From growing up on the Lower East Side to building a beauty business worth $25 million, entrepreneur Nadine Ramos considers New York City the city that made her.
“As they say, the concrete jungle will either make you or break you,” the 45-year-old native New Yorker told the Post.
Ramos' mother and grandparents emigrated from Puerto Rico in the late 1950s, “with only a few clothes on their hands and the determination to make a life for themselves in New York.”
Now the owner of Blessed Banana Hair Care and Lasio Professional Hair Care, Ramos grew up in the projects of the Lower East Side with her single mother and two sisters. Her mother struggled with a number of problems, including drug addiction, which led to Ramos being placed in foster care from the ages of 7 to 10.
Even after reuniting with his family, life wasn’t easy.
“I've been through a lot,” he said candidly.
But when his beloved mother passed away in 2000, Ramos had to live in government housing and his life took a turn for the worse.
“The year I lost her, I had two choices: either I do something great and risky with my life, or I become a victim and a statistic to those around me,” he said.
At the same time, she saw a Brazilian man giving keratin hair treatments to local women in his apartment.
Ramos instantly recognized the magic of keratin — a treatment that hadn’t yet become popular in the U.S. — and knew he had to do something.
“I have always been a lover of all things beauty and fashion. Looking good made me feel good despite my circumstances and hardships,” Ramos said. “So when I saw the difference this treatment made to a client, I knew right away. An idea popped into my head. I had to make it mine.”
The Brazilian man refused to share his secret, so Ramos boldly decided she would raise funds from family and friends, go to Brazil, and discover the secret to keratin herself.
She took her first international trip in 2001, found a formula and brought it back to NYC, where she worked with a chemist to improve it and make it compliant with U.S. regulations. After that, she spent the next five years investing all her time and money into creating a line of hair products.
“I felt all kinds of emotions, but I was in so deep that there was no turning back,” Ramos admitted.
“When you grow up in the projects of New York City, you have to develop a sense of perseverance inside of you. And I believe that perseverance has helped me develop grit, which allows me to not give up. It allows me to not accept 'no' for an answer.”
“I believe every 'no' can turn into a 'maybe' and then into a 'yes.' And in business it's important to have that skill to not give up easily.”
This determination led Ramos to earn over $1 million in her first year with Lasio Professional Hair Care, which is now valued at $25 million. She was also able to expand her offerings: Her Blessed Banana hair care line uses pure banana oil grown in the US for beautiful hair.
“I think my neighborhood, a community of young individuals struggling in the same environment, coming together and supporting each other has made a huge difference for me,” Ramos said.
“Believe it or not, it was true. It was the community I found on New York City's Lower East Side that helped me pursue my dreams.”
