Kailyn LowryThe more you hear about Kailyn Lowry these days, the more it sounds like the Teen Mom 2 star has a handle on this whole growing up gracefully thing. She's ditched the lousy ex-boyfriend. She's working her way through college. And she's even figured out how to make one of the biggest style changes most women make in a way that she's least likely to regret.

Unlike her co-stars who've been making headlines for their boob jobs, Lowry's skipping the knife and going straight for the scissors. After several seasons sporting long blonde hair on the reality show, Lowry says she's going to be chopping it all off. She's even figured out how to make it worth her while.

Unlike the celebrities who do something drastic with their hair just for the attention (cough, Britney, cough), Lowry's decided to use her fame and her mane for a good cause. Once the hair has grown out another 6 inches, Lowry says she'll donate it to charity.

Good for her! I wish more of the celebrities who go into the stylist for a short 'do would consider following suit. Actually, wait, forget celebrities. I wish more regular people would do it. Period.

I get it; going for a new 'do can be stressful. You're excited, but you're nervous. And we have all looked in a mirror after a haircut and thought, "Oh my God, what have I done?"

But after shaving my head five different times for charity (and planning to do so again this September in honor of Children's Cancer Month), my perspective on "bad" cuts has changed entirely. I have never stepped out of the chair after shaving my head to fight childhood cancer and regretted it. It's hard to feel cranky about your hair when you've got a charity thanking you.

Even when I'm not really happy with how I look because of other body image issues, I'm more than OK with what's on top of my head. Because I know I didn't just change for me. I changed someone else's life.

There are at least half a dozen charities that accept human hair donations these days, usually turning it into wigs for kids who have some sort of medical condition, from cancer to alopecia. Some, like the Angel Hair Foundation, will even accept chemically-treated or gray hair provided it's in good condition (the route Lowry says she has to go because she'd dyed her hair in the past). And then there's St. Baldrick's, my personal pet charity. It's a group that asks folks willing to shave their heads to ask for donations from friends who'd like to see it happen ... and all of the money goes to fight childhood cancer.

What do you think? Could you pony up your mane for a good cause like this teen mom?

 

Image via MTV