You’ll find beauty bloggers with millions of subscribers promoting the use of pure lemon juice on the face. The reason that lemon contains high percentages of vitamin C, citric acid, and antioxidants. Hence, lemon is great for getting rid of dead skin cells, reducing dark spots, clearing up a tan, and lightening freckles. In fact, when you put lemon on an apple, it stops the apple from oxidizing. Blogger’s linked this with how lemon juice slows down premature aging and increases the production of collagen.
Now, all this would be great if we were fruits and no humans. Freshly squeezed lemon juice cannot do any of the above. Our skin does not react the way an apple would since it is a living, breathing organism that is fairly fragile. Even though we usually encourage DIY skincare masks, we would never use raw lemon on our skin. Here’s why:
1. Lemons are Extremely Acidic
Human skin is not made to handle the acidic nature of raw lemon. In fact, the inbuilt system has a pH of 4 to 5 so that bad bacteria are not found on the skin, while good flora remains. This helps protect the skin from infections and acne.
Now, lemon juice has a pH level of 2. Can you tell how acidic it is? If it is used on the skin, it disrupts the acid balance and weakens the skin barrier by making it more prone to environmental damage and causes irritation deep inside the cells.
2. Lemons Can Cause Burns
If you put lemon on your face and step into the sun, believe us; your skin will burn like never before. In fact, this can also result in some painful blistering burns.
Fluranocourmarins and psoralens are two components found in lemon that, when exposed to sunlight, cause phytophotodermatitis (PPD). When this photo-toxic reaction occurs, painful blisters and rashes are formed. This feels like an intense chemical burn. There are millions of stories of people who put raw lemon juice on the skin, only for it to turn into ugly blistering burns the minute they walked out into the sun.
To stay safe, do not use raw lemon juice on the skin. If life gives you lemons, just don’t put them on your face.
3. Lemon Causes Discoloration
Using raw lemon in DIY skincare masks can cause chemical leukoderma. This is when random patches of the skin get lightened, leaving you with an uneven skin tone.
People believe that lemon juice is supposed to fade pigmentation. This may be true, but instead of turning to lemon as an alternative, look for more stable forms of vitamin C in the form of serums.
Lemon juice is acidic enough to fade the skin in patches as it has a pH of 2. This pH is usually not seen in skincare products, except for peels. Of course, peels are neutralized and carefully formulated before the common public can use them on their skin.
If you have ever used lemon juice on your skin, you would know the damage it has caused. However, don’t worry; just like everything else in life, skin also heals. For more tips and trends, check out our Facebook. We offer a wide range of services in Springfield, MO.