Did you watch any TikTok videos recently where influencers use rice water for hair care? It’s a practice that has been followed in Asian cultures for centuries.
For the unknown, rice water is nothing but the starchy rinse water you get after washing rice. A rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, rice water also contains compounds such as inositol and ferulic acid that contribute to your hair growth.
Top benefits of rice water for your hair growth
Let’s quickly delve deep into the various benefits offered by rice water for your hair growth.
➡️ Strengthens your hair
The amino acids present in rice water for hair can go deep into your hair shaft, thus strengthening it from the inside. As a result, you benefit from reduced hair breakage, split ends, and overall hair damage and have stronger and healthier hair.
One more benefit of rice water is that it makes detangling hair easy thus cutting down hair breakage.
➡️ Makes your hair smoother
The proteins present in rice water work in such a way that it helps to coat your hair, smoothing down the cuticles and reducing frizz. Thus, you will have smoother hair that is easier to style with fewer chances of tangling.
➡️ Plays the role of a hair conditioner
A good source of vitamins and minerals, rice water offers deep hydration to your hair, thus acting as a natural conditioner.
Hair conditioner emulsions such as silk and protein moisturize your hair strands, enhancing their elasticity and keeping them softer and easy to manage.
➡️ Boosts hair growth
For your information, Folic acid (vitamin B9), selenium, and niacin (vitamin B3) play a vital role in cell turnover and the overall health of your scalp and hair follicle. These vitamins aid in boosting hair growth.
➡️ Rejuvenates hair follicles
Due to hard water, there will be calcium buildup on your hair. Magnesium present in rice water dissolves this buildup and rejuvenates your hair follicles.
➡️ Increases elasticity of hair
Rice water contains Inositol (vitamin B8) and is also part of several foods such as fruits, nuts, grains, and beans.
In addition to that your body makes use of carbohydrates to produce its own inositol. A major advantage of this nutrient is that it increases the elasticity of your hair, thus making it stronger.
According to Pubmed, a study conducted in 2012 showed that the intake of inositol supplements for 180 days led to better hair growth and reduced thinning.
➡️ Contributes to longer and thicker hair
The minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants in rice water nourish your hair follicles and facilitate the growth of healthy hair.
The major benefits include strengthening the roots, enabling increased blood circulation in the scalp, and creating an environment that promotes better hair growth. Thus, you will benefit from longer and thicker hair over time.
➡️ Helps alleviate dandruff
The soothing properties of rice water can help you get relief from itchy scalp and dandruff. Based on the health and condition of your hair, it acts as a shield against diseases caused to the scalp and hair.
The other advantage is that it regulates sebum production, keeps your scalp balanced, and provides protection from excessive oiliness or dryness which are the major causes of dandruff.
➡️ Enhances the natural shine of your hair
Rice water contains nutrients such as Vitamins B and E that aid in bringing back and increasing the natural shine of your hair. When you use rice water regularly as a hair rinse, it provides a glossy and radiant appearance to your hair.
➡️ Helps get rid of lice
You might have seen grandmothers using rice water as a solution to eliminate lice. It is due to the reason that rice water makes it difficult for lice to thrive.
➡️ Reverses the effects of hydral fatigue
Hydral fatigue is a condition in which the hair gets damaged by excessive swelling and contraction. It generally happens due to frequent wetting and drying.
Rice water works in such a way that it aids in repairing and strengthening the hair cuticles, thus reversing hydral fatigue. It also restores the natural elasticity and resilience of your hair.
How to make rice water for hair care?
Now. let’s quickly go through the 3 simple steps to make rice water.
➡️ Rinse the rice
Wash the rice so that any dirt or impurities in it are removed. You can opt for any rice type of your choice for this purpose. Even if you are using a non-organic type of rice, rinse it a couple of times so that no pesticides are left in it.
➡️ Allow it to ferment
It is fine even if you use rice that has not been fermented. However, according to experts, a fermented version is more potent. It is due to the reason that as part of the fermentation process, a byproduct termed pitaria is released that contains all the minerals, nutrients, and antioxidants in the rice.
For this purpose, use one cup of rice and add two to three cups of water to it. Leave the rice water for a day to ferment. Refrigerate the fermented rice water and after 24 hours, use it. Make sure that you use it within 3 days or discard it.
➡️ Add some fragrance to it
Since fermented rice water has a strong smell, add a few drops of essential oils to it so that there will be a pleasant fragrance. As an alternative, you can also use herbal tea, orange or lemon peels.
Conclusion
Hope you are super excited to try out the rice water benefits for hair growth is a natural solution. Though it is absolutely safe to try irrespective of the hair type, the result may vary as with any other hair care treatment.
It is due to the reason that there are multiple factors that come into the picture such as type, porosity, and volume of the hair and how your hair reacts to different, environments, products, and routines.
References
- De Paepe, K., Hachem, J. P., Vanpee, E., Roseeuw, D., & Rogiers, V. (2002). Effect of rice starch as a bath additive on the barrier function of healthy but SLS-damaged skin and skin of atopic patients [Abstract]. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 82(3), 184–186
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12353708 - Marto J, et al. (2018). Rice water: A traditional ingredient with anti-aging efficacy. DOI:
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics5020026
