LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears was reported to have left a Malibu rehabilitation centre just 24 hours after checking herself in following weeks of troubling behavior culminating in shaving her own head.
Celebrity websites TMZ.com, theinsideronline.com and People.com said the singer, 25, left what should have been amonth long program at the Promises residential centere on Wednesday morning local time (Wednesday night NZT).
It was the second time in less than a week that Spears had reportedly sought help at residential rehab centre and then left a day later.
"It was against their advice," one unidentified source told People magazine. "If she comes back for treatment, Promises will have to assess the situation. Sometimes people come back but it doesn't look good."
Spears, whose life appears to have spiralled out of control since filing for divorce last November shortly after giving birth to her second child, entered the facility voluntarily yesterday.
Her manager, Larry Rudolph, issued a statement asking for privacy. Neither Rudolph nor Spears' record label returned calls asking for comment today.
The pop princess who shot to fame at the age of 16 was pictured yesterday with her newly shaved head, smoking a cigarette and wearing a pink T-shirt on the balcony of the luxury centre, whose celebrity clientele has included Robert Downey Jr., Ben Affleck and Matthew Perry.
Spears made world headlines during the weekend after shaving her own head at a Los Angeles-area salon following weeks of partying at clubs in Hollywood, Las Vegas and New York since her split from her husband of two years, Kevin Federline.
The hair-shaving incident raised concern among family and friends about her mental state and followed reports that Spears had entered rehab on the Caribbean island of Antigua last week, only to drop out 24 hours later.
On Monday she was pictured at a Hollywood night club wearing a cheap blonde wig over her bare head.
Over the past few months, Spears has raised eyebrows for her heavy partying, sometimes with celebrity heiress Paris Hilton, and a series of pictures that caught the Grammy-winning entertainer wearing no panties under her short skirts.
Multiple theories have been offered as to why she shaved her head. They range from reports that her hair extensions had lice, that she told the hairdresser she no longer wanted to be touched and that Federline wanted to take DNA samples from her hair to test it for drugs or alcohol.
Both Federline and Spears are seeking custody of their two sons, year-old Sean Preston and 5-month-old Jayden James.
