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Ariana Grande admits her high ponytail causes 'constant pain' — here's why

The pop star's signature look can cause what we're going to call "hair hurt."
Ariana Grande
No one does a high ponytail like Ariana Grande does. But the look isn't the most comfortable, the pop star recently admitted.Rich Polk / Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

They say pain is beauty, but most people don't take that literally ... unless you're Ariana Grande.

The pop star recently revealed that her high ponytail causes her "constant pain" in a Twitter exchange with fellow singer Camila Cabello, who had asked Grande for some advice on how to deal with the discomfort.

"I just did a high ponytail for the first time and it is literally pulling on my BRAIN ITS SO PAINFUL HOW DO YOU DO IT," Cabello wrote to Grande.

The high ponytail is Grande's signature style, so she's surely used to the hair ache. (And, as she explained in a Facebook post in 2014, she started wearing a high ponytail and extensions to protect her damaged hair as it grew back.)

Many women have been there: At the end of a long day, you take your hair down and it feels ... weird, maybe even painful.

It's a common sensation, but why does it happen? TODAY Style spoke to experts to get to the, um, root of the problem. First of all, it's not the hair itself that's hurting, but the structure underneath that's getting stressed.

Jessica Alba hair
Our hair hurts just looking at you, Jessica Alba. Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

"The way to think about it is that the hair you see is just the tip of the iceberg," Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, director of hair disorders for Kaiser Permanente in California, said. "There's a lot going on underneath the hair — nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands. If you think of that structure as a unit, that sensation starts to make a little more sense. If you move the top portion, the hair fiber affects what's going on underneath."

And when that structure gets pulled in a direction it's not used to for a long period of time, it almost gets stuck. Mirmirani warned that the problem can be worse for people who have long, thick hair.

"There's probably also some folks who just have an increased sensitivity," she added. "Just like how some people are naturally more sensitive on their skin."

Unfortunately, there's no fix once that "hair hurt" sinks in. In fact, in severe cases, it might be a warning sign for something more problematic, said Dr. Shani Francis, a hair loss specialist in the Chicago area.

Blake Lively
Blake Lively's high pony looks great, but if the style causes you pain, consider switching up your look. Gilbert Carrasquillo / FilmMagic

"It's good to think of your hair like a flower or plant that's anchored into the soil," she told TODAY Style. "Any time you're constantly pulling on something, constantly pulling on that plant, if there is sustained tension, eventually it's going to cause a symptom — inflammation. And sustained or chronic inflammation can turn into what we refer to as traction alopecia."

In other words, hair loss.

"People get this with hair weaves, man buns — you see it (with) ballerinas because they always wear the tight buns on top of their heads," Francis said.

So what's a long-haired girl (or guy!) to do? Try to rotate the height of your ponytail throughout the day, and save the tightest styles for special occasions.

Mirmirani and Francis, both board-certified dermatologists with the American Academy of Dermatology, said many of their patients suffering from hair loss had warning signs all along, but ignored them. So if you feel any pain from tight ponytails or other hairstyles, take caution and back off. Hey, blowouts are always in style!

This story was originally published March 8, 2017.