Holi is by far one of my favourite festivals! Not because it’s a holiday, but the fact that it brings family and friends together. Each year, there’s a rain dance party that happens below my building, which is always super fun. As much as I love playing with colour and water though, I dread the thought of post-party clean up. Most of the times, artificial dyes are packed with harsh chemicals that damage skin by causing rashes and burns. Since my skin is sensitive, synthetic colours cause a nasty reaction on my skin. You also can’t expect everyone to play Holi with herbal and skin-safe colours. If you too want to learn how to protect your skin from harm, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a guide to help prep your skin for this festival. (Here’s wishing all you lovely ladies a happy and safe Holi!)
Pre Holi Tips For Skin And Hair
Looking for hair and skin care tips for holi? Here’s how to protect your skin and hair from holi colours. Have a look!
1. Choose The Right Outfit
High-necks, full-sleeves, long pants, should be your go-to Holi outfit. Old yet comfy clothing should be your first choice. Stick to dark colours and make sure that your outfit covers most of your skin. This trick will prevent colour from sticking to your skin. Also, don’t stay in the water for more than two hours. This will cause skin damage and you could even catch a cold! If it’s a dry Holi party, you might want to wash your face and hands in between your playing sessions.
Also Read: Happy Holi Wishes
2. Apply A Dark Nail Paint
Don’t like colour staining your nails and cuticles? I hate that feeling too! To avoid such a situation, apply dark nail polish and a coat of petroleum jelly on your nails and fingers. This will prevent the colour from spoiling and damaging your precious nails.
3. Coconut or Mustard Oil? Which Must You Pick?
Also Read About Mustard Oil And Its Amazing Health Benefits
Initially, colours were extracted from flowers and herbs. These were considered beneficial to both, hair and skin. Nowadays, Holi colours are made from oxidized metals and industrial dyes. If you have dry skin, your skin will absorb the chemicals instantly. This is where coconut and mustard oil come into the picture. Apply a thick coat coconut oil on your skin and mustard oil on your hair. Please note that this must be done an hour before you play Holi.
POPxo Recommends: Parachute 100% Pure Coconut Oil (Rs 182)
4. Follow It Up With Sunscreen!
After you’re done oiling, apply sunscreen to your body. Make sure that the SPF is waterproof and gel-based so it doesn’t feel sticky. This will keep your skin protected from the sun for about 3-4 hours. Feel free to re-apply if required.
POPxo Recommends: Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 50+ (Rs 199)
5. Show Your Lips And Eyes Some Love
We bet you didn’t know that dry skin causes pores to open up wide. When that happens, the colour powder could clog the pores and irritate them. Apply a lip balm to keep your pout, moist and nourished. Avoid wearing lenses when playing Holi. If by chance, colour does get into your eyes, don’t rub them, but splash water on your eyes. You can also put on your sunnies to protect your eyes.
POPxo Recommends: Vaseline Original Pure Skin Jelly (Rs 95)
6. Hydrate And Hydrate
Not drinking enough water causes the skin to dry up. When that happens, the colour could seep into your skin and damage it. Stay away from alcohol and try to drink water and juices. This will help stay energised and hydrate your skin as well. Also, if you do experience irritation or burns on your skin, wash your skin immediately with cold water and apply some Lacto Calamine to soothe the itching.
Tips to Take Care of Your Skin After Playing Holi
Getting rid of Holi colour stains isn’t easy. In fact, most of us believe in washing off the colours with soap, but doing so isn’t enough and may leave you with rashes, breakouts and other skin or hair related problems. So, here we have got you a few tips to cleanse your skin and hair properly after playing Holi.
Also Read: Holi Edition Quiz
1. Wash Off The Colour While It’s Still Wet
Since dry colours are more troublesome to get rid of, it’s much better to wash colours when they’re wet. Use a mild soap to wash the colours off and bathe in lukewarm salt water. Feel free to add a couple of drops of baby oil to the water as well. For your hair, rinse it lemon water. This will help restore the acid-alkaline balance of the scalp. You can also have glossy and soft locks by washing your hair with flat beer.
POPxo Recommends: Johnson’s Baby Oil With Vitamin E (Rs 50)
2. Try This Natural Paste
Two natural recipes that have helped me remove the colour from my hair and skin are multani mitti and turmeric powder. For the multani mitti pack, I add sandalwood powder and rose water. This DIY paste cleanses my skin like a pro! Since I have sensitive skin, I usually make a mix using turmeric powder and milk, I keep it on my skin for about 10-15 minutes. I then wash the mix off by taking a warm shower.
Also Read: Top Holi Songs
3. Don’t Forget To Moisturise After
After a bath, make it a point to moisturise. Aloe vera gel and lacto calamine are perfect for moisturising. This will keep your skin smooth, soft and nourished. Also, don’t just apply it to your face, arms and thighs. Pay attention to your neck, earlobes, back and stomach too!
POPxo Recommends: Lacto Calamine Oil Balance Lotion (Rs 69)
4. Avoid Facials Or Bleaching The Following Week
At least for a week after Holi, avoid making a trip to the parlour. Facials, waxing and bleaching could irritate the skin even further. Use a fragrance-free lotion and minimal make-up for soft and smooth skin.
Now that you are all ready with easy Holi tips for skin and hair, here we’ll give you some amazing ways to celebrate eco-friendly holi.
Also Read: Holi Special Nail Art
How To Celebrate Eco-Friendly Holi?
While we all love playing Holi, many people carelessly use chemical colours and balloons. So, let’s take an initiative and celebrate this Holi in an eco-friendly way. Here, have a look to know how to celebrate eco-friendly Holi!
1. Use Natural Colours To Play Holi
The best way to enjoy this festival of colours is to play it with eco-friendly holi colours. Make your own colours at home using ingredients like henna, Chandan and turmeric. You can mix and match these into a different combination to make unique colours and all such colours will be harmless to your skin and can easily be washed off. So, it’s time to celebrate the eco-friendly Holi while keeping the glow on your skin intact.
Also Read: Holi Games
2. Celebrate It In A Dry Way
Water scarcity is a real thing and so is the time to take it seriously and stop wasting water on Holi. Also, the water guns that we use creates unnecessary garbage that only pollutes the environment. So, now on create a dry and eco-friendly Holi to save our precious environment.
3. Avoid Using Balloons And Plastic Bags
This Holi, try and avoid the use of plastic bags and balloons and stop others to do the same as it can cause harm to the body as well as to the environment. Because safe Holi is Happy Holi!
4. Celebrate This Colourful Festival With Flowers
Who doesn’t like popping confetti? Well, we all surely do. So, why don’t you start playing Holi in the most adorable way possible, that is with flowers. Go ahead! Spread the fragrance and play an eco-friendly Holi using flowers and make it a Holi to remember.
5. Burn Environmental-Friendly Waste For Holi Bonfire
We won’t stop you from following your traditions. Instead, we would just suggest you use scraps like waste boxes, coconut waste and cow-dung for Holi bonfire. Doing so will not only be a good initiative to take good care of the environment and to celebrate eco-friendly Holi but will save precious trees from getting cut.
Have a fantastic eco-friendly Holi, ladies!
Holika Dahan Wishes & Messages
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