Holi, known for its vibrant celebration, often leaves behind skin and hair damage due to harmful chemicals in synthetic colors. Pre-applying oil acts as a protective barrier, preventing dryness, breakage, and easing post-Holi cleanup. Proper oiling ensures skin and hair remain healthy and eases color removal.

The festival of vibrant hues, Holi, is just around the corner and besides bringing a joyous experience altogether, it brings along aftermath too such as dirty stains, dry skin, damaged and brittle hair.One of the most famous ways for protecting your skin and hair from the aftermath of Holi is using oil. Oil serves the purpose of acting as a protective barrier for shielding the hair and skin.

Damaging effect of Holi colours on skin and hair
The synthetic-based colours that are widely available on Holi contain harmful chemicals, heavy metals and even artificial dyes. They have debilitating effects on the skin as well as hair by drying out the skin, irritating the skin’s surface, triggering an allergic reaction, weakening and drying the hair strands etc.Though certain colors may appear safer considering them organic, even they predispose the skin and hair to extra dryness.

Role of oil as a protective barrier
1. Interferes with deeper penetration of colours into the skin: Oil, possessing a hydrophobic nature, forms a layer over the skin, disabling the colours’ penetration into the skin. Oil repels the water-based colours by making a thin layer on the skin.
2. Locking in moisture: These artificial colours are potent enough to strip off the natural skin oil, making it dry and irritated.If you oil your skin prior to celebration, it will stay soft and supple after you bathe.
3. Hair protection from breakage: Hair is porous, meaning it can easily absorb Holi colors, leading to dryness, frizz, and even discoloration. Oiling creates a protective film, preventing the colors from sticking to the hair shaft and making post-Holi cleanup easier.
4.Bathing post celebration becomes effortless: One of the biggest challenges after Holi is scrubbing off stubborn colors.Pre-applying oil makes it super easy to remove colors with just mild soap and water, no excessive rubbing needed.

Application of oil before Holi
Use a generous amount of oil on your entire body and face, not missing the scalp too.
Exposed areas such as face, neck, hands, feet etc. definitely need extra care to prevent dryness. For your scalp, coconut oil or castor oil can be used. Take care of your nails too and prevent them from staining by using petroleum jelly or almond oil on them.Use a cotton ball to apply oil to delicate areas such as ears or under eyes to prevent colors from settling in fine lines. Do not forget to apply sunscreen over the oil layer to stay away from sunburn and tanning.
Oiling before Holi isn’t just an old-school trick, it’s scientifically backed to protect your skin, hair, and overall well-being. With just a few minutes of pre-Holi oiling, you can save yourself from irritation, dryness, and hours of scrubbing later.So, before stepping out to play Holi, grab your favorite coconut, almond, or olive oil, and give your skin and hair the protection they deserve!
Wishing you a safe, colorful, and skin-friendly Holi!

Authored by: Dr. Khushboo Jha, MD, Chief Dermatologist and Founder of One Skin Clinic, Faridabad.