Just the other day, I posted on how to make rosemary for hair. But I was suprized that pouring rice water over the hair has become a new trend as well. So I thought I’d share how to make rice water for hair as today’s post.
Honestly, it’s becoming a trend for good reason, rice water is packed full of nutritious proteins and vitamins. Let’s face it the Chinese and Japanese have been adding protein to their hair through rice water for centuries.
Recent studies in Japan have shown that an ingredient called inositol ( which is a type of sugar) strengthens and protects the hair follicles. Rice water contains high levels of inositol, making it a great ingredient for our hair
How To Make Rice Water For Hair?
Along with the benefits of producing stronger shinier hair, adding rice water to our hair care routine would also benefit our scalp, calming any itchy patches and helping to eliminate dandruff. This will give a cleaner more hydrated scalp that will in turn boost circulation and encourage hair growth.
Another plus to learning how to make rice water for hair yourself is that It is also a super cheap way to add a touch of luxury to your hair without the price tag.
I recently paid $25 for 500g (17.5 oz) of wheat protein to add to one of my shampoo recipes. Having said that, the wheat protein was very concentrated, but even so….it’s still a hefty payout.
How To Make Rice Water For Hair: The Easy Way!
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Equipment
- Digital Scales or measuring cups
Ingredients
- 500 ml Water (tap, bottled or distilled is fine)
- 100 g Uncooked Rice (1/2 cup)
Video
Instructions
- Place the rice into a strainer and give it a quick rinse. We do not want to overdo this as we need to retain as much starch as possible. It's more a case of getting rid of any impurities. Then, place the rinsed rice into a bowl.100 g Uncooked Rice
- Add 500ml of cold water to the rice, stir, and cover with a plate or plastic wrap500 ml Water
- Set aside and leave the rice to sit for 24 hours at room temperature.
- After 24 hours it's time to strain the water from the rice into a clean bowl or large beaker.
- Once strained you can use the water straight away or pour the water into a clean bottle ready for later use.
How To Use
- Shampoo and rinse your hair as you usually would.
- Pour the rice water over the hair and scalp. Massage it into the scalp and hair concentrating on any dry or split ends.
- Leave the rice water in the hair for around 20 minutes to allow the proteins in the water to be absorbed.
- After 20 minutes, rinse the rice water off with warm water. You need to rinse this off thoroughly or you could end up doing the opposite of what you were trying to do by drying the hair and scalp out.
How To Store
The recipe here is for one-time use, however, any remaining rice water can be stored in the refrigerator a few days. You do not want to leave your rice water longer than this without a preservative.
I did some research, and a lot of people with posts teaching how to make rice water for hair say you can keep it for up to a week. Honestly, you really can’t do that. Only after 3 days, mine stank to the high heavens.
To prolong the rice water to around four months, we recommend stirring 1% of a water-soluble broad-spectrum preservative in the strained rice water. We usually use plantaserve P (saliguard PCG), which can be purchased online on Amazon.
If you don’t want to use a preservative, then I strongly recommend to use all the day you finish making it.
In-Depth Analysis
Formula Inspiration and Theming
You can also use rice water on the skin
You’re hear to learn how to make rice water for the hair, because it’s packed full of vitamins and antioxidants, making it a fantastic skin ingredient. But did you know that it’s not just great for your hair, but also your skin? Rice water is full of nutrients that can help brighten dull skin and fight the signs of ageing!
Cleansing Toner.
Simply pour some rice water onto a cotton wool pad and wipe it across your face. This makes a mild milky type cleanser that is unlikely to be strong enough to eliminate stubborn oily areas but it’s a great natural one for anyone with acne or dry itchy skin.
Toner
Splashing your face with rice water will help to rinse and close the pores. If you leave the rice water to dry naturally on the face, when you follow up with a natural homemade moisturizer it will help the rice water penetrate the skin more readily and give some much-needed hydration to any skin type.
Face Spritz
Rice water is packed full of vitamins and minerals that help to hydrate the skin and fight free radicals that lead to ageing skin. Adding rice water to a spray bottle is a handy way to add some misty moisture to the skin throughout the day. Unless you intend to keep the spray bottle in the fridge and use it within 3 days you may want to add a preservative. See note on adding a preservative.
Face Masks
If you have sensitive skin try adding rice water to blended oats and honey for a soothing face mask. This would also benefit more mature skin as I often find clay face masks are too drying and the ones advertised towards mature skin are usually overpriced.
Bath Time Treat
If you have any leftover rice water, throwing it in the bathtub may sound indulgent, but it’s worth it. Rice water is a fantastic skin softener and it’s excellent for eczema or dry itchy skin.
Sunburn Soother
Applying rice water to sunburn can give some welcome cooling to the affected areas. It will also reduce inflammation and help to hydrate the skin.
Foot Soak
How about a relaxing evening foot spa, pour the leftover rice water into a large bowl or bucket, add some warm water and sea salt, then soak your feet for 15 to 30 minutes. This is a great way to soften hard skin areas and toenails.
As you can see, learning how to make rice water for hair can also bring you so many great benefits beyond it’s original purpose.
Ingredient Specification and Purpose
Why do we prefer not to cook the rice?
It’s tempting to quicken the process by cooking the rice in the water for twenty minutes. Although this sounds like a good idea and many influences endorse this, we think that like most things that have been boiled, they will lose some of their natural goodness.
That being said, if you are cooking rice for your evening meal, and you have some leftover starchy rice water, don’t throw it away. You can still use it even if the benefits are slightly less.
Substituting Ingredients
- If you do not want to use just rice water in your hair rinse, why not replace half or all of the water with herbal tea, green tea, camomile, or peppermint would be good as they are packed full of antioxidants and all have their own unique hair benefits.
- Why not add some glycerin for hydration to the water? This would be a fantastic addition to any skincare use.
Final Thoughts
Rice water offers some wonderful hair and skin benefits, which we often throw away. I hope this post has inspired you to learn how to make rice water for hair at home too. My steps are fail safe, so you should be good to go!
Although there is not much research to prove these claims, women have been using rice water for centuries and with some amazing results. We think rice water is both versatile and economical, and very much worth a try.
