Meghan Markle’s Pandemic Box-Dye Disaster: The Elvira-Black Fiasco
Can’t wait to hear how this one unravels—but surprise, surprise, even royals can’t DIY hair without ending up looking like a gothic cartoon. Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and occasional podcast host, confessed on the April 22 episode of her Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan show that her attempt at at-home hair color during lockdown turned into a full-blown Elvira-inspired calamity. According to the duchess (43), she figured ordering every boxed dye on the internet would yield “just like she does on the box.” Instead, she unleashed a head of inky black that even Hollywood’s most over-the-top vamp would envy.
Meghan’s hair odyssey began in 2020, when quarantine tactics had us all believing we’d master grilling, fitness classes, and yes, professional-level hair color. Thanks to her long-time wedding stylist Serge Normant—yes, the same guy who tamed her locks on her 2018 big day—the duchess was introduced to colorist Kadi Lee. Masked meetups and social distancing protocols didn’t stop Kadi from arriving at Meghan’s temporary California hideaway to salvage the situation. The two instantly hit it off—so much so that Meghan’s little royals, Archie (5) and Lilibet (3), now shout “Auntie Kadi!” every time she rolls up.
But this diva-worthy debacle isn’t Meghan’s first rodeo with hair angst. She dug into her Northwestern days, recounting how she and her sorority sisters improvised with a plug-in stove-top flat iron. She laughs now, but back then the burnt-paper-towel smell was met with comments like “Is someone’s hair on fire?” from her non-Black roommates. That anecdote dovetails into Meghan’s ongoing reflections on race and identity. In her 2015 Elle essay, she shunned the “Other” checkbox by insisting “I am enough exactly as I am,” a statement that resonates far beyond hair color.
Granted, owning up to a botched box-dye session might seem trivial on the grand scale of royal dramas and Netflix deals, but it’s oddly refreshing to see a duchess reveal that she, too, misreads color swatches. Plus, the anecdote underscores Kadi Lee’s rising superstar status—and how a single “save-my-dye-job” visit can forge real friendships (and catchy podcast fodder).
So there you have it—a royally black catastrophe turned heartwarming allyship. Next week on Confessions of a Female Founder: what happens when Meghan tries baking banana bread? Stay tuned for the scorching reality.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Variety, Elle Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
