Ariana Grande Looks Unrecognizable With Her Natural Hair

Ariana Grande has gone through a dramatic transformation, but she's best known for her ponytail era. For several years, Grande rocked a long, voluminous ponytail on and off stage. Between her fans looking to recreate the look and Grande poking fun at her 'do taking on a life of its own during an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" in 2018, her ponytail is almost more famous than she is. Also? She became attached to it! "My god going back to a high pony after a few days of not wearing a high pony is ........ a remarkable feeling," posted Grande on X, formerly known as Twitter (via Glamour). "I'm just ... supposed to have a high pony u kno? some things are just meant to be and this is jus one of those things."

However, Grande's famous pony only emerged because of another of her famous hair eras. Early in her career, Grande played Cat Valentine, a character with vibrant red hair, on "Victorious" and "Sam & Cat." Grande, whose hair is naturally curly and very dark, kept up her dyeing routine for years before her hair suffered. "I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat... as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair," Grande shared on Facebook. "I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat. My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down."

Of course, that was 2014. Here's what Grande looks like with her natural hair today.

Ariana Grande's natural hair may have taken a major beating when she was starring on Nickelodeon and pursuing her music career, but it's definitely flourished in recent years. And though she doesn't always wear it in its natural state, her fans definitely take notice when she does! In August 2022, Grande whipped out her natural curls to film a promotional video for her body line comprised of body oils and body creams. Although the ad wasn't hair-related, her hair was definitely the star of the show. As you can see, Grande's curly mane cascaded down around her shoulders, giving her a look much different than the glam she's become known for sporting over the years.

One more thing! Just because Grande, who rocked straight, sandy blond hair to promote "Wicked," doesn't always show up with her curly hair doesn't mean that she doesn't love it. In fact, it's quite the opposite. "My real hair — which is a humongous curly, curly pouf ... so few people get to see it. And it's cute and it reminds me of me as a kid ... it's who I am, privately," she shared on the "Zach Sang Show" in 2020. She added, "The curls are definitely something that I don't bring around much. But I think that's kind of what I envisioned that song ["My Hair"] being about because it's such an intimate thing. ... My boyfriend loves it, and he's like, 'Curlies, yay!'"