There are skincare studios, and then there’s Natura Skin Boutique. Natura Skin Boutique is owned and operated by Casey Chebat, who told me that she decided to become an aesthetician after dealing with her own skin issues when she was younger. During her youth, she struggled with acne. Later in life, she experienced hyperpigmentation on her face, caused by the sun. After having a facial, she saw a significant difference in her skin, which is when she decided to go back to school, to learn about all things skin.
“I’ve always had a passion for skin,” Casey told me. “I’ve always struggled with my skin… I had acne forever, but I got it under control. I tried the stay-at-home-mom thing, but couldn’t do that. I decided that I wanted to help people with their own skin issues. I’ve been a practicing aesthetician for 8 years now. I worked in a medical spa for 2 years, then at a friend’s salon, before opening my own brick and mortar on Niagara Falls Boulevard. I did that for three and a half years. Then the pandemic hit, I had my third child, and I was dealing with other life changes.”
As she was considering purchasing the Niagara Falls Boulevard building where she had set up shop, out of the blue her girlfriend sent her a listing for 1345 Hertel Avenue.
“I went to look at the house that same day,” said Casey. “I love the charm of the North Buffalo houses. And the business community is so strong… there’s not a lot of turnover. I made a snap decision to buy the house, even though it needed a lot of work. I wanted to do my part of bring some life back to the block. Right after I closed on the house, I saw permits go up on the building next door, which I had been concerned about. It turned out that it’s going to be a microbrewery, with Airbnbs upstairs.”
In order to open Natura Skin Boutique in her newly acquired house, Casey had to convert the downstairs from residential use to commercial use. While the structure had really good bones, it was pretty run down. Everything needed to be revamped. One of the biggest projects was taking down an interior wall of the enclosed front porch. That added a significant amount of space to the boutique’s footprint. Then she swapped out the windows and the doors, and spiffed the place up, while retaining much of the house’s natural charm.
Thankfully, Casey has always had a knack for fixing places up. The dramatic updates and changes resulted in a beautiful and functional space that allows her to incorporate numerous beauty and skincare touches into the boutique.
“This is not your average spa,” said Casey. “We offer skin services and treatments, microneedling, infrared sauna, Cryo T-Shock (cold and hot – pain free fat removal), lash lifts, waxing, tinting, organic facials… there’s also a boutique element* where we sell skin care lines, bath bombs, candles, hand crafted jewelry, and body and hair products. Some people come to the spa to get relaxed. Others come to get energized. We have an in-house make-up artist. We will also have a medical director, to eventually offer advance treatments, with lasers and injectables. I’ve had a lot of people ask for massages, so I’m looking for a massage therapist.”
Casey intends to grow fairly rapidly in her new home, as more and more people find out about her offerings. She plans on rolling out a membership program where customers receive a free birthday facial and discounted services and sales.
At the end of the day, Casey wants Natura Skin Boutique to be a social gathering place, for birthday parties, wedding parties, or to simply sip a cup of coffee, chat and relax amongst friends. Anyone interested in the world of beauty and skin aesthetics is invited to stop in to browse the products or learn about the services, of which there are many… with lots more to come!
An official grand opening is being held this coming Friday, December 2, from 5:30pm to 8pm.
Natura Skin Boutique | 1345 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, NY (716) 866-5122 | Instagram
Boutique lines:
-Eminence Organics Skin Care
-Anteage Stem Cell Skin Care
-Pomifera all natural body and hair products
-CAC handcrafted jewelry
-Lux all organic soy candles
*Casey is looking to carry more locally produced products in the boutique – feel free to reach out if you have spa or boutique product in mind.