Britney Spears Shaved Head As Act of Rebellion Before Conservatorship

Britney Spears says she shaved her head back in the day -- pre-conservatorship -- as an act of rebellion ... a stunning new revelation she just made in her forthcoming memoir.

The pop star's new book -- 'The Woman In Me' -- is coming out later this month ... but in an excerpt obtained by People Mag, BS addresses the infamous February 2007 moment when she lost her locks and rocked a bald look in public. At the time, it was cause for much concern.

Here's what she says in her own words ... "I’d been eyeballed so much growing up. I’d been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager."

Britney adds, "Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back."

It was a full year after BS used clippers on herself that she was placed in the conservatorship -- and once she was under the control of the legal apparatus, she says she was informed her short-hair look was a no-go ... and she needed to get back to her old self.

Britney explains ... "Under the conservatorship, I was made to understand that those days were now over. I had to grow my hair out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medication they told me to take."

She goes on to say in this excerpt that she felt her creativity was zapped once she was in the conservatorship ... and her heart simply wasn't into performing/making music anymore.

Back to the shaved head thing for a bit -- it's interesting she's just chalking it up to lashing out rather than something more serious ... which is long what the public has assumed. Others have floated different theories about why she cut her hair off -- including claims of trying to hide traces of drugs -- but she's now making it sound like she just wanted to do it.

We're sure there'll be A LOT more juicy nuggets to sift through in the coming weeks.