TROUBLED pop star Britney Spears has shaved her head bald, with her latest erratic behaviour prompting fears that she is out of control.
Spears arrived unannounced at a Los Angeles hair salon demanding staff shave off her long brunette locks.
When staff refused, the singer grabbed electric shears and shaved her head, declaring she was doing it because she was fed up with being touched by other people.
Emily Wynne-Hughes, a worker at Esther's Salon, said Spears was crying and agitated when she entered after closing time, demanding they shave her head.
"She wasn't making sense at all -- she was very scatterbrained," she said.
"Esther has been in the business for 30 years and said, 'I'm not doing that,' but Britney was set on having her head shaved so she started doing it herself."
Ms Wynne-Hughes said when she asked the upset singer why she was shaving her head, Spears gave a bizarre answer.
"She said 'I don't want anyone touching me -- I'm tired of everybody touching me'," she said.
"After she left the shop we all just looked around and said to each other, 'We just saw a huge celebrity on the verge of a nervous breakdown'."
The fallen chart star then went to the nearby Body and Soul tattoo parlour where she got two tattoos -- a black, white and pink cross on her lower hip and red and pink lips on her wrist.
About 60 onlookers -- amazed to see the pop star adopting a shocking new look -- and photographers gathered outside, with police having to clear the way for Spears to reach her chauffeur-driven car.
Her bizarre hair appointment on Friday was at a salon in California's San Fernando Valley about 6pm.
Photographers said the 25-year-old wept in her car before going inside, sitting in front of a mirror and shaving her head with a pair of clippers.
Her latest bizarre behaviour came only hours after the mother of two returned to California from a short stay in rehab.
Spears has become a fixture on the nightclub circuit since her split in November from husband Kevin Federline.
She reportedly checked herself out of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre rehab clinic in Antigua last week after less than 24 hours.
Her partying could damage her battle with her estranged husband over custody of their two young sons.
Federline has cleaned up his image since parting ways with the former squeaky clean teen queen.
Spears has developed a reputation for a reckless spontaneity after a series of outlandish incidents, beginning a few years ago with her two-day marriage to a childhood friend.
During a spell of heavy partying after her separation from Federline, Spears was repeatedly photographed climbing out of cars without wearing underpants while in the company of celebrity socialite Paris Hilton.
She also collapsed during New Year's Eve celebrations at a Los Vegas club, with her manager saying she fell asleep from exhaustion.
On Tuesday, her close friend Felicia Culotta said the singer was spiralling out of control and loved ones were not having luck trying to get her help.
"There's just so much you can do to help a person," Ms Culotta said.
Last month, her manager, Larry Rudolph, said Spears realised her behaviour had been harming her image.
"She understands what's going on right now, and she calls it her 'rocky moment'," he said.
Britney Spears has taken ecstasy and cocaine for years, her former sister-in-law has claimed 
