What Is Rice Water Made Of & What are its Hair Health Benefits?

Rice is the water that is what you drain out when you boil the rice. This rice water has got a lot of health benefits, and hair health benefits of rice water, is one of the noted benefits. In this article we will talk about some of the best hair health benefits of rice water.

As mentioned above, rice water is the liquid that is left behind when you drain while the rice is boiled. Rice water, also known as rice milk is a liquid which has starch in it. This water contains a lot of vitamins and minerals and this in turn makes it quite healthy to drink.

Rice water benefits in tightening the skin and also improves your hair health. In addition, it even enhances the circulation of blood in the body, helps in the growth of skin cells, and keeps the skin looking pretty rejuvenated.

Rice water is loaded with several vitamins and minerals. It is known that rice contains high amount of sugar alcohol molecule known as the Inositol. This inositol enhances the growth of body cells, slows down the process of aging, and also stimulates the flow of blood. It is given to newborns for treating digestive issues such as diarrhea and several other GI tract diseases, especially in case of the malnourished babies. Rice water can also be beneficial at treating mild to moderate cases of dehydration when used along with some solid foods.⁽¹⁾

Rice water contains antioxidants and even properties of UV rays absorbing in it. This binds to the copper that naturally occurs in your skin and this in turn, prevents the melanin formation or hyperpigmentation and also age spots.

Rice water offers you clearer skin and also offers you smoother and stronger hair. This water contains amino acids in it which work on the hair roots and strengthens them, and also adds volume as well as silky and smooth texture to the tresses.

Using rice water for hair health benefits is not a new thing. It has been used since long. Women of the Red Yap tribe in the village of Huangluo of China, have used this rice water for washing and also for nourishing their hair. This village is known popularly as the “Land of Rapunzels”. The village has a certification of the “World’s longest hair village”, from the from the Guinness Book Of World Records.

The nobel women of the Japanese Imperial Court during 800 AD, were even known for their long as well as quite beautiful hair and they also washed their hair by making use of rice water.

This tradition of hair health benefits of rice water was passed on to generations and this is still in practice in several areas.

Now, coming to the actual topic; in what ways actually rice water can benefit your hair health. Let us see below and discover about them.

Rice water actually works as a kind of shield for your hair and protects from dust, sun rays, and also chemical treatments; and this is due to the biochemical composition of rice water. It helps in restoring the moisture balance of your scalp and your hair shafts, and thus helps in managing dry scalp and also dandruff.

One of the finest hair health benefits of rice water is that it is important for eliminating dandruff and flakes. Dandruff results in irritation and itching of the scalp. It might be caused because of a dry scalp along with fungal infestation.

As per a study, it is found that rice water is 85% to 90% effectively treats the dandruff. Boiled rice water got from red or white rice left for one day inhibited the growth of the dandruff-causing fungus known as Malassezia.⁽²⁾

This fermented rice water can be used once in a week as your hair mask. Before a hair wash, you can apply this rice water and leave it for some time.

However, it must be mentioned that you might get back the flakes once you stop using this remedy. Treating your hair with rice water protects your hair from several environmental, physical as well as chemical stresses. It even inhibits the fungal pathogens’ growth and thus, it keeps a check on dry scalp and dandruff.

Your hair is subjected to a huge stress while curling, ironing or coloring the hair. Apart from this, a prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV radiations and dust might also cause a huge damage to the hair. Using fermented rice water for washing your hair can restore the hair’s lost sheen.

The fermented rice water conditions and protects the hair deeply and offers it a real healthy bounces. It comprises of Vitamin B, vitamin E, amino acids, and minerals and your scalp absorbs all these micronutrients quite easily.⁽³⁾

One more way how rice water benefits your hair is by getting rid of split ends. Your hair requires protein for avoiding split ends, and rice water has got abundance of protein in it. There are several causes of split ends, however pollution along with a lack of proper nourishment are the prominent causes. The amino acids found in rice water helps in repairing the split ends and hair damage.

All you need is soak the split ends of your hair in rice water and leave it for at least 20 minutes and then wash your hair off. This can drastically improve the condition.

