Rice Water for Hair: How to Make It and Benefits

Rice water has a lot of benefits; when applied to the hair, it can help you strengthen your hair and provide it with shine and luster. Though it has been used by women as a natural conditioner since long back, we somewhere lost touch with it and today’s beauty products that have it as an ingredient can get very costly.

You dont need to buy expensive products to reap the benefits of rice water, you can simply prepare rice water yourself at home at a much cheaper cost; after all, you only need two ingredients: rice and water! Interested in knowing how to prepare rice water, the ways you can use it to make your hair more healthy and how to store it? Then scroll down to find answers!

 

How to Make Rice Water?

Rice water preparation primarily requires just two ingredients- rice and water and hence can be easily prepared at home!

If you are confused over which rice to use – brown, white or red – prefer white organic rice as it has more benefits.

The rice water can be made in two ways, either by boiling it or fermentation. If you are on a time crunch, go with the boiling method, as fermentation takes at least a day to complete. Both the methods have been discussed below-

 

1. Rice Water by Soaking (Fermentation)  

Materials required-

• ½ cup of uncooked rice
• 2-3 cups of water
• A strainer (to strain the rice)
• A bowl (to collect the strained water)
• A clean container (to store the rice water)
• A lid ( a spray lid if available for ease of access)

Steps to follow:

1. Take the ½ cup of uncooked rice and rinse it thoroughly by changing the water at least one to two times; strain and remove any dirt or impurity to make sure the rice is cleaned.
2. Now put the washed rice into the clean bowl.
3. Pour the cups of water over the rice carefully and let it rest for 24 hours. Make sure to leave it only for 24 hours because the rice water will start to go bad after that.
4. After 24 hours, you will see that the water has turned white and foggy color- this is a sign that the water is now filled with the goodness of rice! Now take the strainer and strain the rice water into a clean bowl.
5. Transfer the rice water into the container, put the lid on, and you are ready to use it!
6. If you are not going to use it, immediately store it in a fridge

 

2. Rice Water by Boiling 

Materials required-

• ½ cup of uncooked rice
• 2 cups of water
• A utensil(to boil the rice)
• Stove (to boil the rice)
• A strainer (to strain the rice)
• A bowl (to collect the strained water)
• A clean container (to store the rice water)
• A lid ( a spray lid if available for ease of access)

Steps to follow:

1. Take the ½ cup of uncooked rice and rinse it underwater, strain out any dirt or impurities and make sure the rice is clean.
2. Put this cleaned rice in a clean utensil and add 2 cups of water.
3. Place the utensil on the stove and on the heat.
4. Boil the water and rice until the water starts to turn foggy and looks a pale translucent white.
5. Switch off the gas and let the water cool down
6. Strain the water into a bowl and then transfer it into a container
7. Either use the rice water immediately or store it in the fridge; it will stay fresh for upto a week.

 

Fermented rice water smells pungent 

During the fermentation process, the rice water will start emitting a pungent smell; this is normal. To prevent this from happening, you can reduce the time of fermentation to half an hour, but doing this will reduce the number of nutrients that your hair can get!

So what should you do? Simply add some essential oils, herbal tea, or citrus peels to the rice water to help it smell better. This will also provide added nourishment to your tresses!

Essential oils you can use -vanilla, lavender, ylang-ylang, lemongrass, peppermint, jasmine, chamomile, etc.

Citrus peels you can use– use peels of fruits like lime, orange, lemons, etc.

Remember – before using any essential oil on your scalp, you should always perform a patch test on the back of your hand.

 

How to Use Rice Water on Hair?

Now that we know how to make the rice water let’s look into how you can use it to make your hair shiny!

1. Using Rice Water as a Pre-Conditioner

Materials required- Rice Water, Essential Oils (optional)

Steps to follow:

1. Shampoo your hair and then rinse off the shampoo underwater.
2. Take the rice water and add a few drops of essential oil into it (optional).
3. Now apply the rice water on your hair and massage it in, let it stay there for 10-15 minutes.
4. Now rinse off the rice water using water and apply conditioner.

 

2. Using Rice Water as a Hair Mask 

Materials required – Rice Water, optional ingredients – mustard powder and olive oil

1. Take the rice water and add some mustard powder and olive oil to it to make a paste.
2. Shampoo and condition your hair, and after that, rinse it off underwater.
3. Now take the paste or just rice water and massage it onto your scalp. Tie up your hair and put on a shower cap, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.
4. After 15-20 minutes, rinse off the hair mask underwater.

 

3. Using Rice Water with the Conditioner 

Materials required- Hair Conditioner (the conditioner you usually apply to your hair) and rice water

Steps to follow:

1. Shampoo and rinse your hair under the water
2. Take the amount of conditioner you usually apply to your hair and add in rice water to it, then mix
3. Apply this mixture to your hair and proceed as you would while using a conditioner.

 

4. Using Rice Water as a Shampoo

Materials required – Rice Water, one teaspoon of shikakai powder, 1/4 cup of aloe vera, 2 tablespoons of either baby shampoo or Castille soap.

Steps to follow:

1. Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix them thoroughly.
2. Pour the newly created shampoo into a bottle and store it in a fridge until used. You can store this shampoo in the fridge for upto a week before it goes bad.
3. Use the shampoo as you would generally use shampoo.

 

How to Store Rice Water?

Rice water made with organic elements may go bad very quickly; hence you need to store it correctly; follow the following tips-

• Store the rice water in a clean jar with a lid – to avoid contamination of rice water ( as it is a tasty treat for all the microbes floating out there); you should always store it with the lid tightly shut.
• Store it in a cool and dry place – rice water can ferment and go bad very quickly; hence you should store it in a clean, dry, and cool place. The best way to store it will be in the fridge to make it last for upto seven days.
• With each passing day, the rice water will start getting more concentrated; hence keep adding a little bit of water every day to keep it diluted.

 

How to know if Rice Water has gone bad?

Rice water being all-natural die ago bad after some time, you can check for the following signs to ascertain if your rice water has gone bad-

1. Bad smell

When rice water ferments beyond its limit, it will start emitting a foul smell; this is how you can recognize if rice water has gone bad. Remember, this is not to be confused with the pungent smell that fermented rice water gives out.

In general, you should throw away rice water that has been sitting at room temperature for more than two days.

 

2. Signs of mold growth

If you can see signs of mold growth and fungus growing on your rice water, you should discard it immediately.

 

FAQs

1. How often should I use rice water on my hair?

You should not use rice water more than once a week on your hair; moreover, do not let the rice water sit in your hair for more than an hour, as this can damage your hair. Do not use rice water as a leave-in spray; always rinse it off.

 

2. Can I reuse the rice used to make rice water again?

Yes, you can reuse the rice for upto one day, but check for signs of mold and fungus growth before doing that.

 

You May Also Like To Read:

Best Organic Shampoo in India

Best Onion Shampoo for Hair in India

Best Hair Pack For Hair Growth in India

 

Conclusion 

Now wasn’t that simple? The secret ingredient of multinational beauty moguls is right at your fingertips!

With this article, you now know You can make rice water by either soaking it or by boiling it, and you can use it as a shampoo, hair mask, and conditioner! Talk about versatility! So go on and use it to make your hair shine while having the satisfaction that it is entirely natural and self-made!

Tell us in the comments which point you found most helpful!