Angel Vanas is a native of Ypsilanti and has been a licensed hair stylist for ten years,. She’s also a makeup artist with a passion for her work. Her studio, Star Studio by Angel, is located in downtown Ypsilanti at 224 Michigan Avenue. Vanas took ownership and remodeled the building in May of 2017.
She specializes in vivids, or hair coloring of a very bright shade, that often requires copious bleaching of the hair.
“I am pretty much queen of blonde,” Vanas added. “Because in order to get bright vivid colors, you have to lighten the hair a lot.”
She places an emphasis on safety and acceptance within her salon. Vanas identifies as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
“I wanted to create a place of light and love where anyone can come and be free,“ Vanas said. "That’s why I have that ‘safe space’ sticker on my door.
"I have had the honor of giving young trans-man their first butch cut. I’ve had the honor of helping trans-women grow their hair out and give them make up tips to ‘pass.’"
In many hair salons, the chairs are too small for a larger person. Vanas is aware of this common problem, so she selected chairs that fit even her largest client. Another aspect of her chairs is that they are turned away from the mirrors.
“The main reason I do that is because my favorite part is when I get done, I spin them around and you can just see they are so excited to be their true selves,“ Vanas said. "That look in the mirror is the entire reason I do my job.”
Despite its proximity to EMU, according to Vanas, students are not generally customers of the establishment. Vanas presumes this is a result of her prices.
“My services are probably more of something people of student age save up for.” said Vanas.
Despite the nature of the beauty industry, Vanas does not intend her business to be that of a shallow one. She said she believes hair is an important part of a person’s expression and daily life.
“Hair is important,“ she said. "Hair shows people who you are. Hair is powerful. People get really bent out of shape and take a hard knock when they don’t like their hair. When you love your hair, you kind of don’t think about it anymore. It frees you up, you don’t have to worry about it, so you can think about other stuff.”
For more information, visit https://www.starstudiobyangel.com/.