One more hair health benefit of rice water is that it prevents hair fall to a fair extent and even promotes the hair growth. Vitamin B, vitamin C and vitamin E, along with the amino acids found in the rice water, helps in the hair regeneration and thus making your hair to grow at a quicker rate. In order to achieve the desired results you need to use rice water at least twice in a week.

Rice water has also got another hair health benefit. It is known to remove lice from your hair effectively. Lice can actually ruin your hair health by sucking out the essential nutrients from it. So, it is essential for you to get rid of the lice. Rice water contains starch and this starch kills the lice as well as nits on an instant basis.

It is very true that every girl aims at getting smooth and shiny hair. If you are also one of them then you must definitely try rice water on your hair. You can reverse the hair damage and also get silky smooth as well as shiny hair from rice water. You need to make use of rice water hair mask on the scalp and hair daily to see positive results.

There is a fair popularity of hair health benefits of rice water. But are these claims been proven scientifically?

A paper during 2010 suggests that they might help in improving your hair health. In this paper it is noted that rice water may reduce the surface friction and also increase the elasticity of the hair.(⁴⁾ However, this study relies on historical examples for drawing these conclusions.

Again, one research facility in Japan developed an imaging technique that actually sees the strengthening effect of inositol on the hair.⁽⁵⁾ And, we already known inositol is present in the rice water. It is quite essential for you to note that this research is directly published by a facility that might have commercial interest.

Till date, the hair health benefits of rice water have remained unproven and more research is still required to support the anecdotal evidences about these hair health benefits of rice water.

Below are 2 basic and quite simple methods for making rice water at home and making use of it for getting hair health benefits quite effectively. Soaking, boiling and fermenting the boiled rice water are some of the ways. Let us check them out in a more precise manner.

This is the quickest and simplest way for making rice water. For using this method you need ½ cup of uncooked rice and thoroughly rinse it. Then after, you need to place the rice in a bowl containing 3 cups of water and allow it to soak at least for 30 minutes. Now, strain the rice water into another bowl and use it on your hair.

Boiling rice grains and getting the rice water is another simple way that can be done at home to get rice water. After the rice has been cooked in water, the excess water that is left behind is known as the boiled rice water. Now, instead of draining this rice water, you need to collect it and make use of it.

For using this method, take a bowl and fill it with rice and more of water in it and then let it boil for some time. Once the rice has been cooked, strain the excess water into a bowl and allow it to cool down. You can use it as a hair rinse and also as a face wash.

This is the soaked rice water left to ferment for some time before using it. The fermentation process turns the rice water into a powerful liquid that requires to be properly diluted before its use.

For using this method you require ½ cup of rice and soak it in 2-3 cups of water and let it settle down for 20-30 minutes. Then after, you need to extract the water by straining and transfer this rice water liquid into a jar and leave it for 1-2 days at room temperature. You need to watch out that when this liquid starts producing sour smell, the fermentation must be stopped. Now, you need to transfer this jar of liquid to the refrigerator. Before using this fermented rice water, you must add 1-2 cups of warm water as this water is highly potent and using it directly is not at all recommended.

So, we now know how to make the rice water. Now, it’s time to know how to make use of rice water for hair health benefits. Well, it can be said that rice water can excellently replace a commercial conditioner.

For using this rice water as a conditioner, you should follow the below mentioned steps.

1. Wash your hair with shampoo.
2. Rinse thoroughly with tap water.
3. Then pour the rice water into your scalp and hair.
4. Massage your scalp and hair well with the rice water and leave it for about 20 minutes before rinsing it off using warm water thoroughly.

So, above we talked about some of the hair health benefits of rice water and also came to know about making and using rice water on hair. It must be mentioned that rinsing hair using rice water is actually a traditional beauty treatment in a lot of regions in Asia. This alternative beauty treatment is now popular all across the globe. There are a lot of people who have found the benefits of rice water for their hair and have experienced an improvement in the hair texture, strength as well as the growth of hair. However, more scientific research is still required to prove the hair health benefits of rice water.

But again, if you find this interesting and want to give a try, you can definitely use rice water on your hair and explore its benefits. It is safe to use at home and also quite simple to make and use on hair.

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• Rice Water Benefits: Know Its Beauty & Health Secrets