Smita Diwan
Skin and hair are the most affected during the year’s most colorful festival – Holi. On the auspicious eve, don’t let harsh colors ruin the post-Holi look. Here are a few tips for a safe and beautiful Holi.
Precautions
Natural or organic colors are safest to play with, as they don’t harm the skin or hair and are easily removed. But for many, unless the color stays for a few days, how would people know that one has celebrated the festival! Here are a few Pre-Holi cautions and style tips to apply:
Oil
Coconut oil or olive oil is best to apply on the body and hair. This nourishes the skin and hair, helping to fight off dryness produced by the colors when rubbed against the skin or spilled on hair. Some particular places to apply are ear lobes, behind ears, and nails. These are the places where the maximum deposition of colors is visible.
Makeup
Use a little makeup on the face, neck, and hands. For example, apply nail paint, lip balm or lipstick, use toner, and waterproof sunscreen. This would help protect the skin from sunburn (as when colors are put on the skin and exposed to the sun, a little tanning or sunburns take place). The moisture of lip balm would protect the lips from chipping or flaking. Similarly, the nail paints absorb the colors and are easily removed with remover.
Hair
Wear a bandana to cover most of your scalp, which would prevent the colors from settling on the scalp and giving a pink or green head. Also, tie your mane into a braid or bun.
Clothes
Wear light but dark-colored clothes that would hide most of your skin. A full sleeve cotton salwar kameez is ideal, as it is light to wear, less color gets to the skin, and easy to dry off in the piercing sun. To complete the stylised Holi player, sunglasses complete the look!
Also Read: How to Remove Holi Colors With Ease: From Colourful Chaos to Cleanliness
Post Playing Holi
The colors have sedatives that make one drowsy and hungry. It is essential to bathe, eat, and sleep, so one is fresh and pepped with high spirits in the evening. Here are a few recommendations to help clean neatly and completely:
Gram Flour Scrub
Create a paste by mixing 2 large tablespoons of gram flour or besan to a small cup of yogurt. Apply the mixture all over the body and leave to dry. Rub off the paste or scrub with the help of a little water or olive oil. This paste helps remove the dirt and colors, leaving the skin glowing, moist, and healthy.
Honey and Yogurt
Mix 2 tablespoons of honey in 1 large tablespoon of yogurt. After removing the colors, use this mixture as a toner or cleaner that will heal any damaged skin. This mixture has anti-tanning and healing qualities that would repair dead skin.
Gram Flour Scrub
In half a cup of cold milk, add one teaspoon of sesame oil or vegetable oil. Apply the mixture over the body by using a cotton wool or a cloth. Use this for the face, neck, or gentle areas like ear lobes, behind ears, under eyes, etc.
Lemon Drops
Before shampooing hair, rinse hair with cold water and let all the loose particles of color, dust, and pollution flow out from the scalp. Use an herbal mild shampoo from FabIndia or Body Shop to wash hair. Massage the scalp gently and rinse thoroughly with water again. On the last rinse, add a few drops of lemon to a mug of water. This restores the acid-alkaline balance of the scalp. Beer, known as a good conditioner, can also be used with hints of lemon.
