MISSION DAY SPA

By Bonnie Eissler

Jesseca Zollars Smith, owner of Mission Day Spa, has found her calling. That’s why she is back once more in the field after retiring three times. As a licensed esthetics educator with 30 years experience and a heart for helping others, Jesseca specializes in oncology and sensitive skin, giving her clients customized facials and spa treatments that leave them feeling and looking refreshed and beautiful. Also, after losing her mom to cancer, she was inspired to further her education with more than 50 hours of oncology training, qualifying her to provide care for skin sensitivities that are often brought on by chemical drug treatments.

The health and well-being of your skin is only one part of the mission that Jesseca and her team provide at this luxurious day spa. “This is above all a call to create community, a place to teach and mentor budding estheticians, and an art mecca.”

Every room in the spa is beautifully decorated with antiques and art, providing an ambience that’s equal parts cozy and elegant. The renovation to the space was quite extensive with new floors, built-in shelving, paint and additional esthetically pleasing touches, large and small, including new upholstery, and hand texturing the walls and painting them flat white to better showcase the art. After moving into the building in March 2022, renovations continued at a steady pace until the following September, culminating with the spa’s grand opening last October.

Jesseca’s background in the skin care industry has taken her from the cosmetics counter at JC Penney when she was just 17 years old and still a high school student in Olympia, Washington to working with a cosmetic chemist to co-create products for a natural beauty product/skin care line that sold in more than 3,000 stores, including Anthropologie, Nordstrom and Whole Foods. “My goal at that time was to open a day spa and boutique,” Jesseca says, “which I did, first in the early 2000s with Avocado Tree in Dallas, later in Seattle with Fresh Face Seattle. She had a great client base in Seattle, and met her husband there in 2006, which eventually brought her back to Texas and to Wimberley in 2014.

The couple was in town for the 500-year flood that washed away their rental cabin. “I’ll never forget how this town rose up together and helped each other and helped my husband and me after that

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Memorial Day weekend,” Jesseca says. “That weekend impacted me in such a profound way, it changed me.”

It has been quite the roller coaster ride, but Jesseca is happy to bring her years of experience and love for the business to spa clients and as a continuing education provider for the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation (TDLR) for licensed professionals and high school seniors interning for careers in cosmetology.

“I take new apprentices under my wing from the high school level and introduce them to this world of esthetics and spa, and then teach continuing education courses once they’re fully licensed,” she says.

Jesseca has a great team of estheticians and massage therapists. A former student, from when Jesseca was a student educator at Total Transformations Institute of Cosmetology (TTIOC) in San Marcos, is “proficient in advanced esthetics, sensitive skin facials, and especially skilled at eyelash extensions.” Also working at the spa are a dual licensed Esthetician/Massage Therapist and a Massage Therapist, both licensed more than 15 years and skilled in advanced modalities.

“We have a third generation energy worker, who is a practicing shaman, working on reinstating his massage license.” Jesseca says, “Together, we work as a succinct team bringing love and passion for this industry to the individuals and spa parties we serve.”

The Art Events at Mission Day Spa coincide with second Saturday Art Walks hosted by the Wimberley Valley Art League. Jesseca and her husband, who are both artists, are members of the league and the spa is one of nine Art League galleries. “I thought it would be awesome to host artists at the spa,” Jesseca says, “so I asked if we could be a gallery on the ‘Art Trail’ and now we are!”

The spa hosts artists’ works for four-month periods, and when the art rotation comes up, hosts a party. Jesseca says, “I call it the VIP Art Party, launch a huge social media presence —invitation only—arrange for a band, invite local vendors and host a fun twohour event.” This is a great way to support artists and the community in keeping with the mission of Mission Day Spa.

Photos courtesy Mission Day Spa.

FYI • Mission Day Spa is located at the Junction at 9595 Ranch Road 12, Suite #3. Free spa services are offered to hospice patients. For more information about different types of facials and spa treatments, or to book an appointment online, visit the website at missiondayspa.com or call 512-522-6467.

Spend more time enjoying Wimberley and less time searching for parking! With three options to serve you, we make it easy for you to cruise town in style without the stress and hassle of driving. Excursions to key destinations in the Wimberley Valley are also available.

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