Holi Colours for 2014: Wholesome and Homemade!

Prapti Bagga 10 years ago

Holi is a riot of colours alright. But this year, let’s take an oath to avoid those chemical-laden colours that wreak havoc on the environment, not to forget our skin and hair. The colours are harmful, don’t wash off easily and can cause severe rashes. Instead, let’s celebrate with herbal and natural colours this time around. Homemade colours are easy to make, and all you need to make them are flowers, leaves and other ingredients commonly found in the kitchen.

What you will need

Red colour

For dry red

Red sandalwood powder
Vermilion powder

You can mix the two and use it as a dry red colour. Just make sure the vermilion is of good quality.

For wet red

Dried rose petals
Soaked red hibiscus flowers
Cranberry (kokam)
Grated beetroot

Soak all of the above overnight in a bucket of water. In the morning you will have a deep red colour ready for use!

Note: In case you aren’t able to get your hands on any of these ingredients you can also use a fruit called Sinduria or Annato that contains red seeds which can be used to make dry or wet red colour.

Blue colour

Jacaranda flower
Blue hibiscus
Blueberries

For dry blue

Grind all the ingredients in a coffee grinder to get a beautiful blue Holi colour.

For a wet blue color

Soak these colours in a bucket of water overnight. You can add as many blueberries as you want till you get the desired shade of blue.

Yellow colour

For dry yellow

Powdered gram flour
Sandalwood powder

Turmeric powder

Mix the three ingredients well to get a dry yellow colour for Holi.

For wet yellow

Mix sandalwood in one mug of water to get an instant fragrant yellow colour.

Brown colour

Coffee
Tea powder

Soak coffee powder and tea powder in a bucket of water overnight for a wet brown shade. These won’t harm the skin and hair in any way. If you want a darker brown, simply boil dried amla in a vessel and pour it into the same bucket and let it stand overnight.