Indie Lee: The Diagnosis That Built a Clean Beauty Empire

Indie Lee is a clean beauty skincare brand founded by Indie Lee in 2010, built around the idea of combining high-performance formulas with plant-derived, non-toxic ingredients. The brand was born out of Lee’s personal health crisis—she was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor in 2008, which doctors believed could be environmentally linked, prompting her to rethink everything she was putting on her skin. After undergoing successful surgery, she made it her mission to create safer, transparent skincare and to educate consumers on ingredient awareness. What started as formulations she created in her own kitchen quickly evolved into a full line of products known for being clean, cruelty-free, and rooted in both nature and science. The brand became an early player in the clean beauty movement, emphasizing sustainability, ethical sourcing, and avoiding thousands of potentially harmful ingredients. Today, Indie Lee is widely distributed across major retailers and has continued to grow, including recent expansions aimed at making clean beauty more accessible to a broader audience. In this episode, Indie also discusses: Her brain tumor diagnosis that forced a complete life reset Selling everything to fund her vision and ultimately building a legacy brand Pioneering the clean beauty movement with the world’s finest, natural ingredients Partnering with retailers such as Bluemercury, Credo, Ulta, Amazon, Whole Foods Expansion into accessibility with Indie Lee Botanicals (priced under $25) Her simple, effective 5-step skincare routine that is easy and affordable Risk, resilience, and building something that actually matters We hope you enjoy this episode and gain valuable insights into Indie's journey and the growth of Indie Lee. Don't forget to subscribe to the Glam & Grow podcast for more in-depth conversations with the most incredible brands, founders, and more. Be sure to check out Indie Lee at www.indielee.com and on Instagram at @indie_lee Rated #1 Best Beauty Business Podcast on FeedPost This episode is brought to you by Wavebreak Leading direct-to-consumer brands hire Wavebreak to turn email marketing into a top revenue driver. Most eCommerce brands don’t email right... and it costs them. At Wavebreak, our eCommerce email marketing agency helps qualified brands recapture 7+ figures of lost revenue each year. From abandoned cart emails to Black Friday campaigns, our best-in-class team manage the entire process: strategy, design, copywriting, coding, and testing. All aimed at driving growth, profit, brand recognition, and most importantly, ROI. Curious if Wavebreak is right for you? Reach out at Wavebreak.co