Ariel Winter Just Made A Major Hair Change That'll Take You Under The Sea

I grew up watching Victorious, a show during which I was meant to focus on Victoria Justice but could only focus on popstar-to-be Ariana Grande and her bold red locks. I wanted that red hair so bad, but I realized pretty quickly that it wouldn't suit me, and my redhead dreams slowly faded. Just when I thought I'd finally overcome any urge to go red, Ariel Winter's new red hair hit Instagram, and now I'm right back where I started, only worse, because Winter's read is so good, it's got Cat Valentine shook. Sorry, Ari, you're still Queen of the High Pony, but it's safe to say Ariel Winter earns the official Queen of Redheads title.

Didn't see the post? OMG, let me fill you in. Ever since she stepped into the spotlight as Alex on Modern Family, Winter's hair has been dark brown, amping up to an inky, basically-black brunette over the past couple of years. The contrast really suits her fair complexion, and to be honest, I never pictured her changing it up. That said, she did channel some Cat-Valentine-meets-Paramore's-Haley-Williams reallness with some bright red strands back in 2016, but the look came and went quickly, and other than a few blonde wigs to compliment some costumes, our girl hasn't strayed much from the brunette life.

Winter's dark strands always look stunning:

But according to her Instagram, she's a fan of a blonde wig every now and then, especially on Halloween:

And like I said, she did go bright red for a sec back in 2016:

Still, I was totally caught off guard when she posted debuting these fiery new strands:

First of all, I need to say that I'm flat-out obsessed. Why wasn't she born a redhead? It just looks so right for her. Her name is Ariel, after all, so I should've expected her to be able to serve up this Little Mermaid realness. Disney, this is your cue to snag Winter for a live-action remake. I would absolutely go see that movie!

The look was the work of the talented stylists at Nine Zero One Salon, a celeb staple for dramatic color changes:

"Spent the day with this little mermaid 🧜‍♀️ I love doing a big change!!" wrote Tabita Dueñas, the stylist who created the look alongside Tim Dueñas using Joico products. Oh, and just in case anyone thinks this is the magic of a good wig, Dueñas promised to spill all the dye job deets. "Stay tuned for details on how we took her from black to Disney Red!!" she wrote on Instagram, and believe me, I'll be taking notes.

Did her name inspire the hue, or was she changing up her color for a role? Either way, the Little Mermaid vibes are strong:

Who knows if the red hair is here to stay, but considering Winter made the change from root to tip and no doubt endured a lot of bleaching in the process, I feel pretty confident assuming she'll be rocking the red for a while. That is, unless it's just a stepping stone to transition to blonde? Based off of those Halloween wigs, I could totally see Winter slaying platinum blonde IRL. Either way, I'm always here for her gorgeous strands, in any and every shade she likes.