RIVER FALLS — Lifelong River Falls resident Shelby Matzek was always interested in aesthetics, and when the window opened to start a med spa business for aesthetic treatments, she knew she could not miss it.

“[I’ve] done different things in the aesthetics industry, but I wanted to use my nursing degree,” Matzek said. “I’m offering medical-grade chemical peels and neurotoxin Botox, Dysport. I plan on adding a couple more options as well, but I just really love the beauty industry.”

Matzek is a nurse that eventually found a job at a facial plastic surgery location. Her friend, the owner of Reflections Salon in River Falls, offered space for rent inside the salon which Matzek could not pass up.

“That was kind of the push that I needed to dive in and do this for myself,” Matzek said. “I’ve always really taken pride in my own skin if that makes sense, so I just kind of want to share the knowledge that I have.”

From her days as a wedding makeup artist, Matzek found a passion in helping people feel beautiful.

“Making people feel as comfortable as they can in their own skin,” Matzek said. “Nurturing their own natural radiance is kind of like my slogan. Bringing out their own natural radiance, not turning them into somebody that they’re not.”

Matzek started The Skin Sanctuary at 650 South Main St. in River Falls, inside the Reflections Salon. The business officially opened in December and her local connections have helped her through the process.

She cited the importance of having a location where people can safely get these services done.

“In Wisconsin, there is a lot of people that do this kind of work that don’t actually have any medical degrees,” Matzek said. “I’m there to be a support for my clients that come in whether it be for just a consultation to see what they would like to have fixed. There’s people that can come in if they’ve had Bell’s palsy in the past and have some paralysis on one side of the face you can even it out with Botox. So it’s not even just 100% cosmetic.”

Other examples Matzek shared are healing scarring or evening out the face after a stroke.

To people that are interested but unsure, Matzek said they can make an appointment and discuss to decide if they would like to have something done.

Appointments can be made by reaching out to The Skin Sanctuary on Facebook, scheduling through the Reflections Salon website or emailing skinsanctuaryrf@gmail.com