Meet Melissa Rhodes of Nashville’s Ona Skincare
Melissa Rhodes is all about helping people on the road to self-confidence. Her journey to the aesthetics field — which now includes two Nashville med spa locations — is a fascinating one. Get to know this FACE of Nashville!
Melissa Rhodes’s journey to founding Ona Skincare — a boutique medical spa with locations in East Nashville and Belle Meade — was a deeply personal one. Her initial pursuit of nursing and aesthetics stemmed from her own experiences as a child, having undergone multiple surgeries and treatments for a prominent birthmark on her face.
She went on to work at prestigious hospitals and earned a degree from UAB Medical School, slowly building her med spa business along the way. Later, when a close friend within the industry was tragically killed in a car accident, Melissa stepped in to take over her business.
Today, she continues to innovate in the field of skincare, focused on nurturing her clients’ confidence inside and out. Get to know this inspiring FACE of Nashville!
You worked as a surgical nurse for many years. What inspired you to transition into skincare?
Growing up, I had a birthmark called a port wine stain on my lower lip and chin … it caused my lower lip to grow disproportionately larger than it should be.
Being in middle and high school is hard enough. As you can imagine, something that makes you appear different can be really difficult. Any woman who has tried to cover a blemish or bruise can tell you how difficult it is to cover with makeup. My doctors at that time would not attempt to treat it until I was a teenager, so I was very shy and self-conscious during those years.
I underwent my first surgery and laser treatment at 16. By the time I was 23, I’d had six surgeries and a dozen laser treatments to repair my lower lip. During those experiences, I realized how these treatments can impact a person’s confidence … it has shaped how I approach beauty.
After working as a nurse for eight years in the cardiac ICU, I began working for a plastic surgeon doing laser treatments and found my passion for helping people feel more confident. I started my business in 2006 with one location in East Nashville and began hiring staff and growing over the next few years.
Another piece to the story is that a dear friend who owned a spa in Belle Meade was tragically killed in a car accident years ago. We worked closely and shared patients — she would do the spa side, and I would do the medical. We would refer people back and forth.
She was very well known and liked in the community. She was spiritual and close to her patients; it was a big loss to our community. Her husband tried to keep the office open. Then he approached me and said, “I would really like the office to stay open, but I don’t know how to run it.” I felt compelled to take it over.
It was named after her, so we brainstormed to figure out how to honor and acknowledge her somehow. In researching words that were spa-esque and could somehow give a nod to her, I came across “ona.” It means different things in different languages, but in Lithuanian, it means “honor” or “favor.” That really spoke to me. I wanted to make sure I kept her memory alive.
In your opinion, what is the single biggest myth regarding skincare?
That just getting laser or injectables is enough. Medical-grade skincare is so important to maintain and maximize results along with other treatments. It’s like going to the dentist for a cleaning and not brushing in between. What you do at home every night is equally as important as the treatments and services in the office. Medical-grade skincare can make changes at the cellular level and keep the skin healthy and acting young even as we age.
With summer on the way, how should we update our skincare routines?
SPF is always the number one product, especially in summer, but really year-long. Even if you work inside, they are now finding that fluorescent lights and computer screens can damage the skin along with sun exposure. In the summer, reapplying every two hours if you’re out at the lake or pool is important.
If you’re prone to pigment or melasma, using products with some type of pigment inhibitor is extremely important. The cells that make that pigment need to be suppressed, so products with Arbutin, kojic acid, or hydroquinone can help prevent it and keep it from flaring in the heat or sun.
Vitamin C and antioxidants are also very important. They help eliminate free radicals, which are unstable molecules that cause aging and skin damage. One of my favorite products with DNA repair and antioxidants is ZO Daily Power Defense, which can be applied daily to the entire face, neck, and eye area.
What do you do for self-care?
I’m a huge fan of massage and sauna. I love going down the street to Bucca Reflexology Foot Spa every chance I get, having an infrared sauna at the house, or seeing our neighbors at Pure Sweat + Float Studio. I also love the ritual of my nighttime skincare. It doesn’t matter how tired I am; I never skip my products. Nighttime is when our skin repairs itself, so I love growth factors and retinol in the evening.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best advice I’ve received was to find my tribe and surround myself with people who share a similar mindset.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
Name three things you can’t live without.
Coffee, my phone (sadly), and Revision Intellishade SPF.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite skincare product you can’t live without? ZO Growth Factor Serum is like liquid gold and feels like silk. It helps with fine lines and texture and prolonging the effects of Botox because it mimics snake venom and minimizes muscle movement.
What’s at the top of your travel bucket list? I want to start planning a trip to Machu Picchu with my husband. He climbed Kilimanjaro years ago, and I want to join him this time. I am negotiating a hike up and a train ride back. I’m an overachiever in many areas of my life, but I feel like a combo of hiking and relaxing is more my speed.
Best book you’ve read? Oh gosh, that’s a hard one! I literally laughed out loud when I read Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking. She’s a great writer, and it was a very fun read. For more serious reading, I was intrigued by Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. I’m fascinated by how a small thing can turn a trend into a global phenomenon. I think people are so interesting; maybe that’s why I love interacting with patients so much. I learn something new every day from what might seem like insignificant conversations. It keeps life interesting.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Thank you, Melissa! Check out Ona Skincare here.
**********
Nashville women are doing inspiring work. Meet more of them over at our FACES archives!
Jenna von Oy Bratcher
Jenna von Oy Bratcher is StyleBlueprint's Associate Editor and Lead Nashville Writer. The East Coast native moved to Nashville almost two decades years ago, by way of Los Angeles. She is a lover of dogs, strong coffee, traveling, and exploring the local restaurant scene bite by bite.