Part of Ramy Gafni’s job was looking good, so it was really quite an inconvenience when he was diagnosed with cancer. Ramy is a makeup artist and an eyebrow expert who worked with huge stars at a top New York City salon when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In an industry so intertwined with beauty, Ramy was really touched with the way his coworkers and his high-profile clients reacted after he was diagnosed and started dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment. “I got a lot of prayers, a lot of gifts, a lot of love and support from the clients,” Ramy says. But unfortunately, the managers at his salon were much less kind. Ramy was told he wasn’t “the pretty boy” they hired, and fired.
Ramy didn’t let that mishap get in the way of his career … he turned it around and ended up launching his own business. “On the one hand I was furious, on the other hand I was oddly flattered that they once considered me a pretty boy,” Ramy laughed. “It was a blessing in disguise, because I started working for myself … I started my product line, Ramy cosmetics.”
Read More