The Hit Me Baby One More Time star paid a visit to Esther's Haircutting Studio in the Tarzana district of Los Angeles and asked for the extreme haircut.

Hairdresser Esther Tognozzi said she was afraid to shave Britney's head in case she was sued for ruining the singer's image, but the star picked up the clippers and did the job herself.

Esther said: "I just cleaned it up when she was done with it."

Later, Britney went to the Body and Soul parlor in the suburb of Sherman Oaks, where she spent $80 on a black-white-and-pink cross on her lower hip and red-and-pink lips on her wrist.

The extreme makeover has led to questions about Britney's mental state.

Hairdresser Esther said she seemed to be "just there in body and not really emotionally there".

Tattoo artist Emily Wynne Hughes, said Spears appeared "distraught and disturbed," and was difficult to work with.

ITV News