You played. You danced. You got absolutely drenched in every colour imaginable. Your face is currently three shades of magenta and your hair has decided to turn a very interesting shade of purple-green.
Now what?
The good news is that your skin is fine and the colour will come off. The slightly annoying news is that it will not come off by just splashing water on your face twice. Chemical colours especially take some effort, some patience, and a few things that your nani’s kitchen probably already has.
Here is everything you need to know.
Before you do anything – stop scrubbing
This is the mistake almost everyone makes. You see the colour, you panic, you scrub hard with soap.
Do not do this. Dry scrubbing or using rough soap directly on colour-stained skin only pushes the pigment deeper and leaves your skin red and irritated. Start with oil. Always start with oil. It loosens the colour from the surface before you try to wash anything off.
For your face
Coconut or mustard oil is your best friend: Take a generous amount of coconut oil or plain old sarson ka tel and massage it gently all over your face for two to three minutes. Let it sit. Then wipe off with a soft cotton cloth. You will be surprised how much colour comes off in one go.
Besan and curd – the original face pack:
Mix two tablespoons of besan with fresh curd and a few drops of lemon juice. Apply it on your face, let it dry for ten minutes, then scrub off very gently with wet fingers. This has been doing the job in Indian households for generations. It works better than most chemical face washes.
Raw milk on a cotton pad:
If your skin feels sensitive or irritated, dip a cotton pad in raw milk and dab it gently over the coloured areas. Raw milk is cooling, it removes pigment slowly and it does not dry out your skin.
Aloe vera gel for the stubborn bits:
For colour sitting around your eyebrows, hairline or the sides of your nose, fresh aloe vera gel applied and left for five minutes does the job without causing any irritation.
For your hair
Oil your hair before washing, use curd or an egg-lemon mask for stubborn colour, and always rinse with cool water to gently remove Holi stains without damage.
Oil it before you wash:
Do not wash colour out of dry hair. Apply coconut oil or any hair oil generously from roots to tips, comb through slowly, and let it sit for at least thirty minutes. The oil coats the hair shaft and makes it much easier for the colour to slide out.
Curd wash:
Apply plain sour curd directly to your hair like a hair mask. Leave it for twenty minutes. Curd acts as a natural cleanser and conditioner both. It pulls colour out and leaves hair soft instead of straw-like.
Egg and lemon rinse for deep colour:
If your hair has turned a genuinely alarming colour, beat one egg with juice of half a lemon and apply it as a mask. Yes it smells. Yes it works. Wash it off with a mild shampoo and your hair will thank you.
Do not use hot water:
Wash your hair with lukewarm or cool water only. Hot water opens up the hair cuticle and makes colour set deeper rather than coming out.
For your body and hands:
Your body takes the most colour beating , here is how you get it all off without wrecking your skin.
Mustard oil massage before shower:
Before stepping into the bathroom, rub mustard oil all over your arms, legs and any coloured areas. Give it five minutes. Then shower normally. The colour will come off far more easily.
Baking soda and lemon scrub:
Mix a small amount of baking soda with lemon juice to make a loose paste. Scrub coloured areas on elbows, knuckles and wrists with this gently. These areas hold colour the longest because the skin is thicker there.
Potato juice for stained nails and fingers:
Cut a raw potato in half and rub it directly on stained fingers and nails. Potato has natural bleaching properties and it is gentle enough to use on hands without drying them out.
Rice flour and coconut oil paste:
Mix rice flour with coconut oil into a thick paste and use it as a body scrub in the shower. It lifts colour, removes dead skin, and leaves your skin feeling genuinely soft. This is something grandmothers across Maharashtra and Bengal have used for skin cleaning for years.
For your eyes and lips
Be careful here. These areas are sensitive.
For colour around the eyes, use only coconut oil or almond oil on a cotton bud and wipe very gently. Never rub. For lips, apply ghee and let it sit for ten minutes before wiping off. Ghee softens the skin and the colour comes away without leaving lips chapped and dry.
After Everything Is off – Take care of your skin
Once the colour is gone, your skin has been through a lot. Chemical colours, water, sun, wind — it adds up. Apply a generous layer of moisturiser or plain coconut oil before sleeping. If your face feels tight or dry, raw honey applied for fifteen minutes is one of the best natural healers there is.
Drink a lot of water through the day. Eat something light. Your skin recovers from the inside too.
One thing Maa always said and was always right about….Apply oil all over your skin and hair before playing Holi. A thin coat of mustard oil or coconut oil before you step out acts like a barrier. Colours sit on top of the oil and do not soak into your skin directly. Removal becomes ten times easier.
Nobody listens to this advice before Holi. Everybody remembers it afterwards.
