LÉ Blog

One of the main “Chemists’ Skincare Commandments” we tout is that with any new product, we all should patch test, patch test, patch test! We know all too well that the skincare industry is never short of new, exciting, glitzy products to add to our skincare routine. As we integrate new products into our daily routines, the importance of understanding how skin reacts cannot be overstated. There are so many of us (yes, that’s us included) can get carried away, and if you’re not careful, you mig...

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Uneven skin tone, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, dark spots, sun spots, acne scars, melasma… it doesn’t matter what type of hyperpigmentation concern you have, this is one of THE most stubborn skin concerns to tackle. This is an arena where you don’t just need one single BEST ingredient, but a whole family of clinically validated hyperpigmentation-busting ingredients. So let’s go through some of the ingredients you’ll likely come across in your quest to brighten, even skin tone, and tac...

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In the past couple of years, “slugging” has become one of the biggest social media skincare trends that seemingly is here to stay. The term has been coined by the interwebs as the process of masking your entire face with an occlusive balm to seal in your moisturizer step for optimal hydration. While the method of slugging might not be for every skin type, the operative word here is occlusive. Occlusives are a fundamental category of moisturizing ingredients that are an essential component to ...

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Back in the day, St. Ives Apricot scrub was probably the poster child for exfoliation. Even today, most people probably associate exfoliation with those amber scrubby beads. But! Since then, the entire exfoliation category has gotten a glow-up. Now you can choose from a wide range of exfoliating cleansers, serums, masks, sticks, pads, etc all with different strengths and efficacy levels to boot. So let’s take a closer look at why you should exfoliate, how to shop for the right exfoliant, what...

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Chemical peels are great for stubborn skin concerns such as hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles. It used to be a treatment you can get exclusively at professional medspas and dermatology offices, but now there is a whole category of skincare products you can choose from that claim to be at-home versions of peels. So how do these home peels stack up against the professional peels? Can they actually target hyperpigmentation and fine lines like professional peels? How do you shop for the...

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We have talked about the science behind vitamin C skincare, we have even tested a bunch of CE Ferulic dupes - yet there’s still more for us to cover in the vitamin C serum landscape. Vitamin C is actually a whole family of related molecules that all behave slightly differently. The OG vitamin C with the glitzy skin benefits that you often hear of is L-ascorbic acid. But since ascorbic acid is notoriously unstable in the presence of light, water, and air, many have turned to derivative compoun...

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If you’re unfamiliar with the term “Vitamin C Dupe”, it’s a category of ascorbic acid serums that sprouted from the painful price point of the original ascorbic acid serum, Skinceuticals CE Ferulic. As a result, a whole new category of ascorbic acid serums popped up on the market and these products come in all sorts of packaging, price points, and ascorbic acid percentages. For a while, we were holding out on looking at this category because it felt messy. Let’s just say, we knew how much of ...

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Vitamin C serums is probably one of the most popular products with countless new launches every year. Their lasting popularity make a lot of sense! Simply put, Vitamin C (specifically ascorbic acid) is one of the most validated actives in the skincare world for its clinical benefits. It has been proven to prevent free radical damage, brighten hyperpigmentation, and even boost collagen production. But given vitamin C’s popularity, it’s only gotten MORE difficult to choose the best vitamin C se...

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Since one of the chemists is now preggers, we can no longer avoid this can of worms. It’s time to tackle the topic of pregnancy-safe skincare and what that even means! We admit that the main reason for avoiding this topic for as long as we have is because, 1. This discussion is still best decided with your doctor. And 2. The data behind any sort of pregnancy-safe claims is sparse at best. Knowing this, let’s try to go through some of the data and why pregnancy-safe skincare may or may not mat...

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Restoring your “skin barrier” seems like a pretty hot skincare buzzword right now – and it’s actually for good reason! As much as we love our high-efficacy actives like glycolic acid and retinol, our core skincare philosophy is to always first have your skin barrier care down pat before diving into the other more glamorous skin concerns. But what even is skin barrier function and how do you take care of it? The good news is, you’re probably already doing a lot of things that are good for your...

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