Rice Water Recipe for Hair Growth (3 Versions)

When it comes to hair, there are all kinds of products you can buy. But one of the most effective products for hair growth and healthier hair is simply rice water that we can make at home. 

Many people notice results from the first wash, so give it a try and add rice water to your hair care routine.

Benefits of Rice Water

Lets look at the rice water benefits.

Firstly, what is rice water?

Rice water is the leftover water after cooking or soaking rice. This starchy water contains a tonne of beneficial vitamins

Rice water contains

• inositol
• protein
• fiber
• vitamin e
• vitamin b
• magnesium
• zinc

B vitamins play an important role in hair growth, helping your hair follicles to do their thing for healthy hair. You probably heard about biotin, one of the B vitamins that’s famous for its hair benefits.

Use of rice water can help maintain shiny hair, increase hair elasticity,

Rice water can also be used as a DIY protein treatment due to all of the amino acids contained in this solution.

Rice water also has benefits for your scalp, and may be able to help soothe a dry scalp or reduce dandruff

The benefits of rice water are based on anecdotal evidence, more than proven scientific evidence, but there is a lot of that anecdotal evidence! The best thing to do, is try for yourself and see how you get on. If it works for you, then keep using it!

How to Make Rice Water for Hair Growth – 100% Natural Recipe

There are three main varieties of rice water recipes to make your rice water treatments. You could experiment to see which of the three different ways gives you the best results.

For all of the rice water methods you will need

• white rice (cup of uncooked rice)
• cups of water

optional – you can add a small amount of essential oil of your choice to your rice water hair treatment to optimise the scent. With fermented rice water, it can have a slightly sour smell so you will probably want to do this.

What are the best essential oils to add to rice water?

Some of the most popular options for essential oil to add to your rice water are

• lavender
• rosemary
• peppermint
• tea tree
• lemongrass.

Many of these are great essential oils for hair anyway, so you’re getting the benefit of the essential oil and the benefit of the rice water

How to make Rice Water

For all methods, wash and rinse the rice thoroughly before you start. To do this, cover the rice with water, and move it around with your hand.

Then drain the water, cover with fresh water and repeat as many times as needed.

Fermented Rice Water

Soaking rice water vs fermented rice water

Of the three rice water methods, one is fermented

Fermented rice water takes longer to make, you will need to leave it for 12-24 hours at room temperature for the fermentation process. You do not need to leave it any longer than that, for all of the goodness to come out.

If you don’t want to spend as much time to make the fermented rice water, there are a couple of quicker methods.

Soaking Rice Water Method

Soaking rice water is made by soaking the rice in water for 30 mins, draining and then using that water. This is the easiest and simplest rice water that you can make for your hair.

Boiled Method for Rice Water

The final method is boiled rice water. This involves covering the rice with water as you would for cooking (2 x water to rice ratio, or use the finger tip method)

Just cook the rice, as you normally would and then preserve the water afterwards to use for your hair.

How to Store Your Home Made Rice Water

You can store in a glass bottle or spray bottle for easy use, if you want to use it as a leave in conditioner or detangled.

How to Use Rice Water on Your Hair

You can use your newly made rice water in a few different ways, as a Hair mask, or do a Rice water rinse for curly hair.

When washing your hair with rice water, you will want to use the rice water after your regular shampoo and regular conditioner rather than before.

Rice Water for Black Hair

What hair types is rice water suitable for? Rice water can be used for all types of hair including curly hair.

It’s ideal for long hair, and generally is more suited to high porosity hair than low-porosity hair types although low-porosity hair types can still benefit from using rice water but should use it less frequently

Rice Water FAQ

What is the best type of rice to use for making rice water?

You can use any type of rice for making your rice water, so whatever you have in the kitchen or whatever you prefer its all good

• White rice
• Brown rice
• Jasmine rice
• Basmati rice

Or whatever you prefer.

How long will rice water last?

It doesn’t last a really long time, so don’t make too much at once. This is not one of those things where you can make a huge batch and then just keep it ready.

If you can make it and use it straight away this is ideal. Otherwise, you can keep it for a few days in the fridge (5-7 days max)

How will I know if my rice water has gone bad?

You will be able to smell. If in any doubt, throw it out and make a fresh batch.

Can I eat the rice after using it to make rice water?

Yes you can. If you are making rice water using the boiled method then this rice is already cooked and ready in it’s normal way. The only difference is that instead of throwing out the water, you will make use of it for your hair.

How often to use rice water on your hair?

This depends on your hair type. If you have low-porosity hair don’t overdo it because you don’t want protein overload. For this hair type, you probably don’t want to use rice water more than once a month at the most.

Are there any side effects of rice water?

Do not over use, because if you use rice water on your hair all the time then you may get protein overload. It is powerful stuff, so use it sparingly.

History of Rice Water

Rice water has been credited with Japanese court ladies floor-length hair, and used by the Yao women of china for their beautiful long hair.

Ready Made Rice Water Products

A lot of the simple beauty products that we can make ourselves at home, can also be bought ready made if you’re short on time.

Because these are store bought, they may have a few extra preservatives meaning they will last longer than the home made version too.

Rice water hair products

(Amazon affiliate links)

Every day beauty rice water spray

Rice water hair growth spray

Rice water hair mask

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