In a world of phonies and filters, Dr. Loretta Ciraldo keeps it real. The dermatologist launched her namesake brand in 2018, after years of formulating clinical-grade products sold in physicians offices. She eventually channelled her industry expertise into an award-winning, science-backed line of anti-aging products that celebrate—and care for—real skin. (We here at SIDIA are obsessed with her Intense Replenishing Serum.) For Dr. Loretta, family comes first—and her brand is a family business: Her daughters Gina Ciraldo Stabile and Liza Rose Ciraldo are the CEO and VP of Brand, respectively.
In our chat with the Dr. Loretta and daughters Gina & Liza, we talk family,
the beauty business, & aging with grace.
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What does 'home' mean to you?
"Home is anywhere with my loved ones including my children and grandchildren and a few close friends who help light up my life. For the past 41 years my home base has been Miami Beach Florida, a place that still gives me a sense of awe when I walk on the beach or stroll my neighbourhood gardens. A second home has been my ancestral home, Italy, where we started to bring our children for summers 25 years ago."
What formative experiences influenced you to start your own beauty business?
"I was raised by my amazing single mother but in a traditional extended Italian family. Undoubtedly as a young girl who saw her mom struggle with career and childrearing responsibilities, I wanted to help not only myself but so many other women to secure a more stable financial grounding. The beauty industry is still overwhelmingly female and the idea that I could formulate and present products that truly distinguish themselves in the marketplace makes me very proud. I have truly lived my dream: to create a business where our products elevate a woman's self-confidence and self-image and lessen fear of aging, and to help the hundreds of aestheticians and beauty experts who sell our products to have a purposeful path of securing steady financial grounding."
How do you balance family and entrepreneurship—and merging the two?
"My mindset is that family comes first. I am blessed with a very high energy level that has allowed me to have a dermatology practice, a skincare brand, and also a wonderful family life including a 47-year marriage to the love of my life, my late husband Dr. Robert Ciraldo. Building a business within the family context can have challenging moments. We are very fortunate that my daughters, Gina, our CEO and Liza, our VP of Brand, communicate in a seamless way and have used their love for each other as a helpful tool to keep things in perspective when differences of vision or opinion for the brand arise. I think our tremendous pride in the quality of our products and the integrity of our brand are a reflection of our family commitment to placing quality and honesty above all else."
"Be a little easier on myself when things don't go as exactly as I'd like. And above all, embrace aging instead of ever fearing it!"
Who are the important women or matriarchs in your lives?
Gina: "Our mom obviously! She has always impressed us with her endless energy and ability to give all of herself. She is a role model as an entrepreneur, wife, mother of four, grandmother; we don’t know how she does it all."
Liza: "My mom and my sister. They both inspire me to keep pushing and reaching for the stars."
From life and business to style and intuition, what lessons have these women imparted that you keep with you?
Gina: "Mom has always taught us that family comes first. While we balance work and life, we always make the time for getting together with each other. We’re fortunate that all four of us siblings and mom live within a couple of miles of each other, and we take every opportunity to be together. Seeing our mom do so much with such grace, she inspired us to shoot for the stars – that we could do anything we set our hearts on."
Liza: "My mom has always been fearless in business and carved her own path. I take after her in this pursuit in creating our brand on our terms. Gina ditched the patriarchal stuffiness of being a super successful lawyer to run our family business and for that, I’ll be forever inspired to say no to the more commonly taken paths. They both inspire me to build our business our way every single day."
What does it mean to ‘come home to yourself'?
Liza: "Life, professionally and personally speaking as there’s less delineation in a family business, is very, very busy without an off button. Coming home to myself is the quiet enjoyment of the life we’ve built. It’s the quiet moments that are the most rewarding. My skincare routine morning and night are my daily moments of calm and my moments of me. I do a full routine morning and night no matter what and that routine is super grounding."
Dr. Loretta's Ritual:
