A TikTok star who has become a viral sensation and makes a living showing off the “lion’s mane” she was bullied for as a child wants to encourage others to feel more comfortable in their own skin.
Kristina Bondarenko, 23, was cruelly called “Hagrid from Harry Potter” by other schoolchildren because of her voluminous hair, but has now learned to love it – and makes money by posting hair care videos online.
The social media influencer, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, now proudly shares curly hair tips with her 2.5 million followers on TikTok and says comments from people telling her she helped them gain confidence inspire her to make more videos.
Kristina, who calls herself LunaLu Rey on TikTok, said: “I started using TikTok to express my thoughts and feelings and turn them into something.
“It was an escape from reality, but I fell in love with making videos.
“The positive comments from people who watch my videos make me want to do more.”
Kristina admits that as a child she didn’t like her hair and didn’t know how to care for it.
She said: “I was bullied all my childhood because of my hair – the kids at school called me Hagrid from Harry Potter.
“When I became a teenager, it became curlier and I didn’t know how to care for it, so it was often very frizzy.”
She added: “It wasn’t until I was about 19 that I really started to like my hair.
“I learned how to properly care for curly hair, not to brush it when it’s dry and what products to use.
“I also started dyeing my hair reddish brown instead of brown and for the first time in my life I thought my hair looked good.”
Kristina, a talented pianist and singer, moved to the United States at the age of 19 to study music at Glendale Community College in California.
But after graduating, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next with her life.
To fill her time and entertain herself, she started creating some TikTok videos in August 2020.
She said: “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, but I thought it would be fun to make some silly videos there.
“I started out making short, fun videos lip-syncing to popular sounds, and TikTok became a great place where I could just be myself.
“But it wasn’t until I posted a clip in October 2020 of me flipping my hair back and changing it from curly to straight that my account exploded.”
She added: “The video went viral, got two million views and people asked for more videos about hair.”
Encouraged by the hundreds of positive comments she received, Kristina says she decided to take her content seriously this year.
“The comments were all really nice and encouraging, so I started making fun hairstyle tutorials for other people with curly hair,” she said.
And she was happy that she could help others.
“Some of my favorite comments were things like, ‘After watching your videos and following you, I started to love my curly hair,’ and I saw one that said, ‘I had cut my curly hair short because I hated it, but now after watching your videos, I’m letting it grow back.’
“It’s a really good feeling to know that you’re having a positive impact on someone else.”
Kristina loves the diversity of people on the platform and being part of it. She says: “There are so many different people on the app, so many people with unique looks who don’t all fit society’s narrow ideal of beauty.
“Everyone has their own insecurities to overcome and if I can help other people overcome their insecurities then I am happy.
The hair videos she posts vary.
“Sometimes I post advice or tips, sometimes I show people my hair care routine and different products I use,” she explained.
“Sometimes I am still surprised that people are interested in my advice and tips.
“I’m not a professional, I just show people what I do with my own hair. I’ve learned all my knowledge from the internet over the years.”
She added: “But I think people like how realistic and easy it is to change the hairstyle or take care of the curls properly.”
And she is very happy with her hair now.
“I am now very proud of my curls and I am happy that I can encourage others to be proud of theirs too. I love my hair.”
Follow Kristina on TikTok here: www.tiktok.com/@lunalurey and her Instagram here: www.instagram.com/lunalu_rey
