EXCLUSIVE: Shahnaz Husain shares pre and post Holi rituals to protect your skin and hair

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With the festival of colours just around the corner, many of us must have already started chalking out a beauty regimen. While keeping the skin prepped up for an exposure to chemical colours and synthetic pigments is imperative, indulging in artificial products to reverse the after-effects of Holi might not be the best option.

mid-day.com spoke to beauty mogul Shahnaz Husain to understand the damages caused by chemical colours. She also revealed a natural hair and skin care ritual with ingredients available in your kitchen.

Impact of chemical colours our skin and body

Husain says, "Colours made with artificial chemicals and solvents like Lead Oxide, Mercuric Sulphate and Copper Sulphate can cause damage not only to our skin and hair but also it can harm our eyes, kidney and lungs. The shiny particles of these chemicals can irritate the skin and scalp. Usually, they cause abrasions, irritation, itching, rashes, allergies, eye infections, hair damage, etc. which often take significant time to heal."

Common damages caused by chemical colours

"The mildest form of adverse health include hair and skin problems like dryness, chapped skin, abrasions, irritation, itching, rashes, allergies, eye problems and hair roughness," she adds. "More serious forms include poisoning, impaired respiratory issues, impaired vision, bronchitis, Asthma, skin cancer and damages to kidney and liver."

Can the damages be permanent?

Husain says, "It all depends on the amount of exposure to colours and your sensitivity to them. Also, the kind of chemical used in the colours and its strength also determine the damage. It has been found that these chemical sometimes cause irreversible pigmentation and make the skin sensitive to light."

To keep your skin shielded from the harshness of Holi colours, try these Shahnaz Husain approved pre-Holi rituals and celebrate colours carefree.

Pre-Holi rituals

• Apply mustard oil or olive oil or almond oil along with sunscreen lotion SPF 30 on the exposed area before playing Holi.
• Apply Hair oil or hair serum.
• Wear scarf on the head to protect hair.
• Wear full sleeves clothing so that only a little area of the skin is exposed.
• To protect eyes, one can use sun glasses before stepping out to play Holi.

Kitchen ingredients that help get rid of colours

• Paste of turmeric, gram flour and almond oil.
• Using lemon for skin cleansing.
• Applying mustard oil or olive oil before playing Holi.
• Using paste of yogurt, rice flour with water for cleansing.
• Amla powder soaked in hot water for hair cleansing.

Post-Holi rituals

• Wash your hair with loads of water and then with herbal shampoo. Apply coconut oil. Wash the face with mild herbal soap or face wash.
• Use a natural face pack containing gram flour, honey, curd, olive oil and turmeric.
• Clean the face using lemon with rose water as it will help in removing or lighting the colours.
• Apply cucumber- papaya paste or a paste of calamine powder - almond oil in case of skin irritation.
• Apply herbal moisturizer.

Lastly, Shahnaz Husain says, the herbal ingredients will help reverse the adverse effect of the colours. Ingredients like turmeric, amla, almond oil, lemon, yogurt and olive oil not only help in the lightening the colours but also provide nourishment to the skin and hair.