What Our Hair Says About Us

DOVE: WHAT OUR HAIR SAYS ABOUT US

http://www.dove.us/#/connections/blogs/Wendy.aspx

As soon as I read the title of this article, "What Our Hair Says About Us," I automatically thought of my mom. My mom has been dyeing her hair for several years now. That must be what caught my interest, the idea that I might be able to relate through my observations of how it has affected my mom. The general audience that I felt the blogger was trying to reach was self-conscious middle-aged women. Dove typically advertises to maintain a healthy appearance. For the most part, I think women are more concerned with their appearances than men are. Of course, this is a generalization because I'm sure there are some men who are very concerned with their appearances. The rhetorical message is feeling comfortable with oneself and hairstyle.






It was implied and assumed that since the blog was posted on Dove's website that the blogger was writing to a large audience of Dove product users, Dove potential users, or simply anyone who may be self-conscious about their appearance. Therefore, the blogger uses the title, "What Our Hair Says About Us" to catch the attention of anyone who may be concerned about their self-image and to trigger the ethos and pathos affect. With this particular topic about one's hair and inner self, the writer effectively uses her words and personal experience to spark interest within the reader. Many people if not all people are always worried about how they may appear to others. It can be easily assumed that the audience has experienced some sort of hair treatment in order to conceal their age or express uniqueness whether it be through dyeing their hair, perming, straightening, adding highlights, chopping it all off, or just trimming.

One's hairstyle illustrates how one feels inside. The blogger gave examples of how her hairstyle has changed over the years. During her twenties, she would wear her hair long, curly, and wild. When she had children, however, she decided to keep her hair short, as it would be more practical and much easier to manage. The blogger also suggests that a young kid wearing a blue Mohawk, for example, may be expressing that they are a unique individual. Then, last but not least, she expresses how she used to dye her hair to hide her age but now that she is comfortable with her age, she has let her silvery-gray hair grow out. She feels that her hair appropriately illustrates how she feels as an individual: confident, mature, and natural.

Not only is the blogger's blog interesting and fun to read because she gives fun examples but also the blog is also very short, simple, and to the point. The blog is merely three short paragraphs that can easily keep the attention of the reader. On the Internet, there are many various blogs, websites, articles, etc. to read. There is so much to read but not enough time. How can the writer make their own individual piece more appealing for readers all over the world? How can the writer make reading their blog more convenient? The blogger does not use unnecessary fluff or details to her blog.





Although the blogger's main audience is middle-aged women, she does not want to be exclusive. She uses age-varying examples. The young child just wants to be different and express herself differently than her peers so she wears a blue Mohawk. Many women all over the world dye their hair to hide their true age. I know my mom has been dyeing her hair for about at least 15 years. All sorts of people dye their hair. Americans dye their hair. Taiwanese people dye their hair. Tall, short, large, and small, all different types of people dye their hair. Everyone tries to mask their age.

As time ran its course, the blogger became comfortable with letting her age through her hair. She took it to a whole other level. Not only did her hair convey her age but it also characterized her as a woman not afraid of her age anymore, confident, and mature. The blogger tried to expand her audience from just middle-aged women to anyone willing to read her blog. Her examples covered several different ages that could potentially touch a larger audience than simply middle-aged women.

In the second paragraph, the blogger says, "The way we wear our hair says a lot about how we feel on the inside." The way the blogger uses the term, "wear" illustrates the use of pathos. Typically, the term, "wear" has the connotation of putting something on like clothes or shoes. In this case, it is perfectly ok to assume that the blogger referencing the word, "wear" so that the readers get the sense of being able to change their hair like clothes to show how they feel.




People wear different types of clothes to express themselves and how they feel all the time. For example, some people enjoy wearing designer clothes because they like to look nice and stylish. On the other hand, there are other people who like to wear t-shirts and sweats for various reasons. They could have stayed up late doing homework and then had an early morning class to get up for. They could be feeling terrible because they are sick. They could just want to be comfortable in sweats rather than spend the time and effort to find an outfit. This similar to the blogger and how her hair changed once she had kids. She originally had long hair but once she had kids, she had limited time and was more concerned with convenience beyond anything else.



At the top of the website, there is a confident looking woman with silvery-gray hair with a bright and white smile. Just looking at how confident she is makes one want to be just as confident as her. Although, one may want to simply appear confident, that is not what the objective of the blog is. The rhetorical message is being confident with oneself and expressing oneself.