Holi which falls on March 29th this year is just round the corner and it is one of the most important Hindu festival that is celebrated with vibrant colours and much fanfare by people of different communities throughout the world. The festival of colours marks the arrival of the beautiful spring and the end of the dry winter months. Be it throwing dry colours or water balloons at each other, getting drenched in coloured water, relishing sumptuous sweets and savouries or gulping down the refreshing thandai, Holi is one festival where people enjoy with family, friends and relatives without any inhibition.
Also Read: Holi 2020: This Is How You Can Play Safe With Colours & Prevent Coronavirus
We know, last year many of you opted out from playing Holi due to the highly spreading coronavirus, this year even though the pandemic might have toned down in some places, the scare of getting infected is still high on the rise. You may not feel safe in playing Holi in large gatherings but obviously you can do it in your home with your family or inside a closed community if there are no positive cases around.
Also Read: Holi 2020: Indulge In These Mouthwatering Sweet Treats On The Festival Of Colours
Well, when all is set and you are prepping up for the festival, the first and foremost important thing that comes to the mind is Colours. Although the joy of getting drenched in different hues and enjoying with family can match no other. However, with the current scenario in mind and the growing dependency on industrialization and cheaper synthetic colours formulated using chemicals, there's no denying the fact that most Holi colours can damage your hair and skin to a great extent.
How Does Synthetic Colours Affect Your Skin And Health?
The chemicals being used to formulate the vibrant colours are so harmful that they can easily penetrate the top layers of the skin and cause rashes, allergies, breakouts and much more. But the damage doesn't just limit itself to the skin, even the hairs become dry and frizzy and fall out to a great extent, the lips having a much sensitive skin becomes parched and may often start peeling, nails turn brittle and God forbid if you have long ones, the colours may get stuck inside and even enter your body while eating causing many digestive anomalies. Last but not the least, even the eyes, one of the most vital sensory organs of the body suffer to a great extent. While spraying these chemical-based colours, if any of it gets into your eye, it can lead to allergic conditions like inflammation, temporary blindness, uveitis etc.
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Additionally, these artificial colours are detrimental to the environment as well because they are highly structured polymers that are hard to decompose biologically.
Hence, it is of utmost importance, to use colours that are organic and are not harmful to the skin. In ancient times, this spring festival was enjoyed using gulaal or coloured powders that were made from plants and flowers which bloomed during springtime and had many medicinal properties. Why not, this year for a change we turn the wheels of time and prepare our very own homemade colours from natural ingredients.
Well, worry not, we got your back. We curated a few eco-friendly, natural and homemade Holi powder recipes that are safe for adults and kids alike.
Homemade Holi Powders
Red
The colour red signifies purity and sensuality and is the most significant colour for marriage ceremonies and festive rituals. For making this beautiful colour, you can use either dried rose petals or hibiscus petals. Grind them after complete drying. Add a bit of red chandan powder and flour to it to increase the volume and colour intensity. For creating a liquid colour just add red sandalwood powder in water and you are good to go.
Saffron/Orange
The Saffron colour symbolizes Fire and is one of the colours of our Tiranga as well. This can be created by drying the palash flower which also goes by the name flame of the forest. Grind the dried flower and add some besan to increase its volume. If you want to get the liquid colour, soak the flower in water overnight, add some henna to it and voila you get a nice orangish hued water to fill up your balloons.
Yellow
From knowledge, learning, happiness, peace and meditation, this vibrant colour forms an integral part of several rituals. Curate this colour by mixing 3 parts of pure turmeric powder and 2 parts of besan or dry grinding dried marigold petals. Get the liquid colour by either mixing turmeric in water or boiling chrysanthemum or marigold flowers in water.
Green
The colour Green means life, happiness and is the colour of Mother Nature. It is one of the easiest ones to curate. Just mix pure henna powder with some flour and literally go green. The coloured water however requires boiling neem leaves in water rather than henna since the latter exudes an orange colour instead of green. After boiling the neem leaves, cool the liquid, remove the leaf parts and be ready to splash on someone.
Blue
Deemed as the colour of bravery and determination, the blue powder is a bit tricky since the flowers are not available everywhere. You can either mix blue indigo powder with besan or dry and grind the petals of blue hibiscus flowers and mix some flour to get the correct hue. In order to get the liquid colour, just mix some indigo powder or liquid with water and fill them up in your pichkaris.
Pink/Purple
This vibrant colour is one of the favourite holi picks and signifies magic and mystery. For creating this lovely hue, grind beetroot to make a paste and let it dry in the sun. Mix the dried powder with besan or wheat flour and get your very own organic colour. For the liquid colour, boil a few pieces of beet root in a vessel. Switch off the flame when you get your desired hue. Cool and use the homemade colour for holi.
Brown
This earthy colour evokes a sense of strength and reliability and is the colour of Mother Earth. Although not a popular choice, the colour brown is mostly opted by those notorious neighbourhood kids just for the sake of fun. To get this colour, mix 1 part of henna powder with 4 parts of amla or gooseberry powder for the brownish tinge or dissolve them in water for medium brownish coloured water.
Netmeds.com Wishes All Its Customers A Very Happy And Prosperous Holi!
