Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alaura Battle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alaura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

At a very young age, I was obsessed with everything about beauty. My hair was a big part of my identity and confidence, if I thought my hair was ugly it translated to how I felt about myself . Luckily, now I have gained a lot of love and admiration for myself so my confidence isn’t linked to my hair but it still does play a major part in my identity.

My mother growing up was what you would call “old school” and believed black hair should look manageable and presentable at any given time . At the age of 7 I started to get perms routinely every couple of months for years. I had very beautiful thick coily hair and I had never seen anything wrong with it but I was insisted by my mother I needed a perm. To this day i can still remember the chemical smell of the “Just For Me” No lye relaxer sitting on my head like a right of passage burning my scalp to get my hair straight as possible.

Fast forward a couple of years after getting relaxers every so couple of months . my hair was completely damaged and fried off . It came to a point we’re I had to get braids and weave to like my hair . Going to people my mother met in random stores to do my hair was the cherry of top. The women that were allowed to touch my hair had no idea what they were doing and weren’t licensed professionals. Time after time again I hated my hair and lack the confidence to interact with people. So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

in my junior year of high school, my mother wanted to relax my hair again, this conversation about relaxing my hair became an argument about my autonomy. On that random summer day after wanted to take control of my hair, I looked on YouTube how to make a wig. I already had prior knowledge of how to sew. to go into details on how to make a wig would take a lot of time but in short you get a net cap and some bundles of hair and sew it onto the net. It took me about a week to finish my first wig and I took it upon myself to make it a project. After initially making it some type of art project I fell in love with the craft of creating something that was sustainable and progressive in a way when it comes to beauty.

Knowing what I know now what I would have done to speed up my learning process is tapping into more beauty related hobbies with out the fear of judgment . Hair has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl I never really knew how much I loved it intill I did my friends hair and the anxiety i had from the fear of messing it up also gave me a rush when I realised how much she loved it . Know your naturally good at something and putting it to use allowed me to find a passion. skills that I think was was most essential is learning how to braid. To me it is one of the most foundational hairstyle you can learn. If you can braid you can do anything hair related to hair . the only obstacles that stood in the way of learning more is being restricted by school and pressure to get a degree from a public university.

Alaura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, My Name is Alaura Battle . I attend Towson University. I am currently a Senior at Towson University. In spring 2025, I will receive my Bachelor’s in Communication Studies from the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Throughout my time at Towson, I’ve picked a passion for hair. Becoming a hairstylist that specializes in wig installs Ive been able to curate a steady clientele all while trying to obtain my degree. the extra side money and relationships I’ve built in doing hair has allowed to find something that makes me happy and Love doing. My works have further evolved from wig installs and I now include color correcting, quick weaves, sewins, and ponytails.

I accommodate all my clients if need be . being understanding and having strong communication skills has helped tremendously in keeping conflict at bay.
one thing I would for potentials to know is that i put my clients first and I take my time with my work so I can produce the highest quality of results.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The Goal I have with my business is to own a salon or an independent practice of mine. I want to be able to reach women who are inspiring to create through hair. the name of my brand “Vnus.studios” is the embodiment of the femme beauty . In this day and age were looks and aesthetics have become intertwined with status and with the uptick in social media influencers it has created a movement or trend to get young girls to be hyperfixated on their appearance.

With me being in the field of hair Ive seen the changed in the amount of clientele I’ve being getting over the years and the types of clients i encounter. The types of client I would encounter would be women who are very particular and wants it close to perfect. I also think social media plays a big part in how women view themselves and how they want to be perceived.

The mission for me would be to curate an environment where I can make women feel beautiful on the inside and out , a community in helping those see beyond their looks and understand that ,Yes your hair can look amazing but also be amazing on the inside.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

society has this way of making people believe working a 9-5 and submitting your life to a corporate business slaving for the next 20 years then retiring is the way to go. With this generation of the Gen Z population and millennials the way we view work is currently re-shapoing our society. Were more focused on what appeals to us than what satisfies our needs. Many of us are turning towards creative pursuits and making a living out of it. with the inflation of new creators and creatives making a way of life out of what they do there is still some backlash that occurs. With choosing what you love to do and what makes you want to get up in the morning we as a society should encourage more of that. The backlash that still exist for up-and-coming creatives is that their field is not sustainable and wont make them stable money. In the long run their is still the belief that they wont be as successful as 9-5/salary based workers because of the lack of consistency in said field. What i believe society can do to support artist by allowing spaces where they can teach artist proper skills for entrepreneurship, business management, and marketing skiils to able able to sustain themselves so they can make an honest living.by creating a welcoming spirit to those who decide not to go to college and because a doctor or a lawyers that these people have programs in place that help brand themselves and better understand their passion and the feid they would like to do. If we as a society and do this then in return were helping people achieve a state of enlightenment that many of us don’t get to see .

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vnus.studios
• Linkedin: @AlauraBattle
• Other: personal Instagram @laurabriiana