It is, unquestionably, one of the most important stories of our time: [article id="1658412"]Justin Bieber's decision to cut[/article] his gloriously swooping hairstyle into a close-cropped new 'do, and the [article id="1658559"]social ramifications[/article] thereof.

And while [article id="1658486"]Bieber himself[/article] has declared that he "doesn't really care" what folks think of his new look, that hasn't stopped the media from digging deep, covering all the angles in an attempt to ascertain just why JB decided to deny us all the pleasure of gazing upon his famous locks.

The latest example of this comes from People magazine, which interviewed Bieber's "longtime hairstylist" Vanessa Price and dared to ask her the toughest question of all: Why now?

"He was ready," Price said. "Cutting your hair is just part of the evolution and growing process for anyone, and I think he was just ready."

But perhaps grieving Bieber fans can take solace in the fact that this decision wasn't made on the spot. Rather, JB had been considering the change for a while. It was, after all, a pretty big deal.

"We've been talking about it over the last six months or so, more or less," Price said. "It's definitely been in the works for a while."

And once the decision to cut his hair was made, Price said that Bieber maintained a steely focus about just how he wanted his new 'do to look. He worked closely with Price on the cut -- his hair has always been a bit of a collaborative effort -- and the end result is a haircut for the ages.

"Justin has always been clear about what he wants done. That said, he trusts me to make the right judgment with it, we really orchestrate his hairstyle together," Price said. "He knows what he wants and I know what will work best with his features and hair type ... it's like silk. He has very soft hair [and] I hope it stays that way forever."