Which colors are safe for Holi? How to make organic colors at home
Homemade Holi Colors: Holi, the festival of colors, is coming soon. Celebrated for centuries, Holi is a festival that unites people of all classes, castes, ages, and generations. Playing with colors during Holi has its own unique joy.
On Holi, people throw colored gulal (coloured powder) on each other, fill buckets with colored water, fill balloons and pichkaris, and drench everyone with colors.
These days, Holi colors are full of chemicals. Playing Holi with these chemical-laden colors can cause skin damage in many ways. It may be better to play Holi with safe and organic colors.
Colors made at home from natural and home-grown ingredients—such as flowers, vegetables, turmeric, and arrowroot—or manufactured by herbal brands, are safe. Colors made from turmeric, beetroot, marigold flowers, spinach, and hibiscus are gentle on the skin, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly.
How to make safe colors at home?
Red Color
To make red color, grind dried red hibiscus (Gudhal) or rhododendron (Buransh) flowers into a powder. Red sandalwood powder is also very safe.
Pink Color
To make pink color, grate or boil beetroot and extract its juice. Add a little cornflour and dry it.
Green Color
To make green color, mix spinach or henna powder with dry flour.
Yellow Color
To make safe and organic colors at home, you can use turmeric and arrowroot or gram flour. Dry yellow color can be made by mixing turmeric with arrowroot or gram flour. Alternatively, wet yellow color can also be made by boiling marigold flowers in water.
Blue Color
To make blue color, dry and grind Aparajita flowers or use Jacaranda (Neelmohar) flowers.
Caution while purchasing colors
A little caution when purchasing colors for Holi can help prevent skin problems. Be sure to pay attention to these things:
Organic colors generally do not have a pungent or chemical-like odor. If the color smells strong, avoid purchasing it.
Good gulal should be easily washed off with water. Too strong or sticky colors can be irritating to the skin.
Choosing natural colors reduces the risk of skin allergies, itching, or irritation, and allows you to enjoy Holi safely.