Wellness Studios now open in Hill City

At Wellness Studios in Hill City, owner Haley Heil’s goal is to help people look and feel their best. 

“I really want to take the time with each client and make them feel like I’m paying attention to them, making them feel like I care. Because when you go into a salon, or spa or something, you don’t want to be just a customer. You want to feel like a customer that matters,” said Heil. 

Heil was originally born in Wisconsin but has lived in South Dakota for most of her life. 

“I grew up coming up here all the time to visit my great-grandmother,” said Heil. 

Around sixth grade, Heil moved to Hill City with her family, and her parents run summer cabins in the area. After graduating from high school, Heil said, “I was originally going to go to college to be an art teacher, and then the summer before I would have started, I decided I wanted to do something else. I saw people doing cosmetology stuff, and I knew people who did it. So I found an interest in it.” 

Heil attended the Paul Mitchell Cosmetology & Beauty School in Rapid City for a year, and said, “I met a lot of amazing people, and I ended up really loving it.” 

Although she originally planned to learn nail technology, Heil ended up doing the full program and passed her state board exams. Heil is now a South Dakota state-licensed cosmetologist with certifications in microdermabrasion, electric nail file and lash extensions. 

After school, Heil worked at a children’s hair salon in Rapid City. 

“I love working with kids. I love doing that. It’s so amazing, but while I was there, I knew I wanted to be my own boss,” said Heil. “I always wanted to run my own business. And while I was working there, I got the opportunity to come up here and open my own place. It was something I couldn’t pass up so I just went for it.” 

Through her great-grandmother, Heil discovered that the space in the Old World Plaza formerly used as an Edward Jones office was available to rent. She had initially looked at the space at the end of last year, but it did not work out. However, in June 2024 the opportunity arose again. 

“I always loved the plaza. It was always so beautiful. I loved walking through it with all the businesses,” said Heil. “This was the place. It felt right.”

Hence, Wellness Studios came about. Heil quit her job at the hair salon so she could focus on the business. The space itself required cleaning, painting and furnishing. From there, Heil had to organize all her supplies according to the South Dakota Cosmetology Commission and work through the logistics of starting a business. 

“Learning all the legal and state things that I had to do was a lot. That was very stressful,” said Heil. “I was so worried I was going to forget something, but I had a lot of help from relatives I have that are business owners and really close friends I have that are in this field. Their help and guidance was incredible of them. I’m really grateful for them.” 

The entire project took a lot of late nights. Heil’s husband Robert would often join her after work and help with the transformation until midnight. 

“It was stressful, but it was really fun to get to do that with him. He’s so supportive and was an incredible help, and still is,” said Heil. 

At last, Heil celebrated the grand opening of Wellness Studios with an open house Aug. 3. Business is slowly picking up as word spreads, and Heil said the response has been really positive. 

At Wellness Studios, Heil offers facials, lash and brow services and hair removal services. For lashes, she does extensions, lifts, tints and brow laminations, saying, “It’s kind of like perming your lashes and then dying them.” 

For facials, Heil said, “I offer microdermabrasion, which is one of the certifications I got in school. That scrapes off all the dead skin and everything and kind of sucks it off as I go over it with the machine.”

All facials are customized for the client based on their unique skin type with handpicked products. 

Along with waxing hair removal services, Heil also does dermaplaning, which takes off the dead skin and little hairs on your face.

To Heil’s knowledge, there is no one else in the area offering the same services. 

“I want to provide good quality services with good products for a fair price,” said Heil. 

Wellness Studios is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments are preferred, but Heil also takes walk-in clients. 

Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment can call or text Heil at 605-574-0345. 

Heil also has two spaces available to rent in Wellness Studios. She is hoping to rent one room to a massage therapist as a way to add more services to Hill City. 

“We don’t have that around here, and that’s something that I’ve heard a lot of people really want,” said Heil. 

Anyone interested in learning more about renting the available space can also call or text.

“I’m looking forward to, when I get more people in here, getting to work with them,” said Heil. “I’m excited to have more people in here to share this space with, and I’m excited to add more to Hill City. It’s always been a very popular town, and I’m excited to have an opportunity to add more to it.”