really cool things for me to take out of this conversation with you, so I really appreciate it. And, I hope our paths do cross again in person, maybe in Westport, but maybe in California.
[01:12:10] Kadi: Yeah.
[01:12:11] Lindsay: Or with Norman, on the fourth.
[01:12:14] Kadi: Lemme know if you go. It's truly the best.
[01:12:17] Lindsay: I have a guy named Mo in Westport, who's a pretty great hitter.
[01:12:20] Kadi: Oh yeah.
[01:12:23] Lindsay: But thank you so much and, yes, we hope to chat soon.
[01:12:26] Kadi: Yeah, you're welcome. It was a pleasure.
[01:12:28] Lindsay: I loved so many things Kadi touched on in that conversation. but the one thing is I loved her story about Julia Roberts for one, but overall, I just think when Kadi was talking, I found myself Moved to the location where she does hair right in California and how peaceful that setting must be.
[01:12:48] And I really appreciate her, like her vibe and the way that she's honest about not wanting to be the chatty one, but really letting people come in and experience this sort of calm during their hair venture. I really appreciate how she shared her story growing up and her takeaways from that as well.
[01:13:08] And you guys didn't think I was gonna leave you hanging, did you? Of course not. If you follow me on social, you know that I love to do a Joke of the Day. So here's one in the lane of what we've been talking about. How does the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it. You love it.
[01:13:29] Anyway, Kadi Lee, thank you so much. By the way, her products are really amazing. I love the community Kadi Lee has created. The link to Highbrow Hippie is in the show notes, so please go there and check out all things Highbrow Hippie. Thank you so much for all the time.
[01:13:44] Thank you, guys, for listening. And again, don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, listen and watch wherever you get your podcast. I'm Lindsay and I'll see you next week. Thanks so much for joining me. I can't wait to see you back here next week. Please don't forget, follow and subscribe to Things No One Tells You. And of course, if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, don't forget to leave a five star review because that's really what helps people get more. Listeners, we would love to grow this community. We are so grateful that you're a part of it. See you next time.
