Bareilly’s Holi checklist: Vibrant colours, gujiyas and salon appointments

Bareilly is all set for Holi. Colours have been bought, gujiyas have been ordered, and most importantly, post-Holi appointments have been made at cosmetic clinics/beauty salons. Celebrating Holi with organic or home-made colours might be 'in', but it seems like Bareillywallahs are willing to spend time and money in beauty salons for treatments before and after Holi, rather than do away with colours. If the number of customers visiting salons for skin treatments immediately after Holi is anything to go by, then there are very few people in the city who celebrate with organic colours, say salon owners and cosmetologists. "Each year, a week after Holi, the number of patients increases by over 50%. They mostly come in for treatments for skin irritation and skin damage, scalp rash, allergies, abrasions, patchy skin, sun damage, redness on face and neck, excessive hair fall, infection and for colour removal," says JP Singh, Dermatologist and Cosmetologist, who runs a clinic in Priyadarshini Nagar. Srishti Bhagat from Ramjas College shows us how colour-loving Delhiites would rather spend hours at the salon than give up their colours on Holi He adds, "Due to harsh chemicals in colours, people with sensitive skin also develop acne. After Holi, there is a great increase in the demand for treatments for skin and hair balancing, for which, patients need to go for injectable as well as oral medication with steroidal dosage, depending upon the damage caused to the skin. They have to undergo procedures like colour peeling, hydra- facials, de-tan treatments and laser treatment for removing pigmentation and rejuvenation of the skin, which costs `1,000-5,000. IPL (Intensive Pulse Light), which includes hydra-facial and peeling, is another procedure for colour removal that helps in restoring skin texture, luster, shine and even skin tone. People have already taken appointments for hydra-facials to get rid of the residual colour after Holi. Although we recommend our clients to use organic and herbal colours while playing Holi, only 30-35% of them actually play with natural colours."Bareillywallahs can’t do away with colours; ready to spend on facials, clean-ups and hair therapies afterwardShilpi Suri, a beauty expert and an owner of a salon in Civil Lines, says, "Almost a week before Holi, the business starts slowing down but we start getting calls for bookings for pedicures, manicures, hair nourishing spas, facials and other treatments, after Holi."She adds, "Apart from waxing and de-tan manicures and pedicures, women also book for whitening facials and Moroccan oil-based clean-ups for colour removal and to reduce excessive dryness (caused by the use of chemicals) that start from Rs 950 and goes up to Rs 6,000 depending upon the skin tone and the number of sittings required. For hair, we get bookings for nourishing spas and special therapies for coloured hair, that get more damaged due to harsh colours. Moroccan, Argan and Organic lush hair spas that range Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,200, help in easing the effect of colours on the scalp and help in removing dryness in one or two sittings."Mostly newly-wed brides or brides-to-be take an appointment for pre and post Holi sessionsRuchi Sandhu, the owner of a salon and spa in Rajendra Nagar, says, "There is around 50% increase in the number of customers visiting us, post-Holi. Pakka colours penetrate deep into the skin and cause rashes and irritation. Such colours do not come out even after one or two showers. Mostly newly-wed brides or brides-to-be take an appointment for pre and post Holi sessions, including body polishing and scrubbing, clean-up, whitening and insta-glow facials, chandan ubtan along with Charcoal treatment as per the damage to the skin, costing between Rs1,000-8,000."She adds, “The new brides are willing to spend any amount to look perfect immediately after Holi and opt for facials with LED mask, priced between Rs 2,500-5,000. We already have bookings for next three days after Holi for these services. Despite knowing about the damages that colours do to one’s skin and hair, Bareillywallahs indulge in playing Holi with pakka colours and end up spending hours at salons for treatments, post-Holi.”Body polishing, led masks, whitening facials range between Rs 1,000-8,000Tina Khatri, owner of a salon in Janakpuri, says, “One of the most difficult things is to remove colour from the cuticles, which takes one to two sessions of three to four hours. Rebonded and highlighted hair get damaged the most due to harsh chemicals, and sometimes, need three to four sittings.”