Ownership & conflicts of interest

The Aesthetic Index is privately owned and operated by its founder. It is not owned by, funded by, or operated on behalf of any device manufacturer, private equity firm, group practice, or medspa chain. We are not a dealer or broker of the equipment we cover, and we do not take commissions on device sales.

How we make money — advertising, clearly labeled sponsorship, and optional manufacturer tools — is set out on how we work.

Our founder also owns DNA Distribution, which distributes certain aesthetic devices in North America. When DNA Distribution distributes a device, the founder has a direct financial interest in that device selling. That applies to these brands:

• Cryoskin Revolution
• icoone

We do not receive payment from The Aesthetic Index for covering these devices, and coverage is not conditional on any distribution agreement. The conflict is the ownership itself, which is why it is disclosed on the page rather than managed privately.

Every profile below carries the disclosure box adjacent to its main content:

• Cryoskin Revolution — Pro Design Plus SAS (Cryoskin Paris) — distributed in North America by DNA Distribution
• Icoone Laser — I-Tech Industries — distributed in Florida by DNA Distribution (other independent US distributors also sell icoone)
• Cryoskin 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 (discontinued) — brand-relationship note only; DNA Distribution does not sell these models

The same disclosure appears on every comparison that includes one of these devices and on their rows in category listings. If DNA Distribution takes on or drops a brand, this list and the on-page disclosures are updated in the same change.

For these brands and their direct competitors, the founder does not moderate reviews, does not set or adjust rankings or scoring, and does not allocate buyer leads. Those decisions are made by other members of the editorial and moderation team under our published policies.

"Direct competitors" means devices in the same category solving the same buyer problem — for the brands above, that includes competing non-invasive body contouring, cryotherapy and lymphatic/microstimulation platforms. Recusal covers review approval and removal, ranking and shortlist order, comparison outcomes, and which manufacturer receives a lead.

Review moderation rules are published in our owner review policy, and verification rules in how we verify.

Because DNA Distribution sells devices in the body-contouring category, profiles for competing devices in that category (including Neveskin, Pagani Cryo T-Shock, Baldan T-Shape 2, Endospheres) are held to our strictest even-handedness standard: the founder is recused from review moderation, ranking, and lead allocation for these brands, and corrections from these manufacturers receive priority handling.

We do not place conflict-of-interest labels on those profiles, because the founder has no commercial interest in them. Disclosure boxes appear only where a real distribution interest exists.

Devices distributed by DNA Distribution are permanently ineligible for sponsored or featured placement anywhere on this site. They cannot be bought into a top-of-category slot, a homepage promotion, a newsletter feature, or any other paid position — at any price.

Separately, and for all brands: sponsorship never affects FDA data, reviews, rankings, or editorial content, and every paid placement is labeled.

If you believe our coverage of a DNA Distribution brand — or of a competitor — reads more favorably or less favorably than the evidence supports, tell us and we will re-check it. Use our contact page and select the corrections topic.

Corrections are reviewed by someone other than the founder for these brands and their competitors. Substantive changes to a profile are logged in that device's change history so you can see what changed and when. Our sourcing and verification standards are set out in our methodology.