Whilst playing Holi voluntarily and willingly is great fun, without the right precautions, it can be extremely harmful for your skin and hair health. Urvashi & Taarana Vaswani draw up a list of the factors you need to keep in mind.
Holi, the festival of colours that is just around the corner is one of India’s most beloved and widely enjoyed festivals. While it is believed in parts of Bengal and Orissa that Holi marks the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, it is widely believed that the tradition of playing with colours harks back to the time when the lovable Lord Krishna smeared his beloved gopi, Radha, with colour at the onset of spring. There are also traditions that relate the celebration of Holi to the ritual of married women engaging in the ritual of worshipping the full moon, to invoke God’s blessings for the happiness and prosperity of their families.
Whilst playing Holi voluntarily and willingly is great fun, getting drenched while out on routine errands or on your way to work is certainly not. Not only can it be terribly uncomfortable and embarrassing, it is extremely harmful for your skin and hair health, coupled with the risk from increasing temperatures at this time of year.
Here’s what you need to remember:
Oil your skin, hair and scalp
Make it a point to apply oil on your skin, hair and scalp to protect against colour penetration, suggests renowned dermatologist Dr Bindu Sthalekar. “Use lots of coconut oil on the hair and generous amounts of moisturising lotion on the body as a protective measure, make sure to oil behind the ears, between the fingers, in and around the nails as well as the scalp, along with oiling from the roots onwards, for maximum coverage. As an alternative to coconut oil, you can also use sunflower or any other light, organic oil that you know suits your skin type.”
Use a strong sunscreen
Remember to apply a strong sunscreen lotion before you go out to play, preferably with an SPF of 30 or more, recommends veteran beauty practitioner Dr Rekha Sheth. She adds, “For 5-7 days before playing Holi, start using a good ph-balancing cleansing shower gel and face wash, as well as sunscreen on all exposed parts of your face and body.”
Avoid opting for salon services
Do not go in for beauty services such as threading, waxing, bleaching and facials just before playing with colours. These make your skin much more sensitive and that much more prone to adverse reactions.
Avoid chemical treatment for the hair
Do not get your hair coloured, permed, straightened, rebonded or chemically treated in any way for four-five days before Holi. The same as with skin, these processes work to make your hair more sensitive and hence is more susceptible to damage. Do not apply or use any chemical-based hair products such as hair spray, mousse, etc before playing; these can react very badly with colour that may land on your hair and scalp. Also, pool parties have become popular at Holi but do not enter a pool if you have any open wounds and especially, if you have colour-treated hair as the chlorine will react and cause severe discoloration.
Take bath in hot water
After indulging in colour play, take a hot water, as hot as you can tolerate.
Dr Sheth says, “A steaming bath will wash away all the impurities, chemicals and synthetic colours.Afterwards, apply generous amounts of soothing body lotion all over, so the skin feels nourished and taken care of after the chemical onslaught of colours.”
Keep anti-allergy tablets handy
Do keep a few buckets of clean water and anti-allergy tablets handy especially if you are playing host incase any guests end up with allergic reactions. As a guest, make sure you carry anti-allergy medicines yourself while attending a holi do. Do make sure you bandage any open cuts and wounds before stepping out. Do not go out to play Holi if you have sensitive or acne prone skin. Do visit a dermatologist immediately if you experience an itch or a rash. Do visit an ophthalmologist immediately if there is excessive itching, burning or watering from the eyes. Also, make sure to use dental caps especially if you have sensitive teeth to prevent staining.
