About Tulum Spa
Meet Tomo, and the two estheticians she trained herself
Tomoko Heavner runs Tulum Spa the way she was raised to run a room: quietly, and with one guest at a time in mind. The full menu of treatments and prices lives on its own page. This one is about the person behind the door, the two estheticians standing beside her, and what the people who have sat in her chair actually say.
Five generations of hospitality, then a room of her own
Tomo was born and raised in Japan, where her family ran a traditional hotel for five generations. That is not a detail she mentions once and moves past. It is the thread running through the room itself: the low light, the quiet, the sense that someone noticed you before you asked for anything. She grew up inside hospitality the way other people grow up inside a trade, learning it by living in it.
Before she was an esthetician, she was a corporate manager who traveled the world for business. On those trips she sought out luxury facials and high end spa experiences wherever she landed, and she started noticing what was missing even in prestigious places. That habit of watching a treatment from the client's side of the table, rather than the practitioner's, is where her eye for detail actually came from.
Life did not hand her a tidy path to get here. She went through a divorce and became a single mother at fifty. During the pandemic, rather than wait it out, she decided to become a licensed esthetician, earned her certification, and started taking clients the same week she qualified. As of a May 2025 profile in Voyage LA Magazine, she was in her third year running the business on her own.
“Success is about setting a clear goal, creating a smart plan, and taking consistent steps, big or small, toward it each day. Then, when you pause and look back, you can recognize the path you’ve built. That journey, that progress, is what I define as success.”
What pre-disease care means here
She built this practice on what she went through herself
Tomo has dealt personally with severe eczema, discoloration, and postpartum melasma. After giving birth in her mid forties she also went through atopic dermatitis, postpartum depression, a sluggish metabolism, and early menopausal symptoms, all at once. Those are not conditions you read about and then treat well. They are conditions you live through, and living through them is where her focus on pre-disease care came from: catching what the skin and body are already signaling, before it becomes something bigger.
Her philosophy stays simple on purpose: non-toxic products, and a room grounded in love and gratitude rather than a sales pitch. Every session opens with a real skin analysis rather than a product decision, and what she finds there sets the rest of the appointment. The result of that thinking shows up directly in the treatments on the books today.
The team
The two estheticians Tomo trained to carry her technique
Tulum Spa is still a small, four-client-a-day studio, and the two other estheticians working alongside Tomo were not hired off a resume. Both are State Board licensed, and both were shaped by Tomo's own signature technique before they found their own style inside it.
Mina (Manami) Rybak
State Board Licensed Esthetician
Originally from Japan, Mina studied nutrition and sports science before spending years in the wellness industry. She believes radiant skin begins from within, through mindfulness and balance, and she was personally trained and certified by Tomo to carry her signature facial techniques while developing a style of her own. She works in the spirit of Japanese Omotenashi, heartfelt hospitality offered without being asked for it.
Aki (Akiyo) Contreras
State Board Licensed Esthetician
Also originally from Japan, Aki came to skincare through her own journey with eczema and sensitive skin, which is exactly the kind of skin she now treats with the most patience. She combines gentle, personalized treatments with a calming, Zen-inspired experience, built for skin that reacts to being rushed.
日本語でのご相談も承っております
Tomo grew up in Japan, and two of the estheticians here were also born there. Consultations in Japanese are welcome by text or voice message. The passage below is reproduced from the studio's own original site, in its own words.
Tulum Spa は1日４人限定完全予約制の隠れ家スパです。トゥルムはメキシコにある東海岸沿いの街で、現在進行形で開発中のリゾートエリアですが、周辺のジャングルやセノーテに多くのパワースポットがあるため癒しの地としてアメリカでもとても人気のある場所です。霊気術やクリスタルヒーリング術を駆使したカリフォルニア州公認エステティシャンが、Procell、Luxe Beauty & Body、DermaplanePRO、PMUなど、業界トップの教育機関で培った知識とクリニカル技術をもとに、ホリスティックな癒しへの情熱をもって取り組みます。日本語でのご相談は(310)866-6807までテキストまたはボイスメッセージにて。
What people actually say
Rated 5.0 from 133 Google reviews
“This was my second visit, and once again, it was an amazing experience. I had been struggling with acne around my chin, and Tomo noticed that it was likely related to stress. The extraction was a little painful, but the results were worth it — the raised blackheads became flat and my skin looked much clearer. I had also been dealing with redness around my nose and upper lip area for years, and I was surprised to see how much it improved after the treatment. What impressed me the most was the massage. The facial, neck, décolleté, and scalp massage was incredible. I never expected a facial treatment to help release so much tension in my neck and leave me feeling completely relaxed. I am extremely satisfied with the results and the overall experience. Tomo is truly skilled and attentive. I highly recommend her!”
Aki Cono, Google
“My 14yo teen daughter wanted to get a facial before starting high school and I found this spa through an online search. Tomo was incredible. She was incredibly patient and kind to my daughter, who loved her results and looked glowing afterward. I can't wait to try a facial there myself soon. Thank you so much Tomo!!”
Ursula T, Google
Come sit with the person who built this room
Four appointments a day means the room is never rushed, and the person doing your facial is usually the one who trained everyone else who might. Call or text (310) 866-6807, or send a message here and Tomo or her team will answer themselves.