If you prefer a natural, tried and true ingredient for your haircare routine, look no further. Rice water is all the rage lately, with beauty experts and TikTok-ers raving about its ability to leave hair soft and silky while encouraging healthy growth.
Rice water refers to the water used in the process of cooking rice and the water leftover once you’ve strained the grain. This starchy liquid is thought to have numerous health benefits for your hair, and the origins of its usage date back thousands of years in ancient Japan, China and Southeast Asia.
With rice water continuing to trend on social media and on countless beauty advice websites, we asked hair experts Ghanima Abdullah, cosmetologist, stylist and beauty consultant; Delilah Orpi, curly hair expert, coach and blogger; and Ian Turner, cosmetologist all about this increasingly popular ingredient, its effectiveness and the hair types it suits best to promote growth and stronger strands.
A Brief History of Rice Water as a Hair Treatment
According to researchers, people have used rice water in hair ever since the Heian period (794 to 1185 CE) in Japan, in which women were first described to have floor-length hair that they kept healthy by bathing it in rice water. In modern-day China, Yao women, who live in a village called Huangluo in China, are widely known for having hair that can average at 6 feet long and that is often said to keep its color longer.
Stories of Yao women's hair mention that many don't experience graying in their hair until they reach their 80s. As written in a 2019 Vogue feature story on Yao women, many of them credit the length and color of their luscious hair to the fact that they bathe it in rice water.
How Can Rice Water Benefit Your Hair & Hair Type?
So, it seems clear that adding rice water to your hair care routine is worth a shot, but how does this beauty hack actually work? Abdullah says rice water helps increase elasticity and provides a light coating to the