Inspiring Conversations with Velia Ochoa Ramos of Beauty Blooms Esthetics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Velia Ochoa Ramos.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Columbus, Ohio, to immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico. Although Ohio has always been my home, I was baptized in Kyle, Texas. I grew up alongside my twin sister, Braylia, my younger sister Tanya, my youngest sister Kimberly, and my brother Oscar.

When I was seven years old, my parents divorced. I lived primarily with my mother and visited my father every other weekend. As a child, I often struggled with feelings of rejection as I watched my father build a new household and family. Those experiences affected me deeply, but they also helped shape my strength, independence, and determination.

Later, my mother moved to Pennsylvania while Oscar and I remained in Columbus, where we shared an apartment. Oscar was an important part of my life. He always encouraged me to do something meaningful with my future and make something of my life.

On April 2, 2012, Oscar was murdered. Losing my brother changed my life forever and brought me a level of pain that was difficult to overcome. Although his death will always be part of my story, so will the encouragement he gave me. His words stayed with me and motivated me to continue searching for my purpose.

After Oscar passed away, I enrolled at Paul Mitchell to pursue my cosmetology license. Unfortunately, because of everything happening in my life at the time, I was unable to complete the program.

I later moved to Reynosa, Mexico, where I lived for approximately one year. That experience gave me time to reflect and helped me realize many things about myself and what I wanted for my future. I missed my family, but I also realized how much I missed attending school and pursuing my dream.

When I returned to the United States, I began working at Bebe, a retail clothing store. Before the store closed, I met my daughter’s father. I eventually moved with him to Chicago, where I became pregnant. When our relationship did not continue, I returned to Ohio knowing that I needed to take control of my life and begin building a secure future for myself and my daughter.

I tried to return to Paul Mitchell, but the school would not accept me back. Instead of allowing that rejection to stop me, I enrolled at The Spa School on October 17, 2017, to obtain my esthetician license. My expected graduation date was April 17, 2018, but through dedication and hard work, I completed the program one month early and graduated in March 2018.

During that period, I worked at MAC Cosmetics and Buckle. After graduating as a licensed esthetician, I moved to Texas and was able to transfer both positions. This allowed me to continue gaining experience in beauty, fashion, sales, and customer service while adjusting to another new chapter in my life.

While living in Texas, I also worked as an assistant manager for Kyren Communities, helping manage and maintain a mobile-home community. I accepted payments, assisted residents with contracts to purchase double-wide mobile homes, completed administrative and computer work, showed available properties, learned the community, and built relationships with the residents.

Although I gained valuable experience in Texas, I did not know many people there and deeply missed Ohio. I eventually decided to return home to Columbus.

After returning to Ohio, Miranda, a manager I had previously known from Ulta Beauty, invited me to join the company as an esthetician at the new Ulta location opening in Graceland. I accepted the opportunity and worked there for approximately two years before the COVID-19 pandemic caused everything to shut down.

When businesses began reopening, Buckle contacted me and asked if I would be interested in returning. I worked at the Easton location before moving to Buckle at Tuttle. During that time, Laura, Ulta Beauty’s district services manager, visited Buckle while recruiting part-time employees. Jake recommended me because he knew that I had my esthetician license and still loved the beauty industry.

Because of Jake’s recommendation, I was given another opportunity to work in the field I truly loved. He encouraged me to move forward and pursue what I genuinely wanted for my life. I will forever be thankful for the faith he placed in me and for the important role he played in my journey. Jake later died by suicide, but I will always remember him, his encouragement, and the opportunity he helped make possible for me.

Altogether, I spent four and a half years with Ulta Beauty. Through dedication, consistency, and a genuine love for my clients, I became number one in my district and number ten in the United States. Ulta and Benefit Cosmetics also gave me opportunities I never imagined having.

