February 20, 2007 at 09:19:00 AM | more stories by this author
Pop star shaves her head, gets tattoos and checks into rehab; salon owners look to capitalize.
Looking to refocus the world's attention away from her personal life and onto her would-be comeback album, Britney Spears has decided to impersonate Sinead O'Connor.
The embattled pop star shaved her head over the weekend, got two tattoos, and went clubbing in a blonde wig, topping it all off by checking into a rehab facility in Los Angeles. The singer reportedly checked into a rehab center in Antigua last week but stayed for only one day.
"Britney Spears has voluntarily checked herself into an undisclosed rehab facility today," Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, said in a statement today. "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time."
Spears' recent behavior, particularly getting her head shaved, has sparked many professional pundits and celebrity parasites to express deep concern over the singer's well-being.
But for J.T. and Esther Tognozzi, co-owners of Esther's Hair Cutting Studio in Tarzana, California, where Spears had her head shaved, it's the commercial opportunity of a lifetime.
The Tognozzis have launched a Web site, BuyBritneysHair.com, looking to sell the freshly shorn singer's locks for a minimum of $1 million.
In an effort to sweeten the deal, the couple has offered to throw in the hair extensions Spears was wearing at the time, the Omega clipper used to cut the hair off and "even the can of Red Bull she was drinking at the time. You also get her blue Bic Lighter and this valuable domain and website to use for publicity purposes. This is the Ultimate Britney Spears Experience! It is a piece of history that can not be duplicated!"
The site indicates that a portion of the proceeds "will be donated to various charities."
The 25-year-old Spears showed up at the Tognozzis' hair salon, accompanied by two bodyguards, after it had closed Friday. Esther Tognozzi told E! Online that she tried to talk Spears out of the bald move, but Spears insisted and actually shaved the top and front of her head on her own.
"She wasn't very talkative. In fact, I kept talking to her about the kids, and I asked about her baby, hoping that I could convince her and talk her out of continuing," added Esther Tognozzi.
She said that Spears didn't appear to be under the influence of anything and remained "emotionless" for the most part, "except for when she said, 'Oh my god, my mom's going to be so upset,' and she had tears in her eyes."
Once Spears put down the clippers, Tognozzi offered to finish the job and dust the hair off.
Spears later stopped at the Body and Soul tattoo parlor in nearby Sherman Oaks to be inked with a black, white, and pink cross on her lower hip and red and pink lips on her wrist.
Spears, who has been on a much-documented partying binge in recent months, reportedly flew into LA from Miami early Friday, after an aborted attempt at rehab in the Caribbean. Paparazzi have been tracking Spears' every move, particularly since her decision to divorce husband Kevin Federline, with whom she has two sons, 17-month-old Sean Preston and 5-month-old Jayden James.




6 Comments
Oldest First | Newest First