How Adulterated Colors can harm your Skin at Holi?

The festivals of colours is around the corner with beautiful colours, splashes of water, and delicious sweets. Though we all love to play Holi, but removing the colour from the body becomes a challenging task after the festival gets over.Also, it has been found that a few Holi colours contain toxic components. These toxic components can seep into the skin and can cause harmful allergies.To take care of your skin before and after enjoying this festival, let us understand the basics.

Are Holi colors really toxic?

In the earlier days, Holi colors were made from skin-friendly plants, flowers, berries, and spices. But nowadays, Holi colors contain toxic and harsh chemicals Holi such as mercury sulphite (red), lead oxide (black), copper sulphate (green), malachite green (green), rhodamine (bronze-red), and gentian violet. All these colors are toxic in one or another way. Malachite green is suspected to cause cancer.
Studies show that these toxic Holi colors can not only harm the skin but also cause chemical contact keratitis, and inflammation of the cornea (the outermost layer of the eye).

How to take care of your skin before playing Holi?

• Use herbal colors to play Holi, as dark-pigmented colors can harm your skin.
• Avoid wearing contact lenses while playing Holi as the color (if enters the eye) can irritate the eyes and can cause infections. You may use sunglasses to protect your eyes from the colors.
• Keep your body safe. Keep your hands and legs covered by wearing a full-sleeved top and full-length bottom. This would prevent the body’s direct exposure to colors.
• Apply a generous amount of oil to the hair and scalp. Massage it till the oil seeps into the hair roots. This allows easy removal of Holi colors and prevents drying and breakage of hair.
• Apply coconut oil, mustard oil, or a creamy moisturizer all over the body. This helps in closing the skin pores, thus restricting the colors from seeping into the skin.
• Tie your hair in a braid or a bun to prevent the colors from settling on the scalp. You can also wear a scarf to cover your head.  
• Use petroleum jelly to moisturize the lips and the insides of your ears.  
• Avoid wearing contact lenses while playing Holi as the color (if enters the eye) can irritate the eyes and cause infections. You may use sunglasses to protect your eyes from the colors.

How to take care of your skin after playing Holi?

• Firstly, clean the colors from your face by using a gentle face wash. Avoid scrubbing of the face and the rest of the body with harsh soaps as they can cause irritation.
• Use petroleum jelly to remove the harsh stains from the skin. Do not scrub the skin vigorously as it can result in a rash.
• Apply a generous amount of conditioner to the length of hair after thoroughly rinsing the shampoo. Let the conditioner stay for at least 5 minutes as it would prevent dryness and breakage of hair post-Holi.
• Apply enough oil all over your body after taking a shower to ensure the skin is hydrated.
• Use cotton earbuds to clean the colors from the ear. Do not push the earbud deep inside the ear.

In short
Choose to buy herbal colors to enjoy the festival without worrying about their skin. Chemically produced Holi colors can cause many skin allergies and rashes. One can follow the abovementioned tips to keep their skin protected this Holi. People should rinse immediately with cool water if the color enters the eye, mouth, or nose. Consult a doctor in case of irritation in any of the body parts after exposure to the color.

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