Mar 4, 2011 08:34 GMT  ·  By

He may have lost close to 90,000 Twitter followers after he got a more “mature” haircut, but Justin Bieber can always find consolation in knowing that he did it for a good cause: his hair has sold for over $40,000 on eBay.

As we also informed you at the time, after the shocking announcement (shocking for his fans, that is) that he’s cut his hair, thus ditching his trademark “The Bieber” cut, the pop star also revealed that it was all for charity.

Granted, he also wanted a new look, but he stressed that he’d be selling the hair on auction website eBay, with the proceeds going to charity, in a partnership with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Said and done, PopEater reports.

“DeGeneres put the locks up on eBay, and within the first hour, Bieber’s hairs were already up to $10,000 in bids,” the e-zine notes.

“The auction ended yesterday and helped raise $40,688 for the Gentle Barn, an animal rescue organization in Santa Clarita, Calif., which was chosen by DeGeneres,” PopEater further reports.

Whoever forked over this kind of money for a lock of hair will get more than Bieber’s DNA though: they will also meet him when he’s on Ellen next, which is something that, to many fans, is priceless.

Also priceless is Bieber’s further involvement in other charitable projects, since he’s the kind of star that can bring a lot of media attention to a good cause if he agrees to take part in it.

“The singer’s charitable ways did not stop at the hair. As part of his 17th birthday wish yesterday, he urged fans to donate at least $17 to the Charity: Water foundation, which provides clean water to those in need,” PopEater says.

So far, Justin has helped raise over $44,000 for Charity: Water, way beyond the initial goal of $17,000, to celebrate his 17th birthday.