Blog Post 5: Heidi
I chose to listen to a This I Believe podcast called “Returning to What’s Natural.” In this episode, Amelia Baxter discusses how she enjoys dyeing her hair with semi-permanent dye, something that lasts for a few weeks, and then returning to her natural hair color when it’s convenient. She discusses how dyeing your hair fun colors, such as purple or red, can brighten up dull times and give someone temporary joy. However, she also believes that your natural hair color will always be what looks best on someone. She says that it doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, but being able to return to your natural hair color can be grounding. She believes in permanent change, but not for her hair.
This episode was really relatable for me. I have been dyeing my hair blonde for a few years now although I am a natural brunette, and have also experimented with semi-permanent colors such as pink, blue, and green. For me, my hair is another form of self expression. However, I am super indecisive, so semi-permanent dye is usually what I go with just in case I hate the way it turns out. Despite being a fake blonde, I don’t think brown looks bad on me, and I know I can go back to brown any time I want.
This medium is perfect for this message I think. Hearing Amelia’s voice was really helpful in understanding what she was trying to say: that you can express yourself in whatever way you want, and no matter what, you will always have something to fall back on. This message is important because, in our society, looks are a vital part to how people view you. Hair color is extremely important to some people, and others may judge you if it is an “unnatural” color. Despite that, Amelia thinks that dyeing your hair is a great form of self expression, and no matter what people think, you should be able to use this expression how you please.
I've also been dyeing my hair for a while now and I have always found it to be an exciting process. Even if I'm doing a natural color on my hair, the process and outcome is always enjoyable. I also think people underestimate the power of a good haircut/hair color. It can be extremely transformative for some people, because looks--as you stated--is a vital part of how people judge you. Whether people like your hair or not, it comes down to what makes you feel comfortable.
ReplyDeletehttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3AaEJ5emcIsyOw7RX7eFCH?si=e1b599c8f9494ec3
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting cause when I was in high school I would do the same thing, I went through phases of semi-permanently dying my hair purple, blue, silver, etc. I found that being able to switch between colors once one faded helped me with my self expression and to figure things out. But, when I had something like a job interview I could just wash my hair more often to get it back to my normal color, the same idea that it can be grounding to go back to your normal color.
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