Ask Leah

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Ask Leah

Ask Leah

Transitioning your winter skin routine for spring and summer temperatures.

It has been a brutal winter and it’s time to shed and shake it all off. With warmer temperatures right around the corner we need to adjust our hygiene and routines!


The skin is the largest organ in the body. It is affected by our diet, hormones, genetics and lifestyle. Every day our skin changes based on the above factors and when we throw in weather, climate changes, lack of sleep, traveling, variable water pH, and STRESS our skin reacts and responds accordingly.

It’s important to be in tune with your body and understand and recognize what your body needs.

I use my LC Dual Action Toner from head to toe when I get out of the shower everyday to balance and restore my skins PH to maintain its natural hydration. Next, I layer on a serum such as LC Vita C spray or LC Lilac Plant Stem Cell Serum followed by coconut oil.

Tips for Transitioning Seasons :

  • Exfoliate once a week to shed the skin from head to toe.
  • Clean your make up brushes and change our pillowcases on a regular basis.
  • Adjust your sunscreen according to the weather changes and apply more as needed if you are going to be exposed in the sun.
  • Try using natural products as much as you can. For the body I like coconut oil or a jojoba oil. I love aloe especially for a sunburn and I keep a live plant in my kitchen.

It is important to recognize what your body needs and wants on a daily basis, it’s the only skin you have. Bottom line protect and prevent!

Everything We Go Through Makes Us Stronger

“Why do you do so much stuff to your face?” “You don’t need that.” “I think you are fine just the way you are.”  “Why did you do another procedure?”

People always ask me questions like this. Sometimes it can feel like a compliment and other times I feel judged or misunderstood. I try not to get too caught up in what others think and use these situations as a chance to explain who I am and why I doing the things I do.


My experience with plastic surgery and facial reconstruction started by necessity not vanity…


At a young age I had major plastic surgery after an incident at a family reunion baseball game. A baseball to the face destroyed my nose, adenoids and also left me needing to get my tonsils taken out. Five surgeries later resulted in removing cartilage from my rib to rebuilding my nose as well as reconstructive surgery to rebuild my teeth, gums and lips. 


Throughout my experiences I have learned so much about the body and it’s amazing power to heal. I love educating myself on new procedures and treatments and often times the best way for me to understand them is to try them on myself. I don’t do stuff to my face because I am unhappy with how I look or because i’m striving to be perfect. I just like too. It’s my THING!! I’m a beauty junkie! My skin is my sin.


I love trying new things!


When you do something everyday you get used to it. It becomes routine.  It is important that I get out of my comfort zone and try new things. Understanding how my clients feel helps me to serve them better. There is a huge element of trust and vulnerability when you get a procedure done. It is important that I get services done so I do not loose touch with the client experience. 


My most recent procedure…Threading

Six weeks ago I got threading at Renew U Medispa by Christopher. The procedure does the following: strings go under your skin, connect to the collagen and yank everything up and rejuvenate new cells.  


My Physician:Christopher Rosenbarger 
PA-C , Physician Certified …His Thread of Choice: Les Encres (they are the closest to the ones available in Europe and South Korea


This company makes three types, most only make PDO threads. 
PDO (POLYDIOXANONE) are used for pull and lift. PLLA (POLY L LACTIC ACID) is used to create volumePCL (POLYCAPROLACTONE) used to create callogen.


The principal of threads…

  • Threads are used to create lift without volume. Basically, if you like the way you look in the mirror holding your face up, this is what threads help with. – Threads do not replace fillers in that fillers are for fat pad and bone atrophy. – Threads can also be used to improve skin texture and appearance by stimulating collagen far better than laser and skin heating modalities. This is seen in treating the chin, eyes, between the brows, and eye lids. Results far exceed any laser or chemical peel. 

An experienced provider can use the different types of threads and different chemical structures to improve a variety of issues not resolved in a natural way with fillers or neuromodulators.

My Experience:

Simply put, Christopher was amazing and his customer service was outstanding. His calmness and expertise helped ease my anxiety and pain. He explained the procedure every step of the way. It was a detailed and delicate which made me feel safe and comfortable. 

Recovery time wasn’t easy but it got better every day. I am so thankful I did this procedure, mostly because I now know first hand how it works. I am thrilled with the results and feel like the youthful glow is coming from the inside out. I made it through. I dealt with the pain. Just like hard times in life… we get through them and come out better than ever. Everything we get through makes us stronger.

