Holi, the festival of vibrant fun, has a fixed tradition of playing with colors. This festival is much more than people playing with colors.

However, along with the fun, we cannot ignore the significance of preventing our skin and hair from harmful colors and keeping ourselves safe, especially with the pre-Holi skincare regime and post-Holi skin protection steps.

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Holi colors can be in the form of a Gulal, a liquid dye, watercolors, or permanent colors. The options are endless for the nature of colors but the result on skin and hair is the same.

They can be too harsh on our bodies, especially on skin and hair. There are many ways we can take care of our skin and prevent these harsh colors, but oil always comes to the rescue when we talk about overall protection.

Applying oil to your skin and hair is always beneficial throughout the year but during Holi season, it’s advisable to use it frequently so that your skin is prepared and nourished for the Holi bash.

The oil hydrates the skin and hair and restricts them to absorb bacteria thus prevents from any kind of fungal infections. Oil also has antioxidant properties thus preventing damage from pollutants.

Here are a few specific lists of oil we can use to protect our skin and hair.

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is a magic wand for your skin, hair, and body. It’s the source of antioxidants and enhances nutrients thus protecting skin from aging. Apply a moderate amount of oil to your skin and hair a few days prior to the bash for Holi-ready skin. Coconut oil acts as a moisturizer for your skin. Coconut oil has properties that act as sunscreen and protect skin and hair from harmful UV rays. This is especially important if one has sensitive skin.

Olive Oil: Olive Oil is rich in Vitamins and has antioxidants properties Olive oil conditions the hair and skin and also contains sun protection properties. It can certainly act as a beauty regime pre and post Holi.

Sunflower Oil: Yes, it’s better known as an edible refined oil! However, Sunflower seed oil is a beauty oil too. Sunflower oil is highly absorbent to the skin, thus helping in clearing the pores. It also acts as a cleansing agent and can help your skin to get rid of the colors.

Jojoba Oil: Jojoba Oil is rich in Vitamin E and Vitamin B, thus preventing hair breakage. Frequent massage to your scalp before moving out to enjoy the colors, can get rid of dry scalp and prevents your hair from facing damage.

Grapeseed Oil: Grapeseed oil claims to improve your skin’s bounciness and soften skin. It’s a rich source of vitamin E and linoleic acid, thus helpful in skin tone lightening, it also works on acne-prone skin.

Mustard Oil: No fancy, mustard oil is an awesome remedial agent for your skin and hair. However, mustard oil is not advisable to apply directly to the skin. Applying equal parts of mustard and coconut oil can refine your skin tone and is considered the best before you head out for a maddening Holi fun.

Almond oil: Massage your skin and hair with almond oil rich in Vitamin E, before you get ready to smear into colors. Almonds are a vital source of Vitamin E, thus giving you lustrous skin and bouncy hair. Apply a few days prior to Holi bash for better results.

Applying oil frequently to Hair doesn’t let color seep into the root of the hair and lets the color be removed comfortably. Apply a fair amount of oil to your lips and eyelashes too for overall protection. Adding the above-mentioned oils with lemon oil or fresh lemon juice can give wonders to skin and hair due to the aunty-microbial properties of lemon.

It is important to choose oil as per your skin type. People with sensitive skin may use coconut oil. However, for dry skin oil with hydration properties is the choice to pick like jojoba oil. For oily skin Grapeseed oil works like a charm. It controls facial oils and is lightweight when compared to jojoba or coconut oil.

Holi is a festival meant to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, hence, with few precautions and proper protection regimes, one can go for limitless fun. So, enjoy the festival of colors without being traumatic about skin issues.

(By Mr. Anshul Aggarwal founder & CEO of Derma Totale)