Post Holi precautions: Holi, our much-awaited beloved festival, is coming after a lockdown and covid outbreak. While it is a festival we all wait to celebrate with our near and dear ones, it may give heartbreak to your skin cause of the chemicals used in making these colours. Even if we use organic colours, you still need to protect your skin so that it does not get an allergic rash from being in contact with colours for long hours and take preventive measures to combat the after-effects of chemicals. "All that colour on the skin and hairs with sunrays outdoors and water splashes from kids can leave it looking dull and damaged. Here are some tips for celebrating the festival without the fear of skin and hair damage with post holi care so that you can enjoy Holi while minimising the damage," states Dr Gunjan Verma, consultant dermatologist, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals.
Pre-Holi Skincare And Haircare Tips
- For your skin, prefer to use a Moisturiser layered on your skin overnight before the Holi. In the morning, use Sunscreen with High SPF for whole day protection. Additionally, you can prefer the Screen formula, which is heatproof so that it stays for a more extended period. You can even choose to wear Skin Defence Oils lathered on your face, neck area, behind the ears, hands and arms and even your feet.
- Apply dark coloured nail polish covering the nails and cuticles of your hands and feet to protect the enamel of your nails from decolourization. You can even apply multiple layers of transparent varnish so that your hand's nails remain presentable on the next day.
- Prefer to wear a thick layer of virgin coconut oil on your entire body so that harsh colours do not harm your skin. Simultaneously, you can apply coconut oil or mustard oil on your hair and scalp before you play with colours on Holi.” suggests Shivani Sikri, Chief Nutritionist & Co-founder at Nutri4Verve.
Post-Holi Skincare Tips
After you have enjoyed all sorts of colours, now your skin needs special care and rejuvenation.
- Before you go for a bath, dust off loose pigments from your face, hair and body; instead of using soap directly, use cleansing milk to remove deep colours from your face and body.
- Use plenty of plain water along with mild body wash or herbal soap to rinse off colours.
- You can use even body scrub instead of repeatedly using soap. Avoid any harsh scrubbing your skin at any stage.
- Subsequently, you can choose to apply honey and cucumber based face pack, aloe vera gel, oats based packs etc.
- Use a rosewater toner, or lavender water or aloe water available at juicy chemistry basis the suitability of your skin, to tone the skin and refresh it. Whilst your skin is still dam, use one of our facial oils to nicely moisturize the skin and ensure all the moisture is packed in.
- Post Holi skincare, Megha Asher, Co-founder and COO of Juicy Chemistry, recommends that you use a carrier oil as per your skin type to deeply cleanse the skin and get rid of all the colour deposit. You can opt for Hemp seed oil as well, and once the colour comes off and the skin is more excellent, you can use a face wash as per your skin type to gently cleanse the skin and get rid of any residue that is there.
Post-Holi Haircare Tips
- For Haircare, Megha Asher, Co-founder and COO of Juicy Chemistry, recommends using Marula Argan Lavender hair oil to use pre holi to ensure that the colour won't get stuck to the scalp and comes off quickly. The Holi colours tend to dry the strands a lot. You can use a leave-in conditioner to ensure the strands don't dry down and frizz up; through this, and they will retain their shine and lustre.
- Apply hair oil and vaseline before playing Holi. Avoid exposure to boiling water for bathing/head wash post holi. Shampoo properly so that colour particles are not entrapped in hair roots. Shampooing twice may be required to wash off the colours from your hair thoroughly. Ideal shampoo should be mild, with a pH of 5.5.
- For Haircare post-Holi, use mild hair cleansers or Intense Repair Shampoos to clean your hair. Do not wash your hair repeatedly. “In case your hair has become dry, use jojoba oil or Coconut oil on your scalp and hair. Do not Blow Dry your hair. You can preferably also enjoy Hair Spa treatments at a Saloon near you with your partner for quick rejuvenation and make your Holi memories even more lasting,” encourages the Expert Shivani Sikri.
Special Ayurvedic Tips
If you are thinking of playing with the colours of Holi, then play Holi openly with these Ayurvedic tips. Do not worry that there will be any problem with the skin and hair. Everyone is eagerly waiting for Holi because Holi is such a festival of colours in which people hug and colour. But they are very much afraid that these colours can spoil their hair and skin. Keeping in mind that there is no harm to your skin and hair on Holi, here we will tell you some special Ayurvedic tips to protect your skin and hair.
- Coconut oil - Before playing Holi, coconut oil should be applied to your skin and hair properly so that the colour chemical in colour will not directly affect your skin.
- Use more and more herbal colours - If possible, playing Holi with natural colours readily available in the market will not cause any side effect on your skin and hair and improve the skin.
- Moisturize the body well - After playing Holi, wash the body properly and moisturize it properly so that the body remains moist and the skin will not dry. One thing that should be well kept in mind is that when the colour comes out of the body, do not rub the body.
- Lemon - Lemon is a type of natural soap that can help you remove the body's colour. For this, you can easily remove the colour applied to your skin with a few peels of lemon.
- Home remedies to soothe your skin - Honey has antibacterial properties. Papaya and olive oil is another SOOTHING mask.
Conclusion By Dr Arika Bansal MBBS, MD (AIIMS, New Delhi), ISHRS (USA), Professor Hair Transplantation/Dermatology: This will be the first Holi since the Covid outbreak, and we need to be extra careful while celebrating it. The risk of coronavirus and another respiratory virus transmission will be increased with wet Holi. Hence, Dry colours are preferred over wet colours. Wearing a mask is a must. People with PPD allergy should avoid colour exposure altogether.
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