Keep Your Natural Beauty with Näva Medical Spa’s Non-Surgical Treatments [Tonya - Näva]

My name is Tonya Buchholz. I'm a nurse practitioner at the Nava Medical Spa, which is located, as you know, in Brookings, at the Brookings Health System. I have been there for the last 10 years, and we provide several services for wrinkle reduction, laser hair removal.

What should someone consider when choosing an aesthetic medicine provider?

I feel not only trust, but you want somebody who is going to listen to you. This is your face, and if you feel like you're being heard, I think that's one of the most important things for clients. Also, once we come to that conclusion of what it is that you want, is that person going to be able to follow through and give you what you want? I feel confident in all those areas.

How did you get started in aesthetic medicine?

I wouldn't consider myself a vain person. I just didn't wanna age as fast as I wanted, you know, as I was. So I discovered that just doing subtle things here and there just made me feel better about myself. And I just felt that if I started doing one thing for myself, it tended to follow in other areas of my life. So, I wanted to provide that for other people.

What level of training do you have?

So I've been doing this for the last 10 years. And I did my training down at Scottsdale, Arizona, which is the guru of plastics, and they provided me with some really excellent experience. Did some clinical experience here for a couple of years, and then returned back to Scottsdale and did a more advanced course for us providers that have been doing it for a while. And they did give us some good pearls on some techniques that we could use for our services.

What procedures have you had?

All of them. I always feel you better try it yourself before you do it on anybody else. But I do always look at what people are looking for. And I am looking for the same thing as well. So, for the past 10 years, I've been trying to add things as we go along. And I know I'm aging, so if I can just provide just a few little things to make you look a little more youthful... I find that there's a lot of people that don't wanna do the plastic surgery and be cut. That's a little invasive and expensive. If we can just do a few, little subtle things, most people are really happy with that. I am very careful with how and what I do to my clients because I care about them and I want them to look the best themselves.

Why is quality equipment and products important?

So here at the Brookings Health System, we just use high-quality products because, number one, I want my clients to feel safe, and I also want them to get great results and to come back. So I've never had a problem because of that. We have the high-end, top, best-quality lasers. And we have the top Botox that you can get. You're not coming in here, getting some secondhand Botox, which you can see in a lot of different spas. The laser I use for hair removal is the Candela GentleMax Pro, which, if you look it up on our medical journals, it is the number one laser for hair removal.

How can you help someone that doesn't know where to start?

We offer free consultation. And a lot of times they come in, they say, "Just fix this." Okay, well, let's just start here. So I asked them what they feel that... You know, some people do, especially as they age, have that one area of their face that...you know, it's their staple. And so, we start there. And, you know, everybody has different...some people it's their eyes. Some people it's their lips. So that's where we kind of start. It's not necessarily changing them. It's just bringing back what they had.

I had an elderly woman, and I think one of my oldest clients, who's in her 70s. And her lips were her staple. And as we age, our lips do get thinner. And I just gave her just enough filler, just to give back her normal lips so she could wear her lipstick. So, those type of things that are just thrilling.

What procedures are popular with men?

I have a large client base of men. Men have a huge problem with the razor burn underneath their jawline, their neck. They love the laser hair removal in that area, of course, the back for men as well. A lot of men like to come in for Botox. We call it Brotox. Filler, sometimes I do on men as well. Every man ages, and so we can fill in some of those areas that start to hollow out. So, yes, it's just not services for women.

Have you ever stopped someone from getting a procedure?

I do that all the time. I say, you know, for instance, lips, filling the lips is my favorite thing to do. I've had some clients come in and they're already big. And I don't want them to look distorted because they've already told me that. And so I will tell them...and they're, like, "Are you sure?" And I'm, like, "100% sure." And then they come back say, "I'm so glad you didn't." You know, if somebody comes in that's older and has a lot of wrinkles that I know I can't get them there that they want, I will refer them on to plastic surgery.

You know, I don't want them to come in and think that I'm gonna change them and make them look 20 again. I'm honest. And they are thankful that I'm honest, you know. 

Do you offer anything besides procedures?

A lot of people, even after they have their procedure, we do have a line called SkinMedica that we can use post-procedure or pre-procedure. If you're getting lasering done, I like you to protect your face afterward. And so we have our line of SkinMedica that is great for keeping the browns away and protecting that skin after laser. We have other products under that umbrella, like Latisse, which is for eyelashes, a lot of people love. I mean, it's a great product to make those eyelashes just take off. I like SkinMedica because it has a research component to it. It has been researched and has proven its efficacy.

What payment options are available?

So our services are cash-based, and no insurance can be used. Although, we do... Sometimes most people's health savings accounts will work because we are in a hospital, and it is medical services. So, that can be... I have a lot of clients coming towards the end of the year, like, "I gotta use my health savings account." So, that's a great benefit for a lot of clients.

What is your relationship like with your patients?

I think the reason why people come to me and stay with me is because I listen. Some people like lots of volume. Some people like a more subtle look. So I feel that my clients are retained because they're happy when they leave and get exactly what they wanted.