That influencer with 200k followers told clients to use lemon juice on their faces

I had a client come in last week who said she saw this popular esthetician on Instagram recommend squeezing fresh lemon juice on dark spots. She tried it for 5 days and her cheeks were burning and peeling. I had to explain that lemon juice is way too acidic for skin, around a pH of 2, and it can cause chemical burns plus make you super sensitive to the sun. What gets me is that this influencer has all those followers but clearly never studied basic skin science. I spent 20 minutes just doing a calming mask and barrier repair routine to get her back to normal. Has anyone else dealt with clients trying dangerous DIY stuff they saw online?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.rose1mo ago

@finley_gonzalez49 do you think folks just trust the wrong sources or is it more that we all assume natural equals safe, no questions asked? I feel like there's this whole mindset shift that has to happen where people stop treating skincare advice like it's just opinions and start checking if someone actually knows what they're talking about. That influencer had thousands of likes but zero clue about skin pH and that's the real problem.

amy_anderson1mo ago

Used to think natural remedies were harmless, but seeing real damage like this completely changed my mind.

finley_gonzalez491mo ago

Was it a specific case or personal experience that made you question them? I feel like people don't realize how Strong some of these herbal things can really be until it goes wrong. What was the breaking point that flipped your view?