Holi and the Skin Specialist
Holi,
also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit, celebrated by people throwing scented powder
and perfume at each other. Originally, it was a festival that commemorated good
harvests and the fertile land. In addition to celebrating the coming of spring,
Holi has even greater purposes. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying
spring's abundant colors and saying farewell to winter. Furthermore, Holi
celebrates many religious myths and legends.
As
the spring-blossoming trees that once supplied the colors used to celebrate
Holi have become more rare, chemically produced industrial dyes have been used
to take their place in almost all of urban India.
Not
to deter the enthusiasts from using these, below is the list of chemicals that
are used in off the shelf local colours available:
·
Gulals (red): Contains asbestos/ silica
(can cause asthma, skin diseases and temporary blindness).
·
Black powders: Contain lead oxide (which
can result in renal failure with chronic exposure).
·
Silver: Contains aluminium bromide
(carcinogenic)
·
Red: Contains mercury sulphide
(carcinogenic).
·
Blue: Contains prussian blue (contact
dermatitis, skin allergies)
·
Green: Contains copper sulphate (eye
allergies, puffiness of the eyes, or temporary blindness).
·
The wet colors might lead to skin
discolouration and dermatitis due to their use of color concentrate gentian
violet
A natural Holi with:
HERBAL COLOURS,
FLOWER
PETALS,
HALDI,
MULTANI MITTI
is the healthy alternative to synthetic colors
giving the same feel and thrill as that of any coloured powder.
The
biggest deterant to people not playing this wonderful festival is that they
don’t have control over what the person infront of them is using and hence the
Diaspora……
Here
are a few home remedies that our grannies used to tell us and we failed to
imbibe and suffered the consequences. These hold good to the scientific
reasoning as well.
1.
Apply
oil or moisturiser all over your skin and allow it to be absorbed by the body
for 15 minutes. Next smear waterproof sunscreen on your skin.
2.
Soak
your hair liberally with hair oil so that all colours slide away when you sit
down to remove them after the day is over.
3.
Wear
clothes that can cover maximum part of the body. A swimsuit or waterproof
tights under your clothes would protect your body from the harmful effects of
chemicals in colours.
4.
You can also apply foundation just before
playing Holi. This will protect your skin from dry colours
5.
Use Vaseline for your nails. Apply it
beneath the nails and also over it. This prevents permanent staining of your
nails and adjacent area.
6.
Other than oil, you can also apply lip
balm for extra protection of your lips.
7.
Use Vaseline for your nails. Apply it
beneath the nails and also over it. This prevents permanent staining of your
nails and adjacent area.
8.
Staining of nails can be prevented by
using nail paint before playing with colours. Nail paint can be easily removed
with the nail varnish.
9.
Prefer red or pink colours because they
can be easily removed as compared to colours like yellow, green, orange or dark
purple as they have comparatively more harmful chemicals in them.
10.
While playing with colours, ensure that
your eyes are protected all the times. If any colour happens to get into your
eyes, do not take it lightly and keep washing with tap water till the
irritation subsides. Seek medical advice from a doctor.
11.
Avoid running over wet surfaces, can lead
to falls and subsequent injury.
12.
Kids are vunerable to injury as they are
largely unattended for majority of the time.
What
the doctor suggests as
“Tips for skin
care when removing colour”:
1.
Wash the colours off from your skin with luke
warm water and lemon wedges.
2.
Avoid hot water as it fixed the colour to
the skin. Add a few lemon drops to the bathing water and use mild soap. Rub the
skin gently to wash off the colours.
3.
For getting rid of traces of colour left,
use the paste of gram flour (besan) with milk on the skin
4.
Avoid removers such as strong soaps,
petrol and kerosene for removing colour because they can cause skin irritation
5.
Apply moisturizer on the entire body
immediately after the bath as the skin gets dehydrated and dull after washing
off the colour.
6.
Do not rub the skin vigorously. It does
more damage to the skin.
7.
Keep your skin well hydrated by drinking
fluids.
8.
Avoid rubbing your skin with a hard and
rough brush as it can cause exfoliation and erythema.
9.
If you are planning a bleach or facial
then wait for atleast a week.
DR ASHISH GUPTA
COSMETIC SURGEON
PEDIATRIC PLASTIC SURGEON
TEL: 977977-1111
