Britney Spears opens up about feeling like an ‘ugly duckling’ as a kid

With hair stylists and celebrities strongly cautioning against at-home haircuts, Britney Spears ignored all the warnings and gave herself bangs, which she absolutely adores.

The "Womanizer" singer raved about her brand-new look on Monday, showing that she cut her fringe just below her eyes and styled it to part in the middle. "Who would have thought bangs could make you look waaaaay younger?!?!" she cheekily wrote in the lengthy caption.

The 38-year-old then treated fans to the untold story story about her surprisingly long history with bangs, revealing she hasn't sported them since "3rd grade and I remember like it was yesterday." Apparently, growing them out was a big deal for her because she thought it was a more mature look that would finally make her look beautiful.

Spears said she wasn't confident about her appearance when she was little because "I had bad teeth and felt like an ugly duckling."

After being rejected by a modeling agency for "not being pretty enough," she decided to ditch her bangs to "be like the older girls and show my forehead."

"It was such a big deal," she explained. "Only pretty people in the south could do that and I never felt pretty enough to pull it off."

However, upon finally growing out her fringe, Spears recalled "it looked sooooo bad but I thought I was gorgeous" and added that she maintained the look because "I thought it made me cool."

Now, Spears is singing a different tune about bangs because it not only makes her look younger, it also gives her a sense of security. "When I pull my bangs in front of my head I feel like I'm protected," she sweetly concluded, "almost like I'm in 3rd grade again."