About The Index Beauty
The Index Beauty is an editorial directory of independent beauty and grooming brands across five American cities. It catalogs the makers, studios, and small-batch labels working in skincare, fragrance, hair care, body care, and wellness, with a particular interest in the founders and small operations that would otherwise compete for visibility against larger, better-resourced brands.
The directory takes a narrow view of what counts. National chains, franchises, distributors, beauty supply stores, and multi-location service businesses owned by single corporate entities are not listed. What remains are the brands and studios actually doing the work, independently and locally, at the scale where one or two people can still answer the phone.
The five current editions are Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. They were chosen for their density of independent founders and the editorial team's familiarity with each city. New cities will be added as the directory expands.
How we curate
The Index Beauty profiles independent makers, studios, and small brands focused on beauty, grooming, wellness, skincare, hair care, fragrance, and body care.
The directory does not list:
- National chains or franchises
- Multi-location service businesses owned by a single corporate entity
- Wholesale distributors or retailers selling other brands' products
- Beauty supply stores
Brands are discovered through manual research, public business records, founder submissions, and editorial nominations. Every listing is reviewed before publication.
Editorial standards
Brand profiles are compiled from publicly available sources.
The Index Beauty does not fabricate details. When information cannot be verified, fields are left blank rather than guessed.
Identity tags such as Black-owned, Women-owned, BIPOC-owned, vegan, and cruelty-free are self-selected by brands through the claim listing process. They are never asserted by The Index Beauty on a brand's behalf.
Founders may update, correct, or remove their listing at any time.
Contact
General: hello@theindexbeauty.com
Submit a brand: theindexbeauty.com/submit
Press: hello@theindexbeauty.com
Remove a listing: hello@theindexbeauty.com