Indie Beauty Dish: Funding, Acquisitions, Retail Expansion And Other Moves From Spring 2026

Skin Laundry has tapped Raymond James to explore strategic options, according to sources. The laser facial chain and the investment bank declined to comment. Founded in 2013, Skin Laundry has a network of more than 30 locations and offers 15-minute sessions generally priced between $200 and $500 per treatment or around $1,200 to $1,500 for a package of six, although first-time customers can often book initial sessions for $50 to $75.

Skin Laundry is expected to be profitable this year. Its decision to hire Raymond James comes amid growing investor interest in med-spa and aesthetic services providers. Last week, private equity firm Stride Consumer Partners announced its investment in aesthetics services chain Peachy.

Verified Brands, a company connected to Madhu Natarajan, owner and CEO of beauty contract manufacturer Merit Manufacturing, has acquired Strands Hair Care, the company behind The Hair Lab by Strands, a customization haircare brand that launched at Walmart in 2022. In 2023, the brand was projected to reach $10 million in retail sales. The acquisition follows a secured party public sale last year in which lender Assembled Brands Capital Funding LLC sought to foreclose on Strands’ assets.

Asha Talwar Coco is no longer CEO of True Beauty Ventures-backed Leaked Labs, according to her LinkedIn profile, which lists her tenure ending this month. Alexis Androulakis and Christina Basias Androulakis, the married duo and content creators behind The Lipstick Lesbians, launched Leaked Labs on March 6 with Amplify Flexi Powder, a pigment disc sold in a $34 set of four shades. The product sparked a backlash from critics questioning its practicality, performance and value. Talwar Coco, formerly CEO of Covey Skin and president of Forvr Mood, is the founder and CEO of consultancy GlowUp Partners.

Ceremonia has raised roughly $3.5 million in a new funding round, according to a Jan. 28 SEC filing. The round includes 30 investors. The brand rooted in Latinx heritage previously raised more than $13 million, including a $10 million series A round in 2021 led by Sandbridge Capital, with participation from earlier investors Silas Capital and Female Founders Fund. Ceremonia is carried at Sephora, where its assortment of shampoos, treatments and styling products ranges from about $24 to $50.

In other funding news, Hume Supernatural has raised around $3.6 million as part of a broader $5 million offering, according to a March 3 SEC filing. The round includes seven investors. The microbiome-focused deodorant brand has raised roughly $8 million across multiple rounds, and soccer star Alex Morgan’s fund Trybe Ventures is among its investors. Hume Supernatural has expanded rapidly at retail, including a rollout to more than 700 CVS locations last year, and is now carried in over 5,000 doors nationwide at retailers such as Whole Foods, Sprouts and H-E-B. On its website, its deodorant is priced at $13.99.

Longtime content creator and communications professor Rachel Anise, better known as Beauty Professor, has entered the brand founder ranks with Academie Hair, a minimalist, luxury haircare line. Its debut product, $48 Sea Glass, is a lightweight detangling elixir designed to improve the brushing experience without the heaviness typical of the category. “There was a product that I wished existed always in a certain form and it didn’t,” says Anise, who’s considering a brush as a next product.

Rachel Cook Northway, who has worked for some of clean beauty’s most iconic names, including CAP Beauty, Follain and Tenoverten, launched The Northway Edit in 2022 as a personalized clean beauty and wellness consultation service. Now, she’s extending the concept into product with $44 Ginger, a simple, accessible toner positioned as an entry point into the prestige toner category. It’s available at Onda Beauty, but Cook Northway is primarily focused on direct-to-consumer distribution at the outset. “I wanted to start small and slow and see how the market responds,” she says.

Alima Pure is shutting down after 21 years in business, with its final day set for March 30, according to a customer email. Founded in 2004 by Kate O’Brien, the brand was an early leader in clean color cosmetics, selling primarily direct-to-consumer and through specialty natural beauty retailers. It emphasized vetted ingredients, refillable packaging and sensitive-skin-friendly formulations and was the first color cosmetics company to become a certified B Corp. The closure marks the end of one of the original brands to help define the modern clean beauty movement.

OffCourt has joined the portfolio of Alopeke, according to the holding company’s site. Co-founder Bani Bahari disclosed last year that the brand had been sold, but did not name the buyer. Alopeke focuses on brands with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $500,000 to $5 million, per its site. Along with OffCourt, Alopeke’s portfolio features Barton Watch Brands, Freedom Brands and EarthWise Pet, and former portfolio companies include Prima and Sonnet. Fan Bi, co-founder of The Hedgehog Company, which invests in and advises distressed brands, serves as an advisor. Bahari has since gone on to consult for global brands and growth-stage businesses.

Four external sources have informed Beauty Independent that Best Formulations’ beauty and personal care manufacturing arm has closed. Sirio Pharma, a Chinese company that acquired a majority stake in the Southern California company in 2023, continues to operate its supplements manufacturing business. Sirio Pharma and Best Formulations didn’t respond to requests for comment. Sirio Pharma had been seeking a buyer for the beauty and personal care business.

Good Weather Skin, the sun care brand founded by Everlane alums Franchesca Hashim and Alexandra Spunt, is expanding its retail footprint with launches at Violet Grey and Credo Beauty. The brand started last year with a single hero product, The One Daily Sun Cream SPF 30, and distribution at Nordstrom. On its site, its selection now extends to SPF lip glosses and bundled sets, with prices ranging from $24 to $96.

M2U NYC has rolled out to more than 150 H-E-B stores across Texas with a 75-stockkeeping unit assortment priced under $15. The makeup brand initially launched in the retailer’s trend section in 2024 and has since moved into the main aisle following strong sell-through, gaining dedicated shelf space alongside national brands. Its enlarged assortment includes the NYC Eyeshadow Palette collection, which features cover artwork created by students at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Daybird is growing its retail footprint to 500 doors nationwide, with its $39.50 4-in-1 Serum Skin Tint arriving at 475 Sprouts Farmers Market locations and 20 Whole Foods Market stores across New York City and Chicago. Started by Whitney McElwain and Veena Krishnan in 2022, the brand takes a streamlined, multifunctional approach to beauty and initially launched at Urban Outfitters and Poosh.

Bonita Fierce Candles has rebranded to Valorosa amid copyright issues. New packaging was revealed on March 30, and the brand will be sunsetting select candles and expanding into other scent categories. Founder Melissa Gallardo says, “The rebrand allows me to step into a name and identity that fully reflects where the company’s going.”

Valorosa translates to “courageous rose” and is an ode to the matriarchy. “Valorosa is deepening the emotional connection people have with scent and creating products that help other people create sanctuary at home, wherever you go and wherever you are,” says Gallardo. “We really hope our products help ground them, build memories and make them feel seen.”