Let your hair down and enjoy Holi

It is that time when people least care about their looks, hair and attire and are mentally prepared to be drenched in colour by family and friends, without protecting them from toxic colours.

You can enjoy the spring festival of colours fully without any fear of hair damage by doing few easy things, says expert hair stylist Jawed Habib.

Make sure you apply a good amount of oil 15 minutes before getting into the colours. The oil can be any basic oil like – Coconut, olive or mustard. Avoid blends or special hair growth oils. Oil should not be hot or warm, use it at room temperature only. Hot oil is not very good for hair.

Don’t leave your hair open, tie it in a ponytail or make a bun. Open hair soaks more colours and scalp also gets affected when it’s open. No hair accessories while playing with colours, when the hair gets wet, it becomes weak from the roots and the accessories pull it off.

Wear a cap, scarf or cover your hair with a bandana. If possible wear a plastic shower cap under your cap…that is the most helpful. After playing with dry colours, brush your hair well. It will take out most of the colour while brushing only. But this works only with dry colours.

For water colours, rinse hair thoroughly with plain water and then apply shampoo and wash. Don’t try to massage shampoo harshly to take off the colour in one go. It may take a few days to take it out completely.

Use baby shampoos or natural shampoos to wash Holi hair, they are gentle and work equally well. No hot water should be used to wash hair during Holi as it can make it worst. Hot water makes your hair dry and you can imagine what can happen if it’s already dry with colours and over washing. No blow drying after a wash on Holi lets your hair dry up naturally.

Apply serum or protectant after your hair is washed and dried. Use organic colours to play Holi as they are less damaging and are equally colourful. Be relaxed, even if your colour doesn’t come out in a single wash.

The colours we use to play Holi are chemical based, plus these days almost all of us have chemical styling (colouring, rebonding, etc) done on our hair...together it creates a strong chemical dose for hair, which is bad for hair's health. At this point taking care of the hair is important.

Now, what you should do after Holi
The actual hair care is required after the celebrations. Hair mostly gets dry and rough with colours and washes on Holi. Even the regular use of conditioner is mostly useless and sometimes can get you dandruff. Here are a few tips to take care of your hair after the festival is over.

Preconditioning is essential for dry hair. Apply oil for 5 minutes daily before wash. This helps a lot for coloured damaged hair. Avoid hot styling tools for 2 weeks; instead, make plaits and buns to style hair. Don’t expose your hair to the sun, wear something or take an umbrella while moving out.

If possible, go for a haircut or a trim after Holi. This will take out the dead ends of the hair. A spa treatment is good for chemically styled hair after Holi. Postpone your colour or rebonding to two weeks after Holi if it’s due. Let your hair settle first before you layer it with more chemicals.

No setting sprays, wax, mousse, etc for a week after Holi. Use natural shampoos to wash hair. You definitely need gentle products after harsh colours you have played with during Holi. Brush hair gently, hair gets fragile after so much of colour and washes.

Ask your stylists to avoid giving steam to your hair during treatments after Holi. Use of oil, daily shampoo and natural drying is the best hair care regime post-Holi. If your hair colour or fashion highlighting gets affected with colours, go to good professionals to rectify them.

Holi is to enjoy not worry. Follow the above steps and forget about any hair damage this festival.

By: Jawed Habib