Skin treatments to be done before Holi

Dr Amrapali Patil tells us about the kind of treatments that need to be done before Holi
Holi hain bhai Holi hain!!! This can be almost called as the war cry during Holi, the festival of colors which is just around the corner and popular all across India. The desire to have fun with colors during Holi is so intense that we hardly pay heed to the fact that the colors of Holi could be chemicals with a potential to be hazardous.For instance, lead oxide present in black paints, mercury in red and copper sulphate in green paints are examples of such dangerous chemicals in the guise of Holi colors.
Some of these colors are dangerous dyes, acids and even powdered glass!
If one has already existing skin problems such as allergies, dematoses, eczema, acne etc would be better off without such kinds of hazardous Holi colors. Skin forms a protective barrier against many diseases and ailments. The above mentioned skin problems cause a breach in this barrier of skin causing these dangerous Holi color-chemicals to get into the body system leading to cases of lead toxicity etc. At times when these are inhaled they have even lead to difficult to treat and cure conditions such as lung fribrosis in which the tissues of lungs get scarred and fibrosed irreversibly!
In fact Holi colors might aggravate such problems by causing irritation and redness - these get masked due to the color smeared on the body.
In hospital OPDs it has been observed that cases of acne vulgaris, itching, skin allergies, contact dermatitis are very common after holi's color smearing and splashing of holi. Another scary fact is that such skin issues can be experienced even after a sometime has passed after the event of Holi is over!
Those who are already suffer from these or are prone to such skin problems should be careful this season and avoid playing Holi with these colors.
Rather use organic colors to play Holi with instead. Colors made from flowers are non toxic and safer. However these are difficult to obtain and also we can't control the choices of colors of the fellow revelers who might not be aware of such natural colors and would prefer the cheaper but dangerous versions as mentioned above.
Here are some tips to keep in mind during Holi:
Pre holi care:
- Apply coconut ( or any suitable oil)oil or a suitable moisturizer to the skin. This limits penetration of colors into the skin as oil or moisturizer forms a thin barrier on the skin
- Oil your hair too. This would help the colors to slide away when you wash your hair post the revelry
- Protect your nails and surrounding area with vaseline. You can also paint your nails with nail polish which can act as a protectant.
- Don't wear lenses as the color that gets into the eyes would cause irritation and might lead to keratitis. Rinse eyes thoroughly if any color gets into the eyes.
- Protect your lips with lip balm
Post holi care:
- Use lukewarm water and a moisturizing soap to wash colors off the body.
- Avoid using loofah or pumice stone or any abrasive material or a brush to clean the skin off colors as this might irritate the skin
- Some use home remedies such as 'besan'/gram flour along with lemon juice or milk to wash the color off. See if this method suits you.
- Those with pre existing skin problems should wash their hair with a good quality prescription cleanser.