Viral trend about lemon juice and hair lightening takes off as TikToker and expert weigh in

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A viral TikTok trend is taking over the internet — and it involves a singular fresh fruit. 
The lemon juice hair hack on social media has people squeezing fresh lemon juice into their hair to obtain a “natural” highlight. 
Anastasia Vlakhova is a 26-year-old Bulgarian beauty enthusiast who shares life hacks on TikTok — and one of them is this lemon juice trend. 
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She told Fox News Digital that she’s been using this hack to save money at the hair salon for over 15 years now. 
“When I was 10, my granny told me I could use lemon to lighten my hair,” she said. “As a curious kid, I tried it right away and was amazed that it worked.”
Anastasia Vlakhova, pictured here, posted a “how to” for the lemon juice hair lightening hack.  (Anastasia Vlakhova )
The TikTok creator, who has over two million views on her lemon juice hair video, said she has never had her hair professionally bleached.
Instead, she merely uses the lemon juice hack. 
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“It’s quick and easy, but you have to follow certain rules to make it safe,” she advised. 
TikTok users are using lemon juice to lighten their hair color. Some have never once used professional bleaching techniques — relying just on lemons. (iStock)
Vlakhova said anyone looking to highlight their hair naturally with lemon juice needs to have a lemon, a tablespoon of water and a few drops of conditioner for a less acidic mix. 
“I pick 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,” she said. 
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After spending time in the sun, Vlakhova said she then washes her hair with gentle shampoo and other hair care products like conditioners, a mask or hair oil. 
Anastasia Vlakhova showed her before and after pictures, left to right, of the lemon juice hack.  (Anastasia Vlakhova )
She added, “This step is essential to prevent damaging your hair.”
Vlakhova added that she’s never noticed hair damage caused by the lemon juice but did say that if people’s hair is already damaged or if they have darker or wavy hair, the results could be skewed. 
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Tiffany Young, a certified trichologist and CEO of Thin Hair Thick, a hair topper company in Salt Lake City, Utah, said there are pros and cons to this viral social media hack. 
After applying lemon juice to one’s hair, sitting out in the sun will help to lighten the hair. But don’t forget the sunblock for your skin! (iStock)
One of the pros, she said, is that it could help lighten hair in a more efficient way for someone new to the coloring process. 
“Lemon juice has less potential to overprocess or fry the hair when compared to hair bleach, since it a natural derivative,” she said. 
She added, “It takes longer to lighten the hair, and this slow process is generally more forgiving when someone is new to coloring hair.”
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Young said one of the issues with this hack is the dryness the lemon juice can leave on your hair. 
“Lemon juice, when combined with the heat of the sun or a blow-dryer, has the potential to dry out the hair, leaving it frizzy and stripping the hair of beneficial oils,” she said.
TikTok creators are sharing the results of squeezing lemon juice into their hair.  (iStock)
She continued, “It is not effective at lightening darker hair color and certainly won’t lift the hair to a predictable shade.”
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Vlakhova also noted that anyone attempting this highlight hack should be cautious of leftover lemon juice on the skin before sitting in the sun. 
“Citric acid combined with sun exposure can cause skin burns,” she cautioned. 
Doctors and other medical experts, of course, always recommend protecting the skin with appropriate sunblock before going out in the sun.
Brittany Kasko is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital.