Bura na manno holi hai! Playing Holi the Indian way means getting blasted with colours from all angles, but when those chemically loaded bombs come in contact with your skin, they tend to react adversely and leave behind major damage. That#39;s no reason to keep away from this fun and lively festival though, right? So we have the perfect solution for you – opt for homemade gulaal and organic colours that are 100 per cent natural and 200 per cent safe! Whether you prefer making the colours yourself at home or buying off the shelf, we#39;ve got you covered.
MAKE YOUR OWN COLOURS
To prepare red colour, you can get some red sandalwood, which is easily available in the market. The best part is that normally this sandalwood is used as a face pack, so it#39;s got healing properties. Another way to prepare the colour is to dry red hibiscus flowers or rose petals, grind them and voila.
Let’s go green now. Take some henna leaves, dry them and grind them for a dry version. To make a wet green colour, soak the leaves overnight and your colour is ready. Alternative: You can also use coriander leaves or spinach to make this.
For blue, use petals of blue hibiscus flower, grind them and play. Another option, you can use indigo, commonly known as neel (also a whitening agent).
To make yellow at home, you can use turmeric or haldi powder or go with kasturi instead of the normal one as it has a soothing fragrance as well. Even better? Take petals of marigold flowers (genda), dry them and grind them to make a herbal paste.
For orange or saffron, you can use the petals of palash flower and follow the same process of drying and grinding.
To derive a violet hue, use beetroot juice and add water to it.
Go black by using black grapes, grinding them and separating its pulp before adding water to it. Another option is to take a steel bowl, clean it and polish the inner surface with mustard oil. Place a candle and on top of it put the steel bowl (oil side) on the candle overnight. Kohl or black dye will be formed next morning.
For brown, you can boil tea leaves and cool it down. Add water to increase its quantity and then play away!
TIPS
To increase the quantity of dry colours, you can add flour and mix it in well.
Apply baby oil on your skin on the off-chance you come in contact with chemical-based colours and need help getting rid of them easily.
BUY ORGANIC COLOURS
If you wish to buy organic colours, go online and pick your favourites from the pan India stores Organic India, Organic Shop, Craftsvilla and Natural Mantra. If you#39;re planning a big bash, Organic India is the best bet with a pack of 4 or 8 herbal gulaal for Rs 160 and Rs 320 respectively which will reach your doorstep in 3-6 days. At Organic Shop, you can pick herbal gulaal packets in red, pink, yellow and blue for Rs 100 each and they deliver in 3-5 business days. At Craftsvilla, they have got all your holi preps covered with thalis and gift baskets (Rs 600) that have packets of gulaal and chandan tikka. You can also pick pichkaaris (Rs 1,100 plus taxes) for kids here. These guys deliver in a week, so order in time. For cute gift hampers, check out Natural Mantra where they not just have packs of colours but their hampers (Rs 400 - Rs 500) come loaded with colour, thandai, body polish, and a glow mask for the aftermath of holi. Order these hampers for friends and family and they#39;ll reach them within 5-7 days. If you#39;re in Delhi, you can pick gulaal packets of 100 gms on I Say Organic in 6 colours – red, green, blue, magenta, orange, pink and yellow. These folks deliver on the same day too if you place an order before Noon!
Bura na manno holi hai! Playing Holi the Indian way means getting blasted with colours from all angles, but when those chemically loaded bombs come in contact with your skin, they tend to react adversely and leave behind major damage. That#39;s no reason to keep away from this fun and lively festival though, right? So we have the perfect solution for you – opt for homemade gulaal and organic colours that are 100 per cent natural and 200 per cent safe! Whether you prefer making the colours yourself at home or buying off the shelf, we#39;ve got you covered.
MAKE YOUR OWN COLOURS
To prepare red colour, you can get some red sandalwood, which is easily available in the market. The best part is that normally this sandalwood is used as a face pack, so it#39;s got healing properties. Another way to prepare the colour is to dry red hibiscus flowers or rose petals, grind them and voila.
Let’s go green now. Take some henna leaves, dry them and grind them for a dry version. To make a wet green colour, soak the leaves overnight and your colour is ready. Alternative: You can also use coriander leaves or spinach to make this.
For blue, use petals of blue hibiscus flower, grind them and play. Another option, you can use indigo, commonly known as neel (also a whitening agent).
To make yellow at home, you can use turmeric or haldi powder or go with kasturi instead of the normal one as it has a soothing fragrance as well. Even better? Take petals of marigold flowers (genda), dry them and grind them to make a herbal paste.
For orange or saffron, you can use the petals of palash flower and follow the same process of drying and grinding.
To derive a violet hue, use beetroot juice and add water to it.
Go black by using black grapes, grinding them and separating its pulp before adding water to it. Another option is to take a steel bowl, clean it and polish the inner surface with mustard oil. Place a candle and on top of it put the steel bowl (oil side) on the candle overnight. Kohl or black dye will be formed next morning.
For brown, you can boil tea leaves and cool it down. Add water to increase its quantity and then play away!
TIPS
To increase the quantity of dry colours, you can add flour and mix it in well.
Apply baby oil on your skin on the off-chance you come in contact with chemical-based colours and need help getting rid of them easily.
BUY ORGANIC COLOURS
If you wish to buy organic colours, go online and pick your favourites from the pan India stores Organic India, Organic Shop, Craftsvilla and Natural Mantra. If you#39;re planning a big bash, Organic India is the best bet with a pack of 4 or 8 herbal gulaal for Rs 160 and Rs 320 respectively which will reach your doorstep in 3-6 days. At Organic Shop, you can pick herbal gulaal packets in red, pink, yellow and blue for Rs 100 each and they deliver in 3-5 business days. At Craftsvilla, they have got all your holi preps covered with thalis and gift baskets (Rs 600) that have packets of gulaal and chandan tikka. You can also pick pichkaaris (Rs 1,100 plus taxes) for kids here. These guys deliver in a week, so order in time. For cute gift hampers, check out Natural Mantra where they not just have packs of colours but their hampers (Rs 400 - Rs 500) come loaded with colour, thandai, body polish, and a glow mask for the aftermath of holi. Order these hampers for friends and family and they#39;ll reach them within 5-7 days. If you#39;re in Delhi, you can pick gulaal packets of 100 gms on I Say Organic in 6 colours – red, green, blue, magenta, orange, pink and yellow. These folks deliver on the same day too if you place an order before Noon!