Holi 2022: Expert tips to take care of your skin, hair this festival of colours

To celebrate Holi every year, friends and families come together to have good food and smear colours and play with water balloons and with the festival of colours just around the corner, we decided to take some expert tips on how to take care of our skin and hair that bear the brunt of these colours every year post the celebrations. The festival is a two-day occasion where a day before the main Holi festival, a bonfire is lit and known as Holika Dahan or Choti Holi and this year it will be celebrated on March 17 while Holi falls on March 18, 2022.

Skincare and hair care tips for Holi:

Legend has it that Holi is associated with Krishna who is Hindus believe to be an avatar of Vishnu. Known to be very mischievous and playful, Krishna was concerned about his complexion and thought that Radha would never like him because she was extremely fair hence, he complained about the same to his mother Yashoda who asked him to apply colour on Radha and he did, making her look like him. 

Since that day, the festival is marked with smearing people with colour and Holi came to be known as the festival of colours. In an interview with Ht Lifestyle, Dr Jyoti Gupta, Consultant Dermatologist in New Delhi’s Panchsheel Enclave suggested, “With some little preparedness, you can easily beat the after effects of Holi on your skin and hair. Pre-Holi, apply a good waterproof sunscreen and a thick moisturiser. You can also apply almond or coconut oil for body. Don’t forget areas like behind ears and between fingers where colours gravitate the most.”

She added, “This will make the skin greasy and prevent the colours from settling in deep. Few other tips are to apply Lip Vaseline on eyes and eye lashes. 3 days before Holi, you should stop any night care regime like retinol/sa/ga or other exfoliant. You should not get waxing, threading, facials or any skin treatment done either. During Holi, remember to wear dark coloured clothes and keep yourself covered so that there is minimal contact between colours and your skin. DO NOT wear lenses while you’re playing Holi.”

Echoing similar advises, Dr Shruti Saini, Cosmetologist and Founder of Smiles For Miles in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, recommended, “Moisturise your skin well. Apply some good hydrating moisturiser or oil like coconut or olive oil at least one day before Holi and also just before playing with colours. If you have very sensitive and dry skin then only moisturisers won’t help you to hydrate the skin. Have plenty of fluids as well.”

Adding to the list of skincare and hair care tips for Holi, Dr Shruti Saini said, “Try using herbal and organic colours to play. Avoid synthetic, metal-based and glass powder colours. Also, you should refrain from dark and wet colours. Protect your hair by applying hair oil . If you feel any irritation on redness then immediately wash off the colour with soap and water and apply a good moisturiser or aloe vera to soothe it down. Sunscreen is a must on the day of Holi as you are going to be out in the sun all day.”