Everything You Need to Know About Selena Gomez's Blonde Hair Change

Published on November 20, 2017 12:05PM EST

Another day, another jaw-dropping surprise from Selena Gomez — and this time, it has nothing to do with her relationship status. Instead, it’s her brand new, bright blonde hue that she revealed at Sunday night’s American Music Awards. And yes, we’re still freaking out about it.

The star had covered up the new do with choppy brunette bangs on her Instagram story earlier that day, making her big reveal, with her new platinum waves parted to one side and tucked behind her ear, even more surprising.

After maintaining her dark brown shade and long bob for as long as we can remember, the “Wolves” singer turned to her hairstylists of seven years Riawna Capri and Nikki Lee of Nine Zero One Salon for the ’90s-inspired change, which they’re dubbing “Nirvana Blonde.” The pros went for a cool-toned platinum hue, leaving about an inch of her dark roots — baby hairs and all. And because it wouldn’t be a true transformation without a chop as well (a necessary move to avoid damage when going from dark to light), the change also involved the shearing of a few inches by Capri, leaving Gomez’s hair just above her shoulders.

2017 American Music Awards - Arrivals — Steve Granitz/WireImage

Judging by Capri’s low-and-slow technique (she told PeopleStyle that she spent a total of 10 hours perfecting Julianne Hough’s wedding hair color in order to keep it healthy), we imagine this was a weekend-long process for Gomez, who hid the look behind a brown banged wig on Instagram stories ahead of the show.

“Killin’ em with Blondness” 😏😏😏 #SelenaGomez rockin’ her new #NirvanaBlonde #90sChic 🕐🎨🕙 A very patient color change and cut,” Capri captioned her Instagram post Sunday night.

Gomez shared black-and-white photos of her new hair on Instagram as she hit the carpet Sunday night, writing “so i am blonde now”.

So, do blondes have more fun? You’ll have to ask Selena to answer that.

What do you think of her new look? Sound off in the comments below!