Dr Lati Maloka: Aesthetic medicine seen through a brand-new lens

Mail & Guardian

09-05-2025

Making room in every corner of medicine: Dr Lati Maloka. Photo: Ricardo de Leca
Through sheer tenacity, Dr Lati Maloka is shaping the future for black medical aesthetic practitioners in South Africa.
As the founder of MASA (Sepedi for sunrise) Medical Aesthetics Spa nestled in Johannesburg's Forest Town, aesthetic medical doctor Dr Lati Maloka skillfully blends science, beauty and wellness to restore confidence and celebrate all types of African skin and hair.
With 13 years of experience in her field, she originally established MASA with aesthetic treatments at the forefront, but over the years the practice has evolved to include elements of wellness treatments for both body and mind.
'I always say that my work goes beyond just needles and lasers and consults,' she begins to explain. 'It's about rewriting the narrative of what beauty and medicine can look like for us as Africans. I see myself as both a healer and a hope-bearer, especially for the next generation of African doctors and dreamers.'
Growing up in Seshego, Polokwane, raised by her father who worked as an accountant for the then Limpopo Development Corporation, and her mother who was a primary school teacher, Dr Lati was a self-professed tomboy who always wanted to be a scientist.
It was Dr Lati's mother who pushed her to study medicine, a fact that she is forever grateful to her for. What started with just a stethoscope and a dream saw her earn her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and shortly after beginning her journey as a medical doctor in a more traditional clinic setting.
'I felt a deeper pull, though, to a space where medicine could meet art, confidence and empowerment,' she confesses. 'I think I was drawn more to aesthetic medicine as I was aging and realised that there were no African black women who were doing aesthetic medicine. Botox and fillers were regarded as just fake, and I wanted to change that perception, and that's how I found aesthetic medicine. Many people still don't even know the field exists, especially among black Africans. We're only told about dermatologists and plastic surgeons, and never about aesthetic medicine.'
Dr Lati's deep desire to educate black South African men and women about aesthetic medicine being an accepted form of treatment, as well as a viable career option, has resulted in her sharing her career journey openly.
'I want young black girls and boys to see me and realise that there's room for us in every corner of medicine, even the luxurious and transformative world of aesthetic medicine,' she admits.
Citing her husband as her bedrock and biggest supporter, she says it's his unwavering support of and belief in her that has made him instrumental in her success over the last decade-and-a-half, for which she openly praises him, saying, 'He's my biggest cheerleader. And when I don't have the confidence in myself, he's the one who keeps telling me that you can do this.'
She also honours the silent power of community and the people who raised her, in her every­day actions as the founder of MASA, where she has now built a community of her own off the back of loyal patients who trust and respect her work.
'I often say that I'm building MASA, not just for me, but for the women who never had access to this kind of care, and the mothers and fathers who are only now learning that aesthetic medicine is real and valid and transformative,' she declares.
In building this community, Dr Lati has effectively become a guardian of this space, explaining, 'As a doctor, I guard my patients' dignity and their secrets and their vulnerabilities. And as a mother it's the same, I guard my children's wonder and their self-belief. And as a black woman in medicine, I guard the doors of possibilities and hold them open for others who didn't know this path existed. And it's just a responsibility I carry with pride and tenderness.' By paving the way for every black child who's trying to find their voice and place in aesthetic medicine, Dr Lati is redefining what it means to be a black aesthetic medical doctor and business owner, while challenging society's perceptions of beauty through her passion for artistry and precision.