Ariana Grande chopped six inches into a flipped bob - and fall followed

Late last month Ariana Grande dropped a single selfie and the beauty world took notice. The ponytail is on pause: after returning to brunette to close out her Wicked chapter, she also cut off about six inches into a flipped-out bob.

Hairstylist Brandon Pietsch did the chop, and he says the timing was overdue. "After being blonde for so long, her ends were ready to go," he told Vogue. Grande first went golden to play Glinda back in 2022, and anyone who has dyed their hair that long knows what repeated chemical processing does. Going darker marked the official end of her Wicked era; the haircut pushed the reset even further.

"This is all her real hair!" Pietsch said. "Ariana's hair was quite long, I'd say we took a good six inches off." The concept, he explains, was a soft bob short enough to force a break from years of ponytails, paired with a rich, warm color closer to her natural brunette. "I'm personally obsessed with how the warm shade brings out the dark amber tones in her eyes."

The flip is the whole point

Grande has mostly worn the cut flipped out at the ends since, part of a wave Pietsch says felt inevitable. "Retro looks are coming back for fall in full force." She is not alone. Margot Robbie brought the same flipped ends - plus the return of a side bang - to the Chanel Cruise show in Australia on November 5, styled by her go-to stylist Bryce Scarlett. Lea Seydoux and Ayo Edebiri have leaned into the look too.

What keeps it modern instead of Jackie O costume party is the prep. "Bobs can actually be pretty high maintenance," Pietsch warns. The crown stays close to the head and the angle stays precise, with softer, less blunt lines. "For fall and winter, I'm loving softer, less blunt bobs with internal layering so the hair still has movement. Very '60s, '70s and '90s."

For now, the ponytail is on a time-out, and the six-inch chop marks a fresh start after Wicked.