Ariana Grande’s Hair Evolution: From Her Iconic Ponytail to Rocking Her Natural Curls

You like her hair? Gee, thanks, just… read about it.

Ariana Grande continues to make her mark in the music, fashion and beauty industry. And like many icons with signature styles—we’re talking Selena Quintanilla‘s red lips, Beyoncé‘s honey blonde hair, Cardi B‘s electrifying nail designs—Grande’s hair is right up there.

It’s safe to say the star, celebrating her 28th birthday June 26, is known for her high ponytail. And back in 2014, she explained the reasoning for her signature ‘do. “Since people give me such a hard time about my hair I thought I’d take the time to explain the whole situation to everybody,” Grande wrote in a Facebook post at the time. “I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat… [in Sam & Cat] as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair.”

“I wear it in a pony tail,” she continued, “because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down.”