In my opinion, you can’t be a beauty expert if you don’t do the treatments.

Bridal Bootcamp Prep for the Big Day

Wedding Prep For Her:

Two Weeks Before The Wedding:

I recommend a back facial, body scrub , and Infrared body wrap.

Week Of The Wedding:
I recommend two Infrared body wraps , stem cell treatment and red light therapy for 2-3 days before a custom spray tan.

Night Before The Wedding:

I recommend an epsom salt bath and a hydrating sheet mask.
Using a jade roller and anti puff eye patches are also important!

What to pack in the honeymoon suite:

  • Hydration mist spray 
  • Anti-aging pillowcases
  • Epsom salt
  • Bath bombs
  • Kleenex pack 
  • Lip plumper
  • Eyelash-conditioner 
  • Anti puff eye patches
  • Jade roller

Wedding Prep For Him


Week of the wedding:

I recommend 2 infrared body wrap treatments, stem cell therapy and oxygen to give him that perfect glow.


Night before the wedding:

I recommend a hydrating sheet mask and a lip treatment product.

You’re so VEIN

How does vein therapy work ?
The laser delivers a pulse of energy which causes the vein to coagulate (this means turn into a solid.) This action eventually destroys the vessel which is reabsorbed into the body and blood flow and finally directed to deeper veins below the skin’s surface where it should be located. 

Who is the candidate for laser vein therapy?
The laser can treat any skin color. It can treat spider veins, blue reticular veins, and small facial veins. Varicose vein’s are not treatable with this method, they require injections.


What about blood blisters and port wine stains?
Blood blisters or hemangiomas respond very well to the treatment.

How many treatments do you typically need? 
Often one or two treatments are sufficient, however, the number of treatments varies depending on the color and the size of the vessel.

Do the treatments hurt? 
A stinging sensation occurs as the pulse of energy is delivered , there is no numbing needed but we usually cool the area after it is treated. You can apply aloe or ice cool after the treatment.

What happens after the treatment?
Post treatment you could experience redness, bruising, swelling and potentially blistering. The end results are amazing but every person is different as to how they heal. 
Are there any restrictions after the treatment?If we are treating leg veins we recommend no activity for 24 hours and always use sunscreen on exposed areas.


When will I see results?
Most patients find that the veins show significant improvement within 2 to 6 weeks of the treatment . It does take time for things to heal and patience.

Ask Leah: Mascara

Do you know what *eye* know ?

Eyelashes 101

Eyelashes consist of 10% water 90% proteins, keratin and melanin which give our lashes color .

We have between 150-200 individual hairs on the top and 75-100 on the bottom lash, which protect the eyes from debris.

When did mascara originate ?

1913 a French chemist named Rimmel developed it by using coal dust and a Vaseline type jelly.

Do you know what is in your mascara?

We are putting this cosmetic so close to our precious eyes that it’s important to know and understand what you are using. What you put on your body is as important as what you put in it.

Harmful ingredients in most popular mascaras:

  • Carbon black: found in mascara and eyeliner and brow products and it’s been linked to cancer and organ toxicity.
  • Parabens: Butylparaben , Ethylparben , propylparaben
  • Coal tar : these are dyes used for color and contain heavy metals
  • Formaldehyde: a carcinogen and is use as a preservative

I took 5 of the top brands that makeup artists prefer and found that most of the popular/trendy brands all contain the above harmful ingredients!

The point is you read what you put in your body shouldn’t you research what you are using on your body. Minerals and clean products especially important around the delicate eye area

Clean Mascara Alternative?
Jane Iredale mascara and their lash conditioner are my one of favorites , they contain wheat proteins and are much safer for the eye.

Ask Leah: IPL

What does IPL stand for?

IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light and is also often referred to as a “photo facial.” It’s a light based therapy that targets pigmentation both brown (sun damage) and redness (flushing of the skin).

Where can IPL treatments be performed:

IPL can be performed on the entire body.

How often should you get IPL Treatments?

This treatment is best in a series, usually done 2 weeks apart for the best results.

How does IPL work?

The light therapy targets the pigment of damaged cells . We pulse the light/heat all over desired areas to create an superficial injury to the surface and help regenerate the cells. After treatment, the skin pigment can appear darker initially because the effects of the light/heat . This is a good thing as it will usually look worse before it looks better.

How long before you see results?

