New Delhi: Protecting your skin and hair from the harsh Holi colours is a must. The chemicals from the colours can leave your hair dry and damage the skin. Apply a sunscreen 20 minutes before leaving the house and protect your hair with the goodness of oil, says an expert.

Shikhee Agrawal, head, training of cosmetics The Body Shop, has shared before and after tips for protecting your hair and skin during Holi. 

* Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before leaving: To avoid unwanted skin tanning and skin problems from your end, it's best to apply a sunscreen 20 minutes before stepping out of your house. It is advisable to use a sunscreen that contains a SPF higher than SPF 20. These days sunscreens have built-in moisturizers so you can follow up with them on the arms and other exposed areas as well. This will protect your skin from the sun as well as the colours. 

* Don't Ignore finger nails: Finger nails are as important as your face especially on the day of Holi where the sensitivity of your cuticles and nails are quite evident. So it is best to pay attention to areas like your fingernails and apply transparent nail varnish, polish or a petroleum jelly as a protective coating. This helps to protect the nails from absorbing Holi colours and to keep stains off.

* Protect your hair with the goodness of oil: Colours can presumably damage your hair to a great extent. Applying coconut or even a normal hair oil, half an hour before stomping out can cutback the damage to a nominal level. The oil with its natural ingredients will make a shield on your hair to reduce the ill effects of harmful colours and will make it easy for you to get rid of them later. Also, it's best to tie your hair down rather than leaving it open for all the obvious reasons.

*Lip balm: Don't miss to apply lots of lip balm on lips as just like your fingernails, your lips too occupy a small but sensitive area of your skin. As there's always a risk of colour entering into your mouth through lips, it would be nice to apply a thick layer of lip balm jelly generously over them so that the Holi colour does not stick to them. It will also help them to stay softer and maintain the moisture without turning dry and pale. 

After: 

* Cleansing the right way: Once all the celebration gets over, comes the real problem of removing the colours from your face. First rinse the face with plain water and then apply a cleansing cream or face lotion over it so that it becomes clean from deep within. It is important that all the impurity and toxic substances release out of your skin-pores. So it is suitable to use a cleanser containing less of chemical elements and more of natural ingredients like Tea Tree. It will also help you to get rid of blemishes.

*Hair shampoo and conditioner: Wash off the impurities and colours with a good hair shampoo having natural vitality to wash away the noxious substances from your hair. Also once you are done with the washing part, don't forget to apply conditioner as your hair needs to have the nourishment, shine and strength that a good conditioner offers to give. 

* Eye cream: After all the exposing to Sun and harmful hues and toxic elements flying in the air all throughout the day, our eyes becomes really stressful. It is important to apply a good and efficient eye cream full of vitamin E before dozing off to sleep. This will make you feel fresh the next morning and will clear your dark circles and patches overnight.