Halle Berry shows off long hair in selfie after viral Oscars bob

Halle Berry has appeared to confirm that the Oscars’ hairstyle she debuted on the red carpet was just temporary, after the short bob went viral.

On the night of the 93rd Academy Awards, the actress instantly became the subject of attention - and memes - when she arrived in a purple Dolce & Gabbana gown with her hair in a short blunt bob with baby bangs.

Ahead of the ceremony, Berry’s hair stylist Sara Seward had teased the new look on Instagram, where she’d tagged the actress and posted a photo of a pile of hair on the floor along with the caption: “We came to play…”

The controversial new style sparked comparisons to Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as Edna Mode from The Incredibles, with one video, showing a man wearing a wig that resembled the new hairstyle with the caption: “Halle Berry tonight” even prompting a response from Berry herself.

However, according to a new selfie shared by the Catwoman star on social media, the look was only temporary, as she can be seen wearing her hair in long waves as she smiles in the sun.

“Oscar bob… just kidding,” the 54-year-old captioned the photo, which has since been liked more than 12,000 times on Twitter.

In a follow-up tweet, the actress added: “Love you guys and your memes. xx.”

While many fans expressed their happiness over the return of Berry’s long hair, others said the Oscars hairstyle was proof that the actress can pull off any look.

“I love both!! It’s fun to change things up!! You look great with both styles,” one fan commented on Instagram, while another wrote: “You look amazing no matter what hairstyle.”

Although Berry seems to have gone back to her long locks, she previously told HuffPost that she is actually more confident when her hair is shorter.

Speaking to the outlet in 2012 about her favourite hairstyle, the Oscar-winner said: “I am my best self when I have super short hair. That’s when I feel most like me and most confident.”

During the interview, the actress also recalled that she’d had long hair until her late teens, when she’d first started acting, but had decided to cut it after going to auditions and seeing everyone else with similar hair.

“I’ve had long hair until I was about 18 or 19, when I first started acting. I would go to auditions and see every other girl in the room with long, curly hair - whether it be natural or weaved in. I remember thinking this isn’t working for me,” she recalled. “I have to somehow be different from these girls, so I cut all my hair off.”

Berry also spoke of expectations she faced to have long hair, telling the outlet that “growing up as a black woman, I felt that if I didn’t have long hair, I wasn’t going to be beautiful,” but that she ultimately found cutting her hair “freeing”.