Head over heels for hair: when Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, or Julianne Moore are in LA and need a hair stylist, they head for Fernando Romero's salon. Vidal Sassoon's former apprentice went on to found Sassoon's product line. Combining beauty with science and commerce, he also built a Bio Ionic hair care product business empire based on the secrets of a Japanese volcano - Business

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, June-July, 2003 by Miriam Martinez

In the harshly competitive beauty and fashion industry, Fernando Romero has turned hairstyling into an art form that evolved into million-dollar business ventures. From apprentice to international artistic director at Vidal Sassoon's, Romero's talents were acclaimed in Europe's most prestigious catwalks and top fashion magazines. As a trendsetter in hairstyling, his drive and vision led him to develop a new concept in hair products that has made him a Midas-like, sought-after entrepreneur. His oval product line covers 80 percent of the US market with a growing presence in 22 countries.

Born in Acapulco, with world-famous diving spot La Quebrada just around the corner, Romero had a wonderful time cliff-diving for fun with his friends after school. But a year of tourists' oohs and aahs came to an end when he went to Los Angeles, and, following his older brother, studied architecture at UCLA A second architect in the family would make the folks proud.

But life didn't turn out that way for Romero. He was once invited to the home of Ricardo Montalban, where he met Vidal Sassoon, whose tide of fame in the early eighties and innovative ideas had stood the old hair concept on end. "I never thought that hairdressing would be a profession that I really wanted to pursue," he said.

Hairdressing did, however, give him the chance to meet and date beautiful girls, which was tempting for a twenty-something who also liked working in a creative environment. He realized that creating angles and all kinds of shapes, something in architecture that had mesmerized him, could also be applied to hair. Sassoon's soon-to-be apprentice realized that hairdressing could be an art form, rather that just combing hair.

In Mexico all male hairdressers are considered gay, so "Imagine how my family felt after I decided to quit college and attend hairdressing school," he said, laughing. Within six months, Frank Sinatra and Jackie Onassis were among his regular clients. Sassoon encouraged him to complete his master's in hairdressing in London, where he stayed for six years.

Romero's approach to hair-styling gained him a dazzling reputation, with his clients appearing on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. He was transferred to Paris where he showed his work in pret-a-porter shows for Ungaro, Yves Saint-Laurent, and Christian Dior. He spent two years in London and Paris, where his work adorned planes and catwalks and helped him become international creative director for the company. Moving his talents globally, he worked in Germany, Italy, and Japan, and helped open salons worldwide.

When he turned his creativity to business the results were just as stunning.

"I was handling over a thousand people all over the world. Looking at how much we were spending on products usage, it just came to my mind, 'Why not have our own Vidal Sassoon's product line?'" Soon after that the company was making over five million dollars. The rest is history, as they like to say. Procter & Gamble bought the brand for $180 million in 1984. In addition to introducing him to the business, Sassoon also introduced Romero to his future wife. Then Romero decided to retire--for a while.

Soap opera star Susan Lucci, knowing that Romero was the man behind the VS product line, approached him and asked him to do the same for her, selling the products through telemarketing station QVC. Ending his retirement, he took on the challenge, and their company soon netted sales worth $40 million.

Always staying ahead in his trade, Romero added science to the potent mixture of beauty and business.

In 1995, dining a trip to Japan, he met a scientist who was experimenting with a local volcanic mineral that was rich in negative ions and had been used in Japan for hundreds of years to heal several ailments. Negative ions can break water molecule clusters into micro-fine particles, allowing moisture to penetrate the hair shaft and improve its health. "My product named Bio Ionic is now sold in 22 countries and covers 80 percent of the U.S. market."

Romero firmly believes that the most important thing in life is not chance but vision. "When you know what you want, how to get there, and how to execute your plans, those three elements are the key to success for me--but you also have to have fun."