If you’re looking for money-saving beauty hacks, all you have to do is open TikTok to get hygiene tips, self-tanning tutorials, and skincare dupe recommendations. With summer in full swing, hair care has become a hot topic of discussion on TikTok—specifically, how-to hacks for hair lightening. If you’ve dabbled in this area before, you’re probably familiar with stories involving apple cider vinegar, baking soda, chamomile tea, and saltwater. But what about lemon juice? A beauty influencer’s secret for natural highlights is going viral, but many are wondering just how safe it is.
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Anastasia Vlakhova has maintained her highlights naturally for the past 16 years without the help of a professional stylist. The 26-year-old Bulgarian TikToker said she’s been able to save tons of money and avoid a trip to the hair salon, all thanks to a DIY lemon juice hack for hair lightening. Her lemon juice TikToks have reached more than a collective 5.5 million views.
"When I was 10, my granny told me I could use lemon to lighten my hair. As a curious kid, I tried it right away and was amazed that it worked,” she told Fox News Digital. "It’s quick and easy, but you have to follow certain rules to make it safe.”
To counteract the lemon’s acidity, Vlakhova mixes the juice from one lemon with a tablespoon of water and a few drops of conditioner.
“Don't cover all your hair with lemon juice, or you will fry it,” Vlakhova pointed out in her TikTok video. She also cautioned people not to spill or apply lemon juice to their skin as it could result in serious burns and blisters.
@vlakhov its lemon highlights season again #bleachedhair #lemonhighlights #blondehair #hairhacks #beautytok #naturalhighlights #hairhighlights #beautyhacks
In her Fox News Digital interview, Vlakhova explained that she selects “small sections of my hair that I want to lighten, cover them with the lemon mix and sit in the sun for at least an hour.”
Afterward, she cleanses her hair with nourishing hair care products, including hair masks and oils. "This step is essential to prevent damaging your hair,” she explained.
While Vlakhova has never personally experienced hair damage with this hack, she did warn that already damaged hair and certain hair types (for instance, darker locks or wavy textures) could yield different results.
Vlakhova’s forewarning is backed by multiple beauty industry experts who aren’t in favor of this viral hair-lightening trend.
"Lemon juice does lighten hair, but it can also be dangerous. It’s so acidic it can burn your hair," celebrity colorist Aura Friedman told Teen Vogue in 2022.
As Vlakhova noted, lemon juice only works best on natural blondes or those with very light brown hair. “Darker brown hair tends to go orange,” Joe J. Cincotta, PhD, said in a Self magazine interview.
Although a “natural bleaching agent,” lemon juice isn’t always effective or the safest solution, says hair care brand Klorane.
“When lemon juice and sunlight are combined, a chemical reaction occurs that will dry out the hair and make it more sensitive. Citric acid attacks and opens the hair structure, making it porous and rough. The sun's rays already do this on their own! That's why you need to protect your hair from the sun, not expose it to even more. Lemon therefore worsens the effects of the sun,” explains the plant-based hair care company.
So, if you’re thinking about testing out the lemon juice trend, proceed with caution—and don’t forget to apply sunblock!
