How to protect your skin and hair from damage this Holi

Holi is probably the most vibrant and colourful festival in the world. Holi not only brings your entire clan together but also engages them to have child-like fun with bright colours, splashes of water and delicious sweets. After all the enjoyment, comes the most difficult part - removing the colours. The Holi colours can seep into the skin and stay on for a long time. Moreover, the harsh chemicals found in the Holi colours, like lead oxide (black), copper sulphate (green) and mercury sulphite (red), can cause various skin allergies. [caption id=“attachment_8113721” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image.
Image by Jan Cigánek from Pixabay.[/caption] Here are a few tips that can help you take care of your skin and hair before and after enjoying this festival:

Beauty tips before playing Holi

• Apply coconut oil or mustard oil all over your body and massage it well. This would keep your skin hydrated and close your pores, so your skin absorbs less colour.
• Wear a full-sleeved top and full-length bottoms as it would prevent direct exposure to colours.
• Clip your nails short before playing Holi as the colours easily deposit inside the nails. You can apply a thick coat of paint on your nails, both fingers and toes, so that they remain protected from the Holi colours.
• Do not forget putting petroleum jelly on your lips and ear.
• You can wear earplugs to prevent the colours from getting in too deep inside your ear.
• Apply coconut oil or mustard oil on your hair and let it seep into your roots. This would help you to take off the colours easily after the Holi celebration and avoid damage to the scalp.
• Do not keep your hair open, as it would then let more colours settle in. You can braid or tie your hair in a bun before going to play Holi.
• You can also wear a scarf or a bandana around your head to protect your hair.
• Do not wear contact lenses if you’re planning on playing Holi. The colour can irritate your eyes and cause infections.
• You can also wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the colours.
• Drink lots of water a day before Holi as this would keep your skin, as well as body, hydrated and supple. Dehydration is also one of the main reasons for muscle soreness and cramps.

Beauty tips after playing Holi

• Do not immediately start scrubbing your skin with harsh soaps to get rid of the nasty colours from your face or body.
• First, use a gentle face wash to clean your face. Do not use a scrub as you might just do more harm.
• Now use a gentle body wash and scrub your skin using a loofah to get rid of the colour.
• While washing your hair with a shampoo, do not end up scraping your scalp in order to remove the colour. After shampooing, apply conditioner to the length of hair and rinse it with cold water after 2-5 minutes. The conditioner will help prevent your hair from getting frizzy and dry because of the colours.
• If you have some nasty stains which didn’t come off even after bathing, you can apply petroleum jelly and rub it on the stain. This will help in the easy removal of the stains. You can also use some cotton dipped in lemon juice to get rid of the stains but make sure you don’t rub your skin vigorously.
• You can pour some soothing eye drops or rose water in your eyes to comfort them.
• If you have colour deposits in the ear, cover the tip of an earbud with some petroleum jelly and wipe out all the colour from the ear. Do not push the bud deep inside the ear.
• You can make an  ubtan  (a body scrub) using gram flour, turmeric, curd and rosewater. Rub this  ubtan  all over the body to remove the stains.
• After your shower, apply a thick coat of moisturiser or any oil all over your body to make sure that your body is hydrated.

For more information, read our article on   How to get soft and smooth skin _._ Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.