Turning A Passion Into Wellness Solutions

By LISA LOEWEN | Photos by JOHN BURNS

CustomSkin Spas might look like a traditional hair and nail salon at first glance, but just beyond the door you’ll find everything that separates the full-service spa from its competitors.

The services are seemingly endless: massage therapy, infrared saunas, facials, laser hair removal, Botox and fillers, skin consultations, IV immune therapy and weight loss and skin-tightening consultations.

A salon, day spa and medspa under one roof, CustomSkin Spas gives clients convenient access to a variety of health and beauty services. Owner Trisha Williams hopes to use her training and background in skincare and cosmetics to help educate people about how to better care for their skin and bring out their natural glow.

“When people buy skincare products, 90% have no idea what is in the products they are buying or how to use them properly,” Trisha said. “If you buy multiple skincare products, they might even be working against each other, so you will never get the results you hope to achieve.”

Trisha hopes to teach people the importance of making skincare a priority. That’s why CustomSkin Spas offers a VIP membership program to encourage customers to visit the spa at least once a month. Clients can choose the VIP level that best fits their budget and needs to receive discounted prices on most services.

“People don’t bat an eye at changing the oil in their cars every 5,000 miles, so why is it so difficult for them to prioritize their wellness on a regular basis?” Trisha said.

She and her staff take a holistic approach to skincare. Rather than just treat the symptoms of a skin issue, they attempt to discover and address its root cause. Sometimes, it’s as simple as correcting the pH level of the skin. But it can often be as complex as the person’s hormones, diet, food sensitivities or gut health.

SINK OR SWIM

Trisha, who was born and raised in Topeka, has always considered this to be her home. After graduating from Seaman High School, she attended Kansas State University for a semester before pursuing her passion for skincare.

Trisha completed cosmetology school and became an independent contractor. She spent the next seven years building a client base and learning the best practices for running a salon.

Trisha and her husband Jason, who went to cosmetology school to learn the business side of the industry, embarked on their first big adventure when they opened Bella Salon at 21st and Chelsea in 2002.

“We were young, it was one of those sink-or-swim ventures where if we sank, we were still going to be fine,” Trisha said.

In an incredibly happy turn of events, the couple found out they were approved to adopt a little girl from Guatemala. When Trisha went to Guatemala to get her, that joy quickly turned to worry when the country closed its borders and Trisha found herself trapped and waiting for the next four months until the borders reopened.

“When I got back, I still had the salon, but I had been away for months, and since a lot of my clients were already receiving services within the salon, it allowed me to move to part-time tech and full-time owner and mom,” Trisha said.

After receiving an offer she couldn’t refuse, Trisha sold Bella Salon in 2009. She resumed work as an independent contractor until Jason was ready to pursue a dream of his own: owning a health club.

CHASING THE DREAM

The couple moved to Manhattan, Kansas and opened two large health clubs with a combined total of more than 200 employees.

While Jason operated the health clubs, Trisha worked part time in cosmetology and traveled the country as a national trainer for a cosmetics and skincare company. The contacts she made while traveling exposed her to the growing world of medspas — a type of specialty spa that provides focused treatments for anti-aging, reducing the appearance of scars and other complex skincare concerns.

Business at the health club boomed for the next three years. But when the couple learned that a major health club competitor was planning to move into the market, they took a buyout and moved back to Topeka. Trisha and Jason spent the next year as foster care parents and adopted their second daughter.

Eventually, Trisha opened a new salon in a small downtown suite, where her clients encouraged her to expand into the medspa market. She tirelessly researched the latest medspa technology and procedures to prepare, then hired a medical doctor friend of hers to serve as the new medspa’s medical director.

It opened its doors in 2015.

“Not all skin is the same. Everyone has a slightly different reason for skin problems,” Trisha said, when asked about her customized skincare services. “I started experimenting on blending skincare products and cosmetics for myself and have now become an ingredient junky.”

One year in, demand had grown so much they expanded into the space next door and added three new treatment rooms.

Then two years ago, she learned the property that used to be His and Hers Day Salon and Day Spa at 3311 SW 6th Ave. was for sale. Jason, who was involved with real estate at the time, reached out to the owners. The couple purchased the property and the building next door in 2022.

DEFINING SUCCESS

During her first year at the new 6th Avenue location, Trisha used the name CustomSkin Medspa at His and Hers so that customers of the former His and Hers Day Salon and Day Spa had time to become familiar with the new business. Then, she officially rebranded as CustomSkin Spas.

The rebrand was more than just a name change. It was also an overhaul of the spa’s brand philosophy, customer service approach and menu of services. Clients now had access to a one-stop shop with all the features of a salon, day spa and medspa.

Trisha invested more than $300,000 to outfit the medspa with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment. This included medical devices targeting a wide range of aesthetic concerns such as hair removal, anti-aging, skin resurfacing and tightening, intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy, cryotherapy and more.

She also created an environment where employees could look at the beauty industry not as a job, but as a lucrative career. This meant doing away with common salon employment practices like commissions and charging rent for individual booths.

“I created an hourly pay scale so employees get the stability of consistent pay. As their client return increases and their business increases, so does the hourly compensation,” Trisha said.

In addition to paid vacation, paid holidays and 401(k) retirement savings, CustomSkin Spas is now working on a health insurance solution for their employees.

“If you are looking for a spot to call home for all your health and beauty needs, we will welcome you with open arms. Free consultations are the perfect place to start,” Trisha said.

TK