New Episode: Sparking Beauty - Medical Tattooing and Self-Image
- Moyo Institute, Inc.
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
We're thrilled to share our latest Love Letters 2 Our Bodies episode featuring the remarkable Dr. Leia’ Love, a true pioneer in the intersection of beauty and healing.
When Beauty Becomes Medicine
Dr. Leia’ Love isn't your typical beauty professional. With over 20 years in the cosmetology field and a doctorate in professional cosmetology, she has carved out a unique space where artistry meets medical restoration. Her specialty? 3D areola tattooing for women who have undergone mastectomy after cancer treatment.
What struck me most about Dr. Love during our conversation was her profound understanding that her work represents far more than skilled tattooing. She's offering the final brushstroke in someone's healing journey—the piece that helps them feel complete again.
The Art of Restoration
In our conversation, Dr. Love shared how 3D areola tattooing serves as the culminating step in breast reconstruction. Using specialized techniques and careful color matching, she creates incredibly realistic areolas that restore not just appearance, but confidence and wholeness. Her approach goes beyond technical precision; it's about honoring each woman's unique journey and helping them reclaim their relationship with their body.
"This isn't about vanity," Dr. Love explained with the compassion that defines her practice. "This is about helping women to look in the mirror and see themselves again."
The Leia’ Love Spark Beauty Fund
Perhaps what makes Dr. Love's work even more extraordinary is her commitment to accessibility through the Leia’ Love Spark Beauty Fund. This foundation, although in it's early days, will be help women who might not otherwise be able to afford these life-changing procedures to receive tattooing and beauty services for cancer survivors who. She understands that healing shouldn't be a luxury available only to some.
Through the fund, Dr. Love has created a model for how beauty professionals can step into the role of healers, offering their skills as instruments of restoration and hope.
A Conversation That Changes Perspectives
Dr. Leia’ Love was a delightful guest—extremely knowledgeable, thoughtful, and compassionate. Her insights challenged conventional thinking about beauty, vanity, and healing. She helps us understand that sometimes what we might dismiss as "cosmetic" can be profoundly therapeutic.
During our discussion, she shared stories of transformation that went far beyond physical appearance. Women who hadn't looked at themselves in the mirror for months suddenly feeling beautiful again. Survivors who finally felt their reconstruction journey was complete. Bodies that had been through trauma being honored and celebrated rather than hidden.
Why This Matters
Dr. Love's work represents a beautiful intersection of several important conversations happening in our culture right now: body positivity after medical trauma, the role of appearance in psychological healing, and how beauty professionals can serve as part of the healthcare continuum.
Her approach reminds us that loving our bodies isn't always easy or straightforward—especially when those bodies have been changed by medical necessity. Sometimes love requires action, skill, and the gentle hands of someone who understands that restoration is sacred work.
Listen Now
This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the complex relationship between appearance and self-worth, the innovative ways healing can happen, and the beautiful work being done at the intersection of beauty and medicine. Dr. Love's story will inspire you, challenge your assumptions about cosmetic procedures, and remind you of the incredible resilience of the human spirit—and the human body.
Listen to "Sparking Beauty - Medical Tattooing and Self-Image" wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe to Love Letters 2 Our Bodies for more conversations about embracing, celebrating, and loving the skin we're in.
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