The spring has made its announcement! The cuckoos are cooing everywhere, the sun is tender, leaves are sprouting and there are too many flowers around. For the sake of understanding as to why indians go gaga throwing color at each other on this particular day is because they are welcoming the onset of spring with fun and frolic. And the tag line of march is obviously “HOLI HAI!!” from kids to oldies, holi is a festival that renews the best memories of your life every year. But we all know what holi is really about. It is about countless days of scrubbing and using detergent to get rid of the color. So here is a comprehensive guide to wade through holi for your skin and hair.
Before The Day begins
Your skin is still fresh and how it used to be. But, do not expect the holi colors to be all that nice to you. In the beginning, it is all fun. And then for the next week, your hair and skin is a nightmare. So, to prevent this, here are some tips you could follow.
For Hair
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Coconut Oil Is “Holi” Water
Hated the smell of coconut oil and didn’t want to be embarrassed in your friends’ circle while applying it? Guess what, coconut oil alone and let me repeat, COCONUT OIL ALONE CAN HELP YOU. Dip your hair in coconut oil. From the root to tip, your hair needs to reek of coconut oil. Buy containers of it if you can and just keep oiling your hair. The benefit being, this makes it easy to get rid of the colour while washing it. It will make the color mix with the water and not the moisture in your un – oiled hair and lets you hae your hair back that night.
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Bun Is The New Bomb.
So is a plait and a pony, but nothing defeats the bun for the holi attire. Gather all your oiled hair and purse it in a bun. Secure it with a tight hair band. This way you are reducing the amount of exposure your hair can have to the colour. Having your hair fly around like a heroine is not going to help today because, 1. You are not Deepika in Balam Pichkari, 2. You cannot afford those expensive hair spas they go to.
For Face
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Moisturize All The way
Read this again and again. It is essential to moisturize your face as much as you can before the day could begin. Either use a dense and thick moisturizer or even petroleum jelly to cover your face in. oh you know what else will help? COCONUT OIL! This is the world’s best known moisturizer and nothing can do a better job than that.
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O.S= Sunscreen. Your. Soul
Opt for an SPF15 or SPF30 sunscreen before you leave home. Holi is in March. Let that sink in. the hot times begin and you want colours on your face and not sunburns. Sunscreen will protect you form the harsh sun which can make your face sensitive to all those colors.
For Lips
The usual, use loads of petroleum jelly or lip balms to protect lips from harsh colors.
On The Day
Just scream HOLI HAI!!! And splash each other with color!
That Night:
You are now officially a holi grotesque. You have color everywhere and when I say everywhere, I mean those places which you haven’t seen in your life over your body. There is gulal literally everywhere. For the next week, you will have all your friends pointing at places where you have not gotten rid of the color and make “chi you didn’t take a bath?” jokes. But these might help you jump from that situation!
For Face
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Ridden By Acne?
Do not scrub. I repeat, so not scrub. Use a paste of raw milk and besan instead to smoothen your skin and remove the color from the pores. Scrubbing will only lead to irritation and more acne.
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Almonds and Honey!
Very appetizing, isn’t it? Nope, this one is for your color ridden face. Soak almonds, make them a paste add in honey and lemon zest. A little amount of milk, to neutralize the lemons acids. This mixture will help your skin by cleansing it and gently removing the colour.
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Masoor dal and Orange Peel Pack
Oily skin and over it colours? Messy, isn’t it! But not to worry for all you need to do is grind some masoor dal and dried orange peels. Add rose water into that powder and make a paste. Now apply it and wash it as it dries.
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BA BA BA BA BANANA
anything tastier than this to get rid of annoyingly thick colors? Well, its simple. Take some ripe bananas, smash it, add some honey and DON’T EAT IT! Add in a little milk and put it all over your face. Wash it as it dries.
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Rice To The Rescue
often, these colors have tendencies to cause rashes all over your body. The best way to prevent this is this face pack. Rice flour, mixed with besan, turmeric for antiseptic properties and some milk for moisturization, this paste will keep the rashes at the bay.
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Give Irritation Lemons!
Tired of the rash scare? Wait until you encounter some irritation. The trick is to extract the color from your face and also handle the irritation. This can be done with lemons and aloe vera. Squeeze some lemon zest and scoop some gel from aloe vera stems. Now mix them together and apply it on your face. And voila!
For Hair
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Eggs And Shower.
Now this might stink. But stench is better than having chemical color in your hair! Apply egg yolk on your hair and rinse it off with shampoo after 30 minutes. The egg yolk helps in rubbing off color from the hair and scalp.
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Oil All Over Again
Do the oil regime, again and again if you can. The trick this time is to heat the oil. Hot oil will help to mobilize the color off your hair easily rather than plain shampooing.
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Soak Your hair
Nothing better than soaking your hair in water as soon as you reach home will help. If you have a tub, then soak yourself as long as possible. If not, fill a bucket of hot water and soak your hair upside down.
