Play organic Holi with Natural colors; here's how

The festival of colors is upon us, Holi will be celebrated with the usual frolic and gusto throughout the country in a few hours time. Celebrating a happy and a safe Holi should be everybody’s priority. The primary risk which Holi brings along with itself is exposure to harmful chemicals in form of Holi colors. Cheap Holi colors are mostly industrial dyes or oxidized metals mixed with oil. Chemicals such as Lead Oxide, Chromium Iodide, Copper Sulphate, Mercury Sulphite and Aluminium Bromide are widely used in Holi colors to get various color shades. The toxicity from these chemicals are just not harmful for skin and hairs but exposure to them increases the risk of serious health complications such as Bronchial asthma, Renal failure, temporary blindness and much more. The situation becomes more alarming as it is young children who play Holi the most and thus get exposed to these harmful chemicals the most. Add to that later these chemicals cause environmental degradation and pollute ground water and soil. Holi the festival of colors should be fun and harmless and the said can be achieved by celebrating a natural, herbal and organic Holi.

Playing Holi with Natural Colors
With Holi around the corner markets are markets are donning a festive looks. On every nook and corner one will find myriad of various colors being sold. Although beautiful to look at, unfortunately most of these colors are synthetic in nature containing dyeing agents and other chemicals. Most of the times Holi colors are laced with chemicals and heavy metals which are not only disastrous for the skin and hairs but are quite bad for overall health too. Chemical colors of Holi can cause irritation of eyes, skin and scalp; it can also trigger dry skin and allergies. With increased awareness about the dangers of chemical in Holi colors more and more people are looking for alternatives. In ancient times too Holi was played using natural colors which were made using the extracts of flowers and herbs which were in fact good for the skin. The best alternative to chemical based Holi colors are herbal natural colors, these eco-friendly natural colors are derived from natural dyes which are sourced from flowers, wood, barks and even roots of various plants. These herbal colors are available in all popular shades of colors such as blue, green, yellow, pink, orange and more. They are herbal, natural and safe but the only drawback is that they are costlier than their ordinary counterparts.

Make Natural and Safe Colors for Holi at home
All would agree that Holi without colors would be damp squid. Although eco-friendly chemical free colors are available in the market but their reliability is unconvincing at best. Also they are quite pricey when compared to the common Holi colors. So, what are the options? The best option is definitely to make your natural, herbal and safe Holi colors at home. The most popular color of Holi, Gulal can be made by mixing 100 grams of turmeric power with 200 grams of arrowroot powder along with 50 grams of marigold flowers and 20 grams of powdered orange peel. Add to the mixture 20 grams of lemon or sandalwood essential oil and rub the mixture gently together to get a bowl full of safe and natural yellow colored gulal. To make colored water soak 100 grams of Tesu flowers in a bucket full of water overnight. In the morning you will find the water to be of natural saffron color. One may also use henna leaves instead of Tesu flowers to get colored water. To make dry powdered colors mix appropriate amount of food colors with rice flour and water to make a colored paste and then let the paste dry; finally use a grinder to grind and get the powdered color powder. One may also get natural pink or saffron colored dry powder, mix grinded beetroot or turmeric with besan and add water to make a paste. Let the paste dry under the sun and powder the same in the grinder to get natural and safe colors for your Holi celebrations.