Holi (colorful and fun festival of India) the festival of bright and gorgeous colours, water balloons, glorious gujiyas and catchy Bollywood songs, is one of those Indian festivals people look forward to months in advance. It's not only celebrated in India with great fervor, but also all over the world.
The only pitfall of Holi is what the colours or rather the harsh chemicals used in them will do to your skin, hair and nails. The colour which is about to seep into your scalp and pores can be a real spoiler.
Traditionally, the festival was all about natural colours which were made with flowers and herbs. But with time, natural ingredients were replaced with dyes, chemicals, heavy metals and sometimes even with acids, mica, glass powder and dangerous alkalis.
What you need to know
Chemicals can cause itching and rashes, and serious injury to the skin upon scratching. So whatever you do, do not scratch. If any open wound or cuts are there on the body then use a band aid or bandage prior to playing Holi. This is to avoid entry and absorption of harmful chemicals in your blood stream that could later have more damaging effects like cancer, blindness etc. The toxins used in colours can result in a range of diseases including skin allergies, irritation leading to chronic skin eczemas etc.
What you need to do before stepping out for Holi
1. Dry skin allows chemicals to penetrate easily so ALWAYS oil the whole body. Try using coconut oil and if not, then use olive oil, vitamin E oil. For your hair use mustard oil generously.
2. Oiling in places like behind the ear, between finger tips, near finger nails is very important
3. Protect your lips by using a good lip gloss/lip balm.
4.. Paint your nails with the darkest colour possible so that the Holi colors cannot go inside nail bed preferably
5. Wear protective glasses while playing Holi even old pair of sunglasses is a good idea as that even looks fashionable! Always, wash your eyes clean with cold water and see an eye specialist if the irritation persists after few hours of Holi.
6. Never sit in sunlight after playing with colours as it will make difficult to remove as well as harm your skin.
7. It's difficult to make out differences between natural colour and a dye colours. So take precaution. Try to use only herbal colors or else home-made colours that you can make in your kitchen or garden. For example, tesu flowers, genda flowers to beet root juice maybe.
How to clean yourself after Holi
1. First things first. Standing under running water for 5 to 10 minutes is a must. Don't scrub yourself too hard and don't scratch.
2. Use liquid soap gently and after that use home-made packs or scrubs on stubborn color so that it goes away.
3. Some home-remedies you could try - apply some lemon juice, use a curd and sandalwood mix and also add turmeric and white flour in it for a better combination. (Five home-made orange face packs)
4. For the face, use olive oil with cotton to remove the colours. This is after washing it in cold water for a few minutes.
5. If the colour refuses to wear off after a long shower then indulge in the home-remedies mentioned above for a few days.
Wishing all of you a colourful Holi 2016 and hoping you'll have a herbal and safe one!
The only pitfall of Holi is what the colours or rather the harsh chemicals used in them will do to your skin, hair and nails. The colour which is about to seep into your scalp and pores can be a real spoiler.
Traditionally, the festival was all about natural colours which were made with flowers and herbs. But with time, natural ingredients were replaced with dyes, chemicals, heavy metals and sometimes even with acids, mica, glass powder and dangerous alkalis.
What you need to know
Chemicals can cause itching and rashes, and serious injury to the skin upon scratching. So whatever you do, do not scratch. If any open wound or cuts are there on the body then use a band aid or bandage prior to playing Holi. This is to avoid entry and absorption of harmful chemicals in your blood stream that could later have more damaging effects like cancer, blindness etc. The toxins used in colours can result in a range of diseases including skin allergies, irritation leading to chronic skin eczemas etc.
What you need to do before stepping out for Holi
1. Dry skin allows chemicals to penetrate easily so ALWAYS oil the whole body. Try using coconut oil and if not, then use olive oil, vitamin E oil. For your hair use mustard oil generously.
2. Oiling in places like behind the ear, between finger tips, near finger nails is very important
3. Protect your lips by using a good lip gloss/lip balm.
4.. Paint your nails with the darkest colour possible so that the Holi colors cannot go inside nail bed preferably
5. Wear protective glasses while playing Holi even old pair of sunglasses is a good idea as that even looks fashionable! Always, wash your eyes clean with cold water and see an eye specialist if the irritation persists after few hours of Holi.
6. Never sit in sunlight after playing with colours as it will make difficult to remove as well as harm your skin.
7. It's difficult to make out differences between natural colour and a dye colours. So take precaution. Try to use only herbal colors or else home-made colours that you can make in your kitchen or garden. For example, tesu flowers, genda flowers to beet root juice maybe.
How to clean yourself after Holi
1. First things first. Standing under running water for 5 to 10 minutes is a must. Don't scrub yourself too hard and don't scratch.
2. Use liquid soap gently and after that use home-made packs or scrubs on stubborn color so that it goes away.
3. Some home-remedies you could try - apply some lemon juice, use a curd and sandalwood mix and also add turmeric and white flour in it for a better combination. (Five home-made orange face packs)
4. For the face, use olive oil with cotton to remove the colours. This is after washing it in cold water for a few minutes.
5. If the colour refuses to wear off after a long shower then indulge in the home-remedies mentioned above for a few days.
Wishing all of you a colourful Holi 2016 and hoping you'll have a herbal and safe one!
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