How Leia Love Built Leia' Love Salon, a Boutique Practice Where Restorative Beauty Becomes a Pathway to Healing

Leia Love is the Founder and Chief Beauty Officer of Leia' Love Salon, a boutique salon in Fairlawn, Ohio, specializing in paramedical tattooing, permanent makeup, and luxury beauty services. She is also a Matrix Regional Educator for L'Oreal Professional and the founder of the Leia' Love Spark Beauty Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose Beauty Without Barriers program provides restorative services at no cost to breast cancer survivors.

"I lead with the conviction that where medicine ends, I begin."

Everything Leia builds, the salon, the nonprofit, the educational work, sits inside it.

The Founder Who Was Building Businesses Before She Knew the Word

Leia did not arrive at entrepreneurship as an adult. She started young.

"As a kid, I had a candy business, a newspaper route, and I even baked cookies to sell," she says. "I always had that drive in me to create something, serve people, and make my own way."

"Entrepreneurship was not something I stumbled into. It was something I was born to do. Beauty became the industry, but business was always in me."

That early start matters when you read the rest of the story. By the time Leia opened the salon, she had already been a small operator for two decades, even if the labels had not yet caught up to the practice.

The Background That Built the Practice

Leia's path into beauty started in high school.

"I actually took cosmetology in high school. This allowed me to graduate with my license and diploma, so this industry has been part of my life for a long time."

She then earned two college degrees focused on people, branding, leadership, and client connection. That academic foundation is part of why Leia' Love is not a typical salon. It is built on a deeper understanding of how trust, identity, and confidence translate into service work.

What Made the Leap a Prepared Move

"Taking the leap was always part of the plan. I knew from a young age that I wanted to have my own business and create a space where beauty, care, and confidence could come together," Leia says.

"For me, it was really about timing. I needed the clientele, I needed the right space, and I needed things to align in a way that made sense. Once I had built the relationships, the trust, and the client base, and the right opportunity for a space opened up, I knew it was time."

She closes the reflection with the framing that defines her career.

"It wasn't a random leap. It was a prepared move."

The Customer Leia' Love Serves

The client profile reflects the dual nature of the practice.

"I proudly serve women who have undergone mastectomies or surgeries that have left physical irregularities, helping them reclaim their confidence and reconnect with their bodies through paramedical tattooing, 3D areola restoration, and scar camouflage services."

The other half of the practice serves clients who are investing in themselves through healthy hair care and professional waxing services.

Together, those two client bases shape the salon's culture. The restorative work brings emotional depth. The standard beauty work brings consistent revenue and an ongoing reminder that beauty is a practice that includes everyone.

The Mission That Lives Beyond the Salon

The Leia' Love Spark Beauty Fund is the part of the work that reaches farthest beyond the salon's walls.

"Another major win is launching my nonprofit, the Spark Beauty Fund, which creates more access for women and survivors who may not otherwise be able to afford restorative services. That means a lot to me because the work is not just about offering a service. It is about removing barriers, restoring confidence, and making sure more women have access to care that helps them feel whole again."

The nonprofit's Beauty Without Barriers program provides 3D areola tattooing, scar camouflage, and permanent makeup at no cost to breast cancer survivors. The mission, in the language Leia uses, is restorative.

Surviving the Hardest Season

When asked about her proudest accomplishment, Leia does not name an award. She names a survival.

"The accomplishment I am most proud of is surviving the pandemic," she says. "That season tested me in every way. I was trying to lead a team, protect my clients, follow changing guidelines, keep the business alive, and still show up for people who depended on me."

"What makes me proud is that I did not quit. I had to make difficult decisions, adjust quickly, and keep believing that the business could make it through. And we did."

The Recognition That Followed the Work

Leia's work has been recognized broadly. She has received the Athena International Powerlink Award, the Greater Akron Chamber Minority Business Enterprise Award, and recognition from the Summit County Historical Society as Woman of the Year in the Inspiration category.

She also serves as a board member of the Black Chamber of Commerce Summit County. That community footprint is part of why the practice resonates locally. Leia is not just running a salon. She is helping shape the business community her clients live inside.

The Year of Expansion Beyond the Chair

"I have been getting more opportunities to speak, educate, and connect with organizations, medical partners, and community leaders about the importance of restorative beauty work," Leia says. "That has been a big win because it shows that people are starting to understand that beauty can also be part of healing."

For a paramedical tattooist whose work sits at the intersection of medicine and beauty, building those bridges is some of the most important work of the practice.

The Advice She Would Hand Newer Founders

"Entrepreneurship is not always easy, and sometimes the results do not show up as quickly as you want them to. But every seed you plant matters. Every late night, every lesson, every no, every challenge, and every moment you choose not to quit is building something."

"Nothing is wasted on your journey. It all adds up at some point."

What's Next for Leia' Love

The next chapter is bigger than the salon.

"One of my long-term goals is to establish a housing and training facility for people who travel from out of town to receive restorative beauty services," Leia says. "I want them to have a safe, welcoming place to stay while they are going through that part of their healing journey."

"I also want the space to serve as a training facility for other artists who want to learn the art and business of restorative tattooing. They would be able to come, stay, train, and gain hands-on education in a way that prepares them to take this work back to their own communities."

"For me, the vision is about access, education, and impact."

If Leia's approach to building a boutique salon where beauty becomes part of healing and access becomes part of the mission resonates, the Entreprenista League is a community of women founders who value connection, shared experience, and practical business insight as they grow.