How to remove stubborn Holi colours from skin and hair

Most of us love the festival of colours - Holi, but at the same time there's no one denying the fact that it can wreak havoc on the skin and hair. And, all it takes to keep yourself safe and beautiful is a little care once you are done playing Holi.

Holi is that yearly commingling of colours and water, revelry and riot that entices even the severest germophobes into reckless abandon. However, with all this exposure to gulal comes the danger of exposing your skin and mane to harmful and toxic chemicals that can have a detrimental effect. But here a few post Holi tips to keep your natural beauty intact:

Once you are indoors after a hearty play of colors with your loved ones, you know in your heat it is time to face the music of removing colours! Try to start the process as soon as possible, i.e wash off the colours while wet. The earliest, the better, for once if the colours dry, it becomes a little difficult to get rid of them easily. Don't panic though, if you cannot wash them off while wet, they would come off eventually with every shower.

Add two tablespoons of lemon juice to a bowl of curd, and apply on the areas having colour. Then, take a bath with normal or lukewarm water to take the colour off. Alternatively, mix gram flour, almond oil, and milk cream in rose water. Make it into a thick paste and apply on the areas having colour. Keep it on till the paste dries. Remove it by rubbing with your hands. After washing off the colour with water, drop some rose water in your eyes and rest. Your eyes will feel relaxed.

Wash off colours from your face using lukewarm water and then apply a mixture of sea salt, glycerin and few drops of aroma oil. This mixture is anti-bacterial & anti-fungal which helps protect the skin from harsh effects of chemicals in the colours.

Never ever rub your skin vigorously with soap, etc. in a quest to wipe the face off colours. This would remove less of colours and instead damage the skin more. Go for a facial cleanser or baby oil instead of soap to wash your face and apply a lot of moisturizer after that. Also strictly avoid bleaching, waxing or facial for a week before and after Holi. This regime is important to follow because these procedures leave the skin pores open which can prove to be harmful as the residue of colours can easily seep into these pores and make their way to inner layers of skin.

If you want you can also rub some lemon wedges over your skin. The natural bleaching agent in lemons helps remove the sturdy stains which otherwise doesn't go away easily. Rub it on for some time and then wash it off. After washing it off, make sure to apply ample moisturizer to prevent the skin from dryness.