I attended the first Benefit DNA event in Los Angeles, traveled to Chicago for an appreciation event, and went to Las Vegas, where I had the opportunity to participate on a show panel. These experiences helped me grow professionally and showed me what I could accomplish when I believed in myself and remained committed to my goals.

During my final year with Ulta, I realized that I was capable of doing much more than facial waxing. I was grateful for everything Ulta had taught me, and I left the company on good terms. However, I wanted the freedom to expand my services, use all my abilities as an esthetician, and create something of my own.

That journey ultimately led me to create Beauty Blooms Esthetics. Becoming a business owner allowed me to combine everything I had learned through beauty, fashion, customer service, leadership, hardship, and personal growth.

Today, through Beauty Blooms Esthetics, I provide brow shaping and waxing, brow mapping, tinting, brow laminations, facial and body waxing, customized facials, dermaplaning, extractions, lashes, makeup applications, and makeup training. My work is about much more than performing beauty services. It is about creating genuine relationships, offering a welcoming environment, and helping others feel confident and beautiful in their own skin.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My path has not always been easy. It has included childhood struggles, tremendous loss, interrupted dreams, moving away from home, becoming a mother, returning to Ohio, starting over, and learning to believe in myself. Every painful experience, unexpected change, and new opportunity has helped shape the woman, mother, licensed esthetician, and business owner I am today.

My story is still being written, but I am proud of how far I have come. I remain grateful for every person who believed in me, every challenge that strengthened me, and every opportunity that guided me toward the life and career I worked so hard to build.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
What sets my brand apart is the relationship I build with my clients.

Beauty Blooms Esthetics is not meant to feel like an assembly line where someone comes in, receives a service, and leaves. I take the time to understand what my clients want, educate them when needed, and recommend what I genuinely believe will work best for them.

Being bilingual and able to serve clients in both English and Spanish is also very important to me. I want people from my community to feel comfortable asking questions and receiving beauty and skincare services without a language barrier.

My brand represents beauty, confidence, self-care, growth, and community. Even the name Beauty Blooms reflects what I believe: when people take time to care for themselves and become more confident in who they are, they bloom.

My logo is much more than the visual identity of Beauty Blooms Esthetics. Every part of it has a personal meaning and tells a piece of my story.

The chrysanthemum is my birth flower, so it represents me—my journey, growth, resilience, and the woman behind Beauty Blooms Esthetics.

The carnation represents my daughter, Lia, making her a permanent part of the brand I have built. She is an important part of my life and my journey, so having a flower that represents her within my logo makes the brand even more meaningful to me. Together, the two flowers represent not only beauty and blooming, but mother and daughter, family, love, and growth. The brow and lashes represent the beauty industry, an industry I have always loved and felt connected to. Beauty has been part of my life long before Beauty Blooms Esthetics became what it is today. The floral elements represent the idea behind the name Beauty Blooms. Flowers do not bloom overnight—they grow through different seasons before becoming what they were meant to be.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are so many ways to work with Beauty Blooms Esthetics, whether you are looking for beauty services, education, a creative collaboration, or an opportunity to support another local business. I am especially passionate about opportunities that allow me to connect with and give back to my local and Hispanic/Latino community. Being bilingual in English and Spanish allows me to work with people who may not always feel represented or completely comfortable in traditional beauty spaces.
I am open to partnerships that feel genuine and align with what Beauty Blooms represents: beauty, confidence, family, culture, education, self-care, community, and growth. I built Beauty Blooms around the idea of blooming—and I believe some of the most beautiful growth happens when we grow together.

Pricing:

• Brow Wax & Tint $43
• Brow Lamination & Tint $105
• Lash Lift & Tint $85
• Casual Makeup application $65+
• Express Dermaplane Facial $65 Add on Hydro Jelly mask $20

Contact Info:

• Website: https://booking.cojilio.com/beautybloomsesthetics/online
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/Beauty.Blooms.Esthetics
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EhAKQdzgF/?mibextid=wwXIfr