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Leola Davis describes herself as a “late bloomer” when it comes to skincare. While going through a mental health episode in 2019, she decided to try getting a facial. “I saw my skin transform, but also noticed a huge difference in how I felt after I came out of each facial—it changed my mental health, too,” she tells me over Zoom. The decision was easy from there: Davis, who was a sex toy educator at the time, changed careers and became an esthetician. Now, she's known as “The Lezthetician” online—a playful portmanteau of her career and her sexual orientation.
“While going to aesthetic school, I was talking to a lot of my queer and trans friends, asking ‘Oh my God, have you ever had a facial? Have you ever experienced this?’ just gushing. But many of them told me they had never had one because they had felt nervous or had gone once and the practitioner didn't know how to treat them. After hearing this, it became my mission to create a welcoming and safe environment that specializes and focuses on skin care for queer and trans people.”
And Davis did just that, opening Pansy Esthetics in Los Angeles. Everything about the experience from the moment you start your intake form is thoughtful—something Davis says, well, she put a lot of thought into. Paperwork asks for preferred name, pronouns, and body wrap size (Davis also wanted to ensure her studio was fat-friendly, so the bed and spa wraps are sized appropriately), plus detailed questions about the patient's experience in their body, how they are feeling emotionally, and their goals.
Transitioning to one's true gender identity can come with a lot of skin changes, so Davis created treatments to help with the process. Those taking testosterone may suddenly have acne and hair in both standard and unexpected places (The Acne Slayer) or scars from top surgery (Top Surgery Post-Op); facial feminization surgery could have intense swelling or bruising (FFS Post-Op Treatment). “I'm just trying to think of ways to help everyone feel affirmed in their bodies and in their presentations,” she says. Right now, these are treatments you won't find in standard skin studios, but she's hoping to change that, too. Davis offers mentorship programs to help teach fellow estheticians and spa owners how to make their spaces more welcoming to all.
Leo DiSantis is one of the many people Davis has treated. Before visiting Pansy Esthetics, DiSantis had only had one facial before. “When you're getting skin treatments, it's a very intimate interaction and the environment did not have me feeling comfortable being myself as a trans person,” they say, adding that with Davis, it was a totally different experience from the start. “With Leola, there is a tacit understanding of the nuances in queer and trans experiences as well as common factors and goals trans people are looking to address in their treatments.”
Compassion and thoughtfulness seem to be the foundation of every step of Davis's business. “I don't want anyone to feel like an afterthought,” Davis says. “When you come into my studio, you can rest assured knowing that whatever your needs are, I will try my hardest to meet them.”
