How To Use Rice Water For Hair? Benefits, 5 DIYs & Secret Tips

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If you ever search for hair care tips online, using rice water for hair is probably in most articles out there. That’s because rice water has a beautiful effect on your hair.

And since I haven’t shared my way of using rice water in my hair care routine yet. I thought I should do so. This is something you can definitely do for your hair’s better health.

What Is Rice Water?

In layman’s terms, it is the water that you get after soaking rice in water.

Yup, as simple as that.

And if you are thinking why exactly are we using this rice water on our hair today?

It is because rice water has numerous benefits to offer and your hair does respond well to it. Plus, it’s the easiest hair hack in the book.

Benefits Of Rice Water For Hair And Skin

Rice also has abundance of vitamin B, and it’s rich in protein, amino acids, and minerals that will help nourish hair follicles, improve hair growth, and create a great hair condition by producing more black pigments which will make your hair shine.

A special imaging technique used in Japan showed evidence that rice water enters water shafts and stays even after rinsing. Thus it helps improve elasticity and continues to protect hair for a longer duration after you rinse it off. 

How To Make Rice Water The Right Way?

Ingredients

• Rice (of your choice): 1 cup
• Water(distilled): 4 cups

Recipe Of Rice Water With Step By Step Instructions

Let’s talk about how to make fermented rice water the right way

1. First, you’ll need a cup of rice (any kind will do but I am using white rice here).

2. Pour a cup of rice into a bowl and rinse the rice with your hands (doesn’t need to be distilled water when cleaning the rice grains). Drain the water from the rice bowl.

3.Then pour 4 cups of distilled water into the bowl of rice. I have seen better results with distilled water but you can also use tap water. Just make sure you avoid soaking rice in hard water.

4. Let the rice be soaked in the distilled water for about half an hour. After 30 minutes, the water should look cloudy.

5. Strain the rice water and pour the cloudy water into the mason jar or any container. At this point, I personally use the rice for dinner and let the cloudy water set overnight.

Leaving water overnight helps in fermentation. when you’re finished the fermented rice should have a sour smell to it. This enhances the quality of the rice water and you get better shiny glossy hair. Fermentation also helps lower the pH balance of the water to be more acidic which is a lot like our hair’s pH level so it will restore the pH balance to your hair.

But if you aren’t comfortable with the sour smell, you can directly use the cloudy rice water after straining the rice and skip the fermentation process.

If you are nerdy like me who enjoy reading studies conducted to reach better conclusions, do check out this study done on rice water rinse as a hair treatment.

To Boil Or Not To Boil?

Before using the fermented rice water, some people prefer boiling it. But for me, boiling the fermented rice water made my hair dry. But for a close friend she says she prefers it after boiling because it makes her hair more manageable.

So I would say, experiment this for yourself. There is no right or wrong here. You just need to find what works best for you.

How To Use Rice Water For Hair And Skin?

Use As A Shampoo Alternative

Using fermented rice is not only a better method of washing your hair than shampoo and conditioner but it’s been used for centuries. It is a natural alternative to using store-bought products.

Homemade Rice Water Hair Mask For Hair Fall

Ingredients:

• Fermented rice water
• Fenugreek water

Last update on 2024-05-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• Rosemary essential oil

Last update on 2024-05-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you are struggling with hair fall, then this is the perfect recipe for you.

Just soak 2 tsp fenugreek seeds in a cup of water overnight. The next morning, strain the water to separate fenugreek seeds from bitter-smelling water.

Now mix fenugreek water along with fermented rice water and add 5 drops of rosemary essential oil before using. Use this water as the last hair rinse after shampoo and conditioner and leave it for 5 minutes before rinsing it with water.

This will not only leave your hair glossy but will also promote hair regrowth and help combat hair loss effectively. Whenever I struggle with hair fall, I use this fenugreek and rice water hair rinse.

Do try it. Trust me you will love the results of this one.

For Deep Conditioning Treatment

Ingredients

• Fermented rice water
• Aloe vera gel

Last update on 2024-05-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• Green tea

To make this hair mask, brew a cup of green tea and add it to 4 cups of fermented rice water. Now add a cup of aloe vera gel to it. I use freshly extracted aloe vera get but you can also use store-bought.

Apply this mask on your hair concentrating well on your hair length especially on your ends. Leave it on for half an hour before rinsing it. I skip the shampoo afterwards because rice water and aloe vera gel do a fine job as a shampoo alternative.

But if you desire you can shampoo your hair. Just make sure you use one that is SLS-free.

This diy will not help your hair feel more nourished, moisturized, and healthy from within but will also help your hair get a beautiful glossy shine.

Rice Water For Dandruff

 

Ingredients

• Fermented rice water
• Tea tree oil

Last update on 2024-05-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Take 4 cups of fermented rice water and add 5 drops of tea tree essential oil to it. Now use this water as the last rinse. This diy will help fight bacterial and fungal infections on your scalp. It also soothes your itchy scalp and over time with regular use removes flakes from your scalp.

Rice Water For Skin

Ingredients

• Rice
• Distilled water
• Ice cube tray

Wash a cup of rice thoroughly and soak it nicely in distilled water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, strain the rice water and pour it into the ice cube tray and freeze it.

Every night use these rice water cubes as a toner.

This not only helps tighten your skin, minimize wrinkles and brighten your skin from within but will also help treat your dark circles’ overtime. Research conducted in April 2018, shows rice water works effectively well in slowing down aging signs. 

Frozen rice water stays good for 4-5 days.

How Often To Use Rice Water?

Use rice water once a week in any form you like. For skincare, you can use a cube daily.

Hope you found this detailed article on rice water for hair and skin helpful. I have personally tried all these recipes before sharing so you can count on them. But just to be on the safe side, make sure you do a patch test before you try the recipes. After all your health is of utmost importance.

Also a quick note

All recipes and diys I mentioned above, are as per my long hair. So feel free to halve or double the quantity of the recipe as per your hair length.

Let me know which one is your favorite.

Have a lovely day 🙂