With the arrival of spring, comes the joyous festival of Holi. The vivid colors used in Holi are to the symbolic representation of the various hues of the spring season. However, with modern times like all festivals, Holi too has become ruthlessly commercialized causing severe environmental degradation. In our previous posts, we have discussed how to celebrate eco-friendly Holi.
Back in days, people used to prepare Holi colors from the flowers of trees like Indian Coral Tree (parijat), the Flame of the Forest (Kesu) and other natural ingredients like turmeric, mint, and neem. These and several other plants provided the ingredients from which the brilliant shades of natural Holi colors were made. Most of these trees also have medicinal properties and Holi colors prepared from them were actually beneficial to the skin.
Over the years, with the commercialization of festivals and the disappearance of trees in urban areas these natural colors came to be replaced by harmful chemical colors.
These colors are very harmful to our eyes, skin, and hair. Here we have discussed the precautions we can take before the Holi celebration to keep our eyes, skin, and hair safe during Holi.
However, that’s not all. Post all precautions, some of us may experience the challenge while washing off the harmful colors from our body parts. Leaving these harmful colors on your skin and hair may cause huge damage. In this post, we will discuss how to wash off these colors to keep your eyes, skin, and hair protected after Holi.
How to wash-off colors from your eyes, skin, and hair after Holi
- To wash off the colors post-Holi celebration, use a mild soap that is not alkaline in nature. This will prevent your skin from drying. You can use soaps that have Aloe Vera or other mild ingredients like that.
- Don’t wash colors with warm water. Use lukewarm water to remove the Holi colors. Using warm water to remove the colors very easily, is a myth. It actually makes the colors stick more to your body.
- Want to use some face pack, then make your face pack at home with natural ingredients like curd or honey. Using readymade face packs available in the market will just add to the chemicals.
- Use cold milk and your body oil to make your own natural cleanser. Just mix them well and apply with a cotton ball. This will repair the damage done by the sun and will moisturize your skin too.
- To wash your hair post-Holi celebration, just don’t rush. The very first thing that you need to do is to brush your hair well. This will help to remove the dry colors from the scalp.
- Now you need a natural homemade hair mask for your hair. Worry not, its very simple. Whisk 4-6 egg yolks with a good amount of coconut oil. Depending upon the length of your hair you can increase the number of egg yolks. Add some almond oil to this mixture and gently apply it to your hair. Wait for 45 minutes and then wash it off with a mild shampoo.
- In addition to removing the colors from your scalp, this easy DIY hair mask will also protect your colored hair from getting staining.
- If you don’t want to use eggs, then you can use curd. Just apply curd on your skin and your hair 20 minutes before washing off the colors. The lactic acid in curd will help you to remove the color easily. It will also moisturize your skin and hair deeply and will prevent it from getting damaged.
- If there is a feeling of itchiness in your hair, Wash your hair with apple cider vinegar and water to soothe the scalp.
- Once the hair is dry. Apply hair oil generously to nourish and moisturize your scalp.
Apart from the above-mentioned steps, there is still a lot that you can do to protect yourself and the environment during the Holi celebration. For example, use sugarcane pulp tableware which is eco-friendly and 100% backyard compostable to treat your guests. Want to pack some sweets for them, instead of using plastic bags, use these eco-friendly boxes made from sugarcane pulp. You can get your eco-friendly disposable tableware from Ecoware shop. You just need to be a little bit more thoughtful towards your surroundings. Celebration with responsibility can help us lead a sustainable life. And to lead a sustainable lifestyle, products from us, the shop for good things can help.
