Wasatch Back Beauty brings spa services to Heber

Tawnya Ray has worked as a nurse for 21 years, mostly in labor and delivery — a job that required dedication, knowledge, commitment and energy.

“Because you’re wanting to give the best experience for your patient, but also the safest experience for your patient,” Ray said about caring for new mothers and newborns.

Now Ray is the owner of Wasatch Back Beauty Labs, which expanded to include a Heber City location in August 2024. The care she’s providing, Ray said, is still life-changing for many of her patients. But instead of helping a mother deliver their child, she’s working with patients to address needs and wishes about their health, weight, skin and general appearance.

Ray said that she was interested in aesthetics even before starting her own business.

“I never had the extra money to spend on aesthetics, and I always wondered what that world was like,” Ray said.

Having built Wasatch Back Beauty Labs from the ground up, Ray made her idea of what a medical spa should be come to life. In her world, aesthetics is soothing. Wasatch Back Beauty Labs — located on Main Street in Heber City — is bright and open with plenty of natural light and cushy seating in the waiting area.

Ray starts off meetings with patients in a sunny consultation room, where they talk about their goals for their medical spa appointment. In the hall, there’s a menu of services displayed on the wall. Facials, eyebrow treatments, laser hair removal, microneedling, filler, Botox. No matter what her patients are there for, Ray said her hope is that everyone leaves feeling better and happier.

“I really love that part of this world because I think we all look in the mirror and we can find something wrong with us. We’re our own worst critics,” Ray said. “But I love that I can help somebody address something that just really bothers them day in and day out.”

During the initial consultation, Ray will offer an assessment and choices of how to move forward. Some options include facials and microneedling — a cosmetic procedure that uses tiny needles to stimulate the production of new collagen and elastin in the face — while other “fixes” involve injectables. She said that, despite what some may think, services with cosmetic injectables like Botox are not what’s seen on television.

The key, she said, is finding someone who will leave patients looking like themselves, but refreshed.

“I’m the type of injector that wants you to leave looking like you. … Most of us are lacking sleep and chasing kids and we have tons of responsibilities,” Ray said. “There’s treatments that we can provide that will just make you look refreshed.”

Ray remembered one patient who was looking for a way to fix a facial problem from a past trauma. The patient’s lip, Ray said, became uneven as a result of her experience.

“It really bothered her. I was able to make her lips symmetrical again with some lip filler,” Ray said. “If your injector has your best interest in mind, they’ll inject in a way that can still look natural.”

With a few medical spas already up and running in Park City, Ray said she wanted to open Wasatch Back Beauty Labs in Heber City because she saw an opportunity to bring a new service to the area.

Ray remembered when her interest in running her own medical spa was piqued. After years as a labor and delivery nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ray said she was looking for a change in her career that still allowed her to use her nursing degree. That’s when a friend told her about the aesthetics business.

So Ray made the transition from a higher-stress job to one that invites relaxation. Ray greets her patients with a smile and hopes they leave feeling better than when they came in.

“There’s definitely things I miss about labor and delivery, but I feel like I can still make a difference in people’s lives here,” Ray said.