Safe and Healthy Holi Tips
Holi, the festival of colours, is known for its fun celebrations, vibrancy, and of course colours. As fun as it is, this festival can have an impact on your skin, hair, and most importantly your eyes. Even if you have switched from chemicals-based colours to the organic ones, it can still have some impact on these body parts. Hence, what is required is to take precautions both before the celebrations and follow certain tips after that to protect your skin, hair, and eyes from any damage.
Pre-Holi Skincare Tips
Before you head out to have fun, here are some things you must do to protect your skin not just from the colours, but from other things that you might be exposed to:
Cleanse: Other than the colours, of course, you know your skin will be exposed to heat, dust, and dirt. Hence, it is better to cleanse your face before you head out. You can use any good cleanser for this purpose.
Sunscreen: You will be exposed to the sun. And, you know that if exposed for long, the UV radiation from the sun can harm your skin. Hence, apply a sunscreen before going out in the sun.
Oil: You know you are going to play with colours, which will have a negative impact on your skin. Before you go out to play Holi, apply olive, coconut, or almond oil on your face, neck, and hands, and massage well. This will create a protective barrier between the chemicals-laden colours and your skin.
Another Protective Layer: To add another layer of protection to your skin, opt for full-length clothing, such as a full-sleeved kurta, t-shirt, or top. The same goes for the lower garment. Hence, you can choose to wear a salwar, trousers, or joggers. These will not only help you to better protect yourself from colours, but also from the sun, dust and dirt.
Protect The Sensitive Areas: When applying the oil, pay special attention to your eyes, ears and lips. We all know how easily the colour settles into our lip cracks. Similarly, it can be extremely difficult to get the colour out of the ear. It can also settle around the eyes. These can be sensitive areas, hence take care of them properly. Other than applying oil, you can use petroleum jelly, as it will not only protect these areas from the colour, but will also moisturise.
Pre-Holi Haircare Tips
Just like the skin, it is important to protect your hair while playing Holi. Here are some tips that might help:
Again, Oil: Just like it is important for the skin, so it is for the hair. Hence, before going out, apply some coconut oil, or any oil for that matter, to your scalp. This will act as a defense for your lustrous locks against the dangerous chemical-laden colours.
Leave-In-Conditioner: If you aren’t a big fan of oiling, leave-in-conditioner is the thing for you. Just take a little conditioner on your palm and apply it to your scalp, and leave it as it is. This will help you to take the colour off easily, thus protecting it from the colours.
Trim: It’s always better to get your hair trimmed a few days before Holi. This is because when the Holi colours settle in your hair, and you wash it off, your hair becomes dry, making them prone to split-ends and more damage.
Hairstyle For Protection: In order to better protect your hair from colours, tie them up in braids than a ponytail. Even better, wear a fashionable scarf, which will not only act as a protective covering but will also add a dash of style to your Holi fashion.
How To Protect Your Eyes While Celebrating Holi?
We do not need to tell you how important it is to protect your eyes while celebrating Holi. When your eyes come in contact with the chemical-filled Holi colours, it can result in redness, eye irritation, abrasions, allergy, or even mild to severe eye damage. Hence, it is extremely crucial to protect your eyes while taking part in the festivities. Here are some tips that might help:
Glasses: Always wear or glasses, or sunglasses, while playing Holi as it will protect your eyes from colours.
Hat Or A Cap: You can also sport a hat or a cap to protect the same.
Oil: As you already know that the Holi colours often settle at the corners of the eyes. Hence, it is better to apply either oil or petroleum jelly around this area to both protect as well as moisturise it.
Strict No To Eye Lens: Those who wear contact lenses must know that they can absorb the Holi colours, thus prolonging their stay inside the eyes. And, since these colours are filled with harmful chemicals, it can result in a host of eye problems. Hence, it is better to take them off before going out to play Holi.
What If Wearing Lenses Is Unavoidable? In that case, you can opt for disposable daily wear ones. However, even if opting for them, do not allow any colour to settle or enter in your eyes. And, do not forget to take them off once the festivities are over.
What If Colour Enters The Eyes? In that case, do not rub your yours, as you it will make the situation worse. Instead, clean your eyes with clean water. If this doesn’t solve the problem, it is good to consult a doctor.
Post Holi Skincare Tips
Although the pre-Holi skincare tips help protect your skin from much of the damage, it is still important to do some things to your skin post the Holi festivities. Here are some of the tips that might help:
Take The Colour Off: No matter how many precautions you take, some of the colours always settle on the skin. Since these are laden with chemicals, they make our skin prone to damage. When it comes to the skin of your face, it becomes all the more difficult to take the colour off. This is because the skin there is delicate and you cannot scrub it vigorously. Here is a tip that might help: First clean your face with your regular cleanser. Use cold water instead of hot or lukewarm. Next, apply some coconut oil on your face and leave it for 5-10 minutes. Again cleanse your face off with the cleanser. As your skin will feel dry after that, apply a good moisturiser to it.
Pamper With A Face Pack: After much exposure to the chemicals, you can pamper your skin with some natural ingredients, in the form of face packs. These will not only nourish your skin but will also take some colour off. You can make one such pack with curd and honey. Just mix the two kitchen ingredients and apply the mixture to your neck and face. Leave it for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse it off with cold water. Curd possesses soothing property and honey is antibacterial in nature, while together, they act as an amazing moisturising agent.
Take A Makeup Break: After much chemical exposure in the form of colours, you should give your skin some break from the chemicals in your makeup products. You can start wearing it again once the colour wears off. If it’s just getting impossible for you to do without it, wear light makeup, and do not forget to cleanse it off completely at the end.
Put Going To The Parlour On A Backburner: We know it might be important for you to hit the salon for treatments such as threading, waxing, etc. However, since your skin has been so much exposed to so much, it is better to postpose exposing it to so much else for at least 4-5 days post-Holi.
See A Doctor: Even after taking all the precautions, your skin incurs some damage, such as irritation, allergy, redness, etc, you must consult a skin specialist. Although home remedies might seem tempting, you might make the matters worse in the process. An expert, on the other hand, will first diagnose the issue and suggest the treatment accordingly.
Post-Holi Haircare Tips
Even after taking all the precautions, some colour tend to stick to your hair. Hence, it is important to gently take it off, thus preventing it from causing any damage. Here are some tips that might help:
Comb Well: After seeing loads of colour in your hair, you might feel like straight heading to take a shower and shampoo those colours off. However, before doing that, it is better to dust the colour off as much as you can. Then, comb your locks gently, protecting them from much breakage.
Shampoo: After combing well, you can take much of the colour off with a shampoo. However, use a mild shampoo for the purpose and be gentle.
Pamper Your Hair: Just like what you did to your skin, pamper your hair after cleansing them. You can apply a hair mask for about 30 minutes and rinse it off with cold water. This will nourish your locks, protecting them from damage by colours that might have stayed. You can also use a good conditioner for the purpose.
Holi is a festival that should be enjoyed to the fullest. However, while having all that fun, you should not neglect the health aspect of it. Luckily, we have all these methods, employing which we can have lots of fun at the festival of colours, and at the same time, protect ourselves from any damages.