A TikTok star who has become a viral sensation and earns a living showing off the ‘lion mane’ hair she was bullied for as a child hopes to encourage others to be more confident in their own skin. Kristina Bondarenko, 23, was cruelly called ‘Hagrid from Harry Potter’ by other school children because of her voluminous hair but has now learned to love it – and earns money posting haircare 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 who tell her she has helped them gain self-confidence spurs her to make more videos. Calling herself LunaLu Rey on TikTok, Kristina said: “I started TikTok as a way to express my thoughts and feelings, and put them into something.
“It was an escape from reality but I fell in love with making videos. The positive comments I’ve had from people who watch my videos make me want to make more.”
