How to Make Organic Holi Colors at Home

Holi, the festival of colours, is celebrated throughout India. Using natural home made colours was how our grandmothers and great grandmothers celebrated the festival. Then came the synthetic colours which not only cause damage to skin, but especially that of children's since they have such sensitive skin.This has led to the demand for natural colours which can be made at home. 

Not only can you make colours at home but you can do it together with your children and what a fun activity it can be!

It can be a great experience especially for your children to learn new things whilst having fun. Here are a few ways to go about making holi colours at home.

Play Holi with flowers!

If you truly are looking to be organic in your style of celebrating this festival do it with flowers. It is a fun way to play holi without causing damage to our skin and creating waste. The leftover petals can also be used as decoration after celebrations end.

Making Red colour at home using Hibiscus flower:

You can have the most beautiful shade of red with the ingredients from your garden and kitchen. Pluck hibiscus flowers, dry them and grate them into a very fine powder consistency. Mix the dried hibiscus powder with rice flour from your kitchen and there you have it! “Gulal” from your very own home. 

Making yellow colour at home using Marigold flower:

There are two ways of going about making yellow colour at home. You can either mix turmeric with gram flour or find any yellow coloured flower from your garden, for Example - marigold. Dry the flower and afterwards crush it to make a very fine powder; you can mix either of the two elements - turmeric or dried flower powder of the ratio of your accordance based on the darkness or lightness you're looking for and there you have it! Organic and home made colour holi powder.

Using corn starch & food colour: It is incredibly easy and you need only 3 ingredients - starch powder, food colouring and any essential oil if you’re looking to add scent to the colour. Take a cup full of starch powder, add 3 to 4 drops on essential oil, and a few tablespoons of water and turn that into a liquid paste. After that add a few drops of food colour (it can vary on the darkness of the shade you’re looking for) and dry the coloured paste in the sun for 15 minutes. And there you have it - organic homemade green colour!

If you’re not a fan of making colours at home or playing holi with colours ; you can still celebrate the festival with a simple tilak on the forehead. It is the most eco friendly and respectful way of paying homage to our festivals as well as having a good time without being wasteful.

Holi doesn't always have to end with long showers which consist of trying to get rid of synthetic colours from our body which may take upto weeks to fade away. We can have a good time celebrating with natural and eco-friendly colours too!

Also, make sure you are away from the crowded spaces, making use of sanitiser & have your masks on when outdoors or among people.

Stay safe and wish you a Happy Holi!