{"id":42335,"date":"2026-03-02T14:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/?p=42335"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:16:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:16:34","slug":"building-beauty-building-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2026\/03\/02\/building-beauty-building-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Building beauty, building legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

From his home country of Cuba to cruise ships and eventually to KZN\u2019s busiest malls, Iliusky Leon Chavez\u2019s path into the beauty industry has been shaped by hard work and personal loss. After building Microderma alongside his late wife Anita, he continues to lead the business with a strong focus on people and the legacy they created together.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Leon\u2019s career began at sea, working in\u00a0 on cruise ships, where he refined his technical skills and discovered how personal care can build confidence and connection. It was also there that he met Anita \u2013 the woman who would become both his wife and business partner.
\nTheir relationship, and later their company, was built on complementary strengths. Leon brought deep treatment knowledge and technical discipline, while Anita brought marketing instinct, style and a natural ability with people. Together, they shaped the early identity of what would become Microderma.<\/p>\n

Growing it from the ground up<\/strong>
\nThe early days were hands-on and demanding. Leon balanced treatments with staff management and client care, growing the brand through pop-ups, mall kiosks and constant face-to-face engagement. He believes visibility and trust are earned in person. His philosophy remains straightforward: people buy from people, and experience matters more than price.
\nMicroderma\u2019s expansion into major retail centres, Gateway and The Pavilion \u2013 among the first clinics of the kind in a KZN mall setting \u2013 came through persistence and calculated risk. Leon personally oversaw leases, construction and store launches, describing each opening as intense and all-consuming, requiring months of close supervision to ensure quality and systems were firmly in place.<\/p>\n

Loss and leadership<\/strong>
\nIn April 2024, Anita passed away after complications related to sudden illness. Her loss was devastating. She had been the public-facing energy behind the brand \u2013 warm, stylish and deeply involved in marketing and daily operations. Leon describes her as someone who lit up every room and drove the couple\u2019s shared ambition.
\nContinuing the business without her has been his greatest challenge, but also his clearest motivation. He now leads with an even stronger emphasis on structure, sustainability and standards \u2013 determined to honour what they built together.<\/p>\n

Business as endurance<\/strong>
\nFor Leon, business is not glamour. It\u2019s endurance. Growth needs systems. Skill is only a fraction of success. And resilience, he believes, is the true entrepreneur\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

Leon\u2019s advice for aspiring business owners<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Learn the business side \u2013 skill alone is not enough.
\n\u2022 Financial and business education are essential.
\n\u2022 Expect problems after opening \u2013 tough seasons are inevitable.
\n\u2022 Build strong systems early.
\n\u2022 Be prepared to work hands-on at the start.
\n\u2022 Invest in self-development continuously.
\n\u2022 Choose partners with shared vision and commitment.<\/p>\n

Details:<\/strong> Micro Derma Aesthetics Slimming and Skin Clinic; Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Umhlanga; 067 923 8054; IG:<\/strong> @microdermagateway<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From his home country of Cuba to cruise ships and eventually to KZN\u2019s busiest malls, Iliusky Leon Chavez\u2019s path into the beauty industry has been shaped by hard work and personal loss. After building Microderma alongside his late wife Anita, he continues to lead the business with a strong focus on people and the legacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":42441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1860,102,13480,13481],"class_list":{"0":"post-42335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-and-beauty","8":"tag-aesthetics","9":"tag-beauty","10":"tag-leon-chavez","11":"tag-microderma"},"yoast_head":"\nBuilding beauty, building legacy - Get It Ballito & Umhlanga<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2026\/03\/02\/building-beauty-building-legacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building beauty, building legacy - Get It Ballito & Umhlanga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From his home country of Cuba to cruise ships and eventually to KZN\u2019s busiest malls, Iliusky Leon Chavez\u2019s path into the beauty industry has been shaped by hard work and personal loss. After building Microderma alongside his late wife Anita, he continues to lead the business with a strong focus on people and the legacy […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2026\/03\/02\/building-beauty-building-legacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Get It Ballito & Umhlanga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetItMagNC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T12:04:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-20T11:16:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/micro-derma-main-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1248\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Get It Local Media\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GetItMagNC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GetItMagNC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Get It Local Media\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Get It Local Media\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0a7343da285456f8363e2bfa99149c6\"},\"headline\":\"Building beauty, building legacy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-02T12:04:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-20T11:16:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":455,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/micro-derma-main-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"aesthetics\",\"beauty\",\"Leon Chavez\",\"Microderma\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health & Beauty\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/getitmagazine.co.za\\\/ballito-umhlanga\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/02\\\/building-beauty-building-legacy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Building beauty, building legacy - 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