Blog - Aura Skin Institute

Holi 2019: 8 Ways to Protect Your Skin from Harmful Colors (Aura Skin Institute)

The festival of Holi will be celebrated on 21^st March this year. Everyone seems to be gearing up to celebrate by bringing home a range of colors, preparing traditional Holi sweets and snacks, decorating the house, inviting people over home, so on and so forth. While it is a great time for get-togethers, one mustn’t forget to pay attention to one’s health and beauty. The store-brought colors can cause a lot of harm because they contain artificial substances. Holi was traditionally played with natural colors made from flowers and herbs, but now they have been replaced by chemicals.

The artificial dyes and chemicals after a period of time can make your skin dry and can cause rash. Those with sensitive skin can even suffer from skin allergies, skin irritation, skin eczemas. We often tend to get carried away while we are playing Holi, failing to take any precautions. We also tend to cause further damage to our skin while bathing to wash the colors away as we excessively scrub ourselves. All these factors can damage our skin and hair post the festival. So here are 8 tips to protect your skin before playing Holi:

1. Apply Coconut and Mustard Oil
   
   Since dry skineasily allows chemicals to penetrate the body, always apply coconut oil (preferably)on your entire body and apply mustard oil on your hair, at least an hour before playing holi.

Note: It is very important to oil between fingertips, near fingernails and behind the ear.
 

1. Don’t Forget to wear Sunscreen
   
   Don’t forget to apply sunscreenafter oiling your body, and make sure it is gel based, waterproof and atleast of SPF 30. If you’re in the sun for more than 3 hours, remember to re-apply the sunscreen.
    

3. Wear Sunglasses
   
   Wear glasses or sunglasses while playing Holi to protect your eyes. The eyes are extremely sensitive, and the chemical content in the colors can lead to irritation, causing allergy. Always wash your eyes with cold water. In case irritation persists even a few hours after playing Holi, contact an eyespecialist.

4. Apply Nail Paint
   
   Apply a thick coat of dark nail paint, preferable the darkest color possible, and remove it after playing Holi.
5. Beware of Cuts and Wounds
   
   If you get hurt while playing Holi, immediately wash that particular area with plenty of water and put ice on it. Clean with an antibacterial lotion to avoid absorption of chemicals, and get a tetanus injection in case you haven’t taken one in the last 4-5 years. Keep the wound area clean and use antibiotic cream to prevent infections. Keep the skin well moisturized and use adequate sun protection for the area. If you already have an open wound or cut on your body before Holi, do use a Band-Aid so as to avoid the entry and absorption of any harmful chemicals.
6. Use Herbal Colors
   
   Since it is difficult to tell the difference between natural colors and dye colors, it is necessary to take precautions. Either buy herbalcolors, or else make colors at home from flowers such as tesuor genda, even beetroot juice. Request your guests to bring only herbal colors as well.
    
7. Don’t Stay in Wet Clothes
   
   Make sure you don’t stay in wet clothes for any longer than two hours. If you’re playing dry Holi(which is definitely better), try to keep washing your face and handsregularly. While washing off the colours, one can use curd so the color fades away and the skin gets moisturized too.
    
8. Eat well and Stay Hydrated
   Last but not the least, it is very important for you to eat healthy nutritious food and stay hydrated. So drink clean water throughout to keep your energy levels high.