Sometimes the pigment can look like a scab or coffee grounds on the skin before it falls off or fades. This process can take a week or so to happen before the skin looks brighter, tighter and smoother.

When is the best time to have IPL treatments?

Winter and spring are both great times of year to try this treatment as we are not getting exposure to a strong UVA/UVB rays .

Ask Leah: How Diet Effects Your Skin

The skin is the largest organ in the body and it is affected by many factors like our diet, hormones genetics and lifestyle.

Below we take a closer look at each factor:

  • Diet- the kinds of food a person habitually eats.
  • Hormones-a regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
  • Lifestyle-the way in which you live your life. Good lifestyle practices include getting 8 hours of sleep, hitting the gym and limiting caffeine intake.
  • Genetics-heredity and variation of inherited characteristics.

In this blog post, I want to take a deeper dive on diet as it relates to skincare. I am not a nutritionist or therapist, but have I a lot of personal experience understanding what and why things happen to my body according to my diet.

Common dietary restrictions of healthy skin:

Some of the most common dietary restrictions for better skin are no gluten, no dairy and no sugar.

Let’s do a quick update on what those restrictions look like:

  • Dairy: dairy cows are injected with artificial hormones which could affect the milk. In combination with processed sugars and refined foods, dairy can affect the insulin levels in your body and makes you more prone to breaking out.
  • Gluten: gluten is the substance that is president in cereal, grains barley and rye. It can affect your digestive system as well as contribute to eczema psoriasis acne and chronic dry skin.
  • Sugar: when we eat too much refined sugar it creates an insulin spike causing inflammation which is harmful to our joints, muscles, stomach and our skin

It’s important to understand that your skin changes daily based on all of the factors above and MORE. I encourage you to get to know your body inside and out and love it for the amazing vessel that it is!

Ask Leah: The Essential Skincare Steps

leah chavie essential skincare

My mother encourage proper hygiene and skincare ever since I could remember. She had an extreme case of rosacea and so did my brother Noel, causing them to make frequent visits to the Mayo Clinic.

My first department store visit was to the Clinque counter when I was 10 years old . My mother wanted to teach me prevention and ensure I was educated on the how to use the skincare line recommend for me. I was so excited to take home all the steps in the skincare line and for the free gift. From that moment on I was a skincare junkie!

Here are the essential skincare steps I swear by:

  1. Cleanse: clearing the pores of debris prevents buildup and decreases chances of breakouts.
  2. Tone: toning helps soothe, nourish and hydrate the skin while restoring the pH. pH stands for “potential hydrogen” and is a scale used to rank acidity and the amount of hydrogen in the skin.
  3. Treat, correct & prevent.
  4. Hydrate and protect.

I have so much to say about each step that I am thinking of doing a dedicated blog post for each! Leave us a comment below if you’re interested and we’ll make it happen!

Shop my favorite skincare sets:

Ask Leah: Laser Hair Reduction

The laser hair reduction process takes time and patience. From head to toe we can reduce your returning hair growth with each visit by 20% .

The laser is attracted to the pigment (color) in the hair follicle. The laser energy targets the follicle to illuminate or slow the growth of the hair. The darker and coarser the hair the better the result.

Her are some commonly asked questions…

Does it hurt?

It is not fluff n’ love but it is quick and efficient! My Cutera Laser has a cool glide tip to protect and pre-chill the skin.

How long does the benefit last?

The more you are compliant with your specific guidelines the better .

Are there any side effects?


It is usually quick, effective with minimal discomfort. The lip does hurt so numbing or ice is always and option. With any elective service you can have a reaction, that’s why it is important you do a consultation with us prior.

Do hormones (menstrual cycle) effect pain and hair growth ?
Yes! Our estrogen and progesterone fluctuate during our cycle this can increase the pain and hormones can effect the growth of hair .

Can laser hair removal increase hair growth initially? 

Yes I can I can bring up dormant hairs and hair follicles. This is good as it will aid in reduction all around.

What type of laser do you use?

I use Cutera an American-made laser and I was certified in 2004 at MN Vascular Center . This laser is a 1064 Yag wavelength which means I can do laser hair reduction on any ethnicity from Fitzpatrick 1-6 (a scale used to measure skin color and tone).

What is the best time of year to start your reduction:
Now !

LEAH CHAVIE SKINCARE

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Chicago’s famous faces turn to Leah Chavie for the latest in skincare technology.

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Email: info@LeahChavie.com

Fax: 773.327.7058

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