FALLEN pop star Britney Spears is on the verge of a major breakdown, with family and friends fearful for her safety and the wellbeing of her two young sons.
News of the singer's distraught state follows weekend pictures showing Spears with a shaven head and fresh tattoos on her wrist and neck.
She also reportedly checked herself in and out of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre rehab facility in Antigua last week.
Spears, whose recent wild behaviour has prompted loved ones to urge her to get help, visited a Los Angeles salon late on Friday night and when a hairdresser refused to shear her hair off, she grabbed the clippers and did it herself.
Emily Wynne-Hughes said Spears was crying and agitated when she entered the salon after closing time, demanding they shave her hair.
"She wasn't making sense at all – she was very scatterbrained," she said.
Ms Wynne-Hughes said when she asked the distraught singer why she was taking off her long dark locks, Spears gave a bizarre answer.
"She said 'I don't want anyone touching me – I'm tired of everybody touching me'," she said.
Spears then went to the nearby Body and Soul tattoo parlour where she got two tattoos – a black-white-and-pink cross tattooed on her lower hip and red-and-pink lips on her wrist.