#royalteeapproved
Rice isn’t just used for cooking. It turns out the food item is also great for our hair, specifically rice water. It’s an easy concoction to brew up; all you need is the starchy water that is left over from rice when it is soaked or cooked. Beauty credit the water for helping your hair to grow faster.
Rice contains up to 80% starch and contains amino acids, Vitamin B3 ( strengthens weak hair), Vitamin K, minerals and antioxidants, including selenium which can reduce dandruff and folic acid, which can help thicken and strengthen your hair.
Asian women have been put on game about rice for centuries. The Yao women in China are known for having hair that is six-feet long from using rice water. And they don’t begin to grey until their 80s! Talk about aging fine like wine! They’re also known to bathe in rice water. Experts say using rice water is good for detangling, increasing hair shine and smoothness and helps your hair grow longer and stronger.
Several videos are on Youtube about how to use the rice water. Dr. Debbie Williams of the The Changing Faces Hair Clinic in Atlanta shared a video last year on her opinion of the natural technique.
“Rice water contains so many vitamins, so many nutrients, it’s like giving your hair hair-food immediately,” the hair and scalp specialist wrote in her caption under her Youtube video. It’s better than a hair vitamin because when you take a hair vitamin, you have to absorb it in your body and it takes maybe weeks or months before you see results but when you use rice water, you’re going to see results the very first time you use it.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKySh_kvgIM]
She added, “I tried it on a few of my clients and I kind of didn’t tell them and then when I saw them the following week. I remember one of them saying to me she says “Debbie, I don’t know what you put on my hair last week but I’m gonna need you to do it again.”
The treatment is a game changer for women who suffer from hair thinning or alopecia.
How do you make rice water?
To make your rice water, you can use white, brown or jasmine rice, whichever your preference as long as it’s rice. Dr. Williams recommends one cup of organic rice with one cup of distilled water. Let the mixture sit for at least 12 hours but for better results, Williams suggests 24 hours.
“The longer the rice ferments in the water,” she says, “the better and stronger the benefits are going to be for your hair.”
Next, drain the mixture with a strainer. Dr. Williams offers six early steps on how to treat your hair with the rice water :
- Shampoo your hair with a sulfate-free shampoo
- Condition your hair and rinse it out
- Pour the rice water mix on your hair
- Leave the rice water on your hair for 30-60 minutes. And while you wait, put a cap on your hair.
- Rinse the rice water out and style your hair as desired
Another benefit of rice water Dr. Williams points out is its effectiveness over a hair vitamin.
“When you take a hair vitamin, you’re going to have to digest it, it’s going to have to absorb into your body and it takes a while, maybe months before you can see the benefit of a hair,” she explains. “However, if you’re using rice water, you’re going to start seeing benefits instantly.”
Vlogger Maryam Hampton has been using rice water for over two years. Her video on how to make overnight rice water spray for a leave-in condition has over 1.4 million views.
“It works,” one woman commented under Maryam’s video. “I did the big chop this passed March I was literally bald now my hair is by my collar bone. Rice water works wonders one of the best things I tried to grow my hair.”
