Viewers of the Fox News Channel were surprised this afternoon to see Sen. Rand Paul sporting a lighter hair color while in Washington D.C., quickly prompting comparisons to NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake and characters from the Simpsons.

A look at recent photos of the candidate shows that Paul’s widely praised curly hair has taken a lighter tone – even a bit reddish in certain lights.

Here’s Rand in Utah on August 29:

Here’s Rand in New Hampshire on September 2nd:

(photos via the Associated Press)

In May, Rand admitted to U.S. Weekly that he enjoyed cutting his own hair, boasting that “I am my own barber.”

“It’s not necessarily that he doesn’t like to get his hair cut, it’s just he’s kind of impatient for things like that,” explained Kelley Paul in an interview with CNN.

We’re not sure what happened over Labor Day weekend but the candidate is certainly bringing more attention to his campaign thanks to his hair color change.

If the new look continues, he should stand out visually in the CNN Republican debate as the only candidate on stage with red-tinted curly hair.