CHENNAI: It occurs to me as I’m hiding under a pile of snacks, chocolate wrappers and blankets: maybe I’m a closet raccoon. I love garbage. I like collecting knick-knacks, saving movie stubs, I eat all the time and am surprisingly aggressive for no apparent reason. I love all things that are “so bad they are good”.
Thankfully, this philosophy doesn’t carry forward into my skincare routine. I’ve been seeing a lot of lemon juice casually floating around on the Internet, and as I explore DIY skincare recipes online — I find that most of them really, really, really like lemon juice.
According to these tips, you should be slathering lemons and limes all over your face and hair. Leave it on, take it out! It smells decent, is easy on the pocket, has some properties that are seemingly fabulous for your skin: including vitamin C and AHAs. You know AHAs… the little magic exfoliant we use in most peels and skincare products. The acids also force excess oil from your skin, and kill acne-causing bacteria.
All of this sounds great but what most of us don’t realise is that lemon juice is highly acidic, and the combination of all its ingredients can take you straight to Irritation City, with little stops at the Sensitive to Sun Station and the Land of Hyperpigmentation. Your final stop may or may not be Oops I Burnt it Again Central! Lemons are natural (duh) which also means that acid content varies with each lemon. So when you use a lemon on your face (directly or the juice) — you never really know how much acid you’re using. It would also depend on the frequency of usage.
This majorly messes with your skin’s natural barriers and makes you very sensitive to the sun. (PSA: Don’t google “Lemon Sunburn” before or after eating.) I’m not disregarding the efficacy of lemon juice to help mild acne or lighten skin (which you really don’t need to do though!) but there are so many other ways that are just as effective, and do not come with a side of some serious skin damage.
So yes, too much of anything can be bad — this includes chocolate, wine and acidic products on your skin. A little acidity is good, but too much can disrupt your skin barriers and turn into an at-home peeling agent: really not recommended. These could lead to a chemical burn and are good if you want stinging, dried out flaky skin, blisters etc. If you’re dead set on using lemons and limes in DIYs, please do so with caution. Don’t use leave-on recipes with large amounts of juice (no more than a few drops). Use sunscreen religiously, and do a mini patch test. Or just get an AHA exfoliator which does the job much, much better!
Saumya R Chawla
@pixie.secrets
The writer loves to over-share, drink wine & watch period dramas