Skin and hair care for Holi

We wait for Holi all year, don’t we? This year, celebrate Holi hassle-free with some skin and hair care tips.

by Deepa Mistry | @MissTipsytoes on Twitter

Holi, a festival of colours, brings everyone closer. We all start preparing way in advance for this festival, but along with other preparations, we should take care of our skin and hair as well.

In the riot of fun and colours, we end up ignoring our skin and hair. Hair exposed to chemical colours can become dull, dry and brittle. If your skin is acne or dandruff-prone, you need to take a lot of care as these colours can cause severe damage. Holi is the time when the skin loses it natural oils and softness, owing to the chemicals contained in colours, which can cause redness or rashes. Naturally, taking proper precautions cannot hurt. Start with using only organic or natural colours.

Care before Holi begins:

If you ordinarily wear lenses, don’t wear them while playing. Wear a pair of spectacles or sunglasses.

Remember what grandma always said: apply oil before you soak yourself in those colours. Apply generous amounts of coconut oil on your skin and hair, especially on your hands, elbows and legs. Castor oil is another alternative as well.

30 minutes before heading out to play, apply sunscreen on your face and hands. The colours and the heat can cause severe damage. If you suffer from acne, make sure you moisturise your skin well with a cream containing SPF. Make sure you apply lots of lip balm.

Wear dark clothes and preferably of a light material, and full sleeved to cover maximum skin to keep it protected. Avoid wearing jeans as they become heavy once soaked. Apply dark nail polish as light shades or no nail polish tend to let colour settle on your nails – this then becomes difficult to get rid of.

Don’t leave your hair open; tie it up in a ponytail. Wear a scarf or bandana or a cap to cover your hair and still look chic.

Avoid any salon treatments like waxing, threading, facials etc. 2 to 3 days prior to Holi.

Drink lots of water to keep your body hydrated at all times.

Care after playing Holi:

It is very difficult to get rid of colour instantly, hence rinse your hair with cold water as hot water tends to make colour stick to your roots.

Condition your hair with coconut oil or olive oil mixed with 1 tsp vinegar and rinse. If you have dry hair, follow the hot oil and towel treatment for the next following days for softer hair and to prevent hair fall.

Use raw milk and besan pack on your skin to make it smooth to remove all dryness and harshness caused by colour.

Soak fenugreek seeds in four tsp curd and apply it on your scalp. Keep for 30 minutes and then wash away with shampoo.

Keep washing off the colour whenever possible to prevent skin irritation. It might be difficult to carry rose water or cucumber juice with you, but keep it handy. It will soothe your skin.

If you suffer from any acute skin or hair troubles consult a physician.

We wish you all a safe and happy Holi!

(Pictures courtesy venues.meraevents.com, mattersindia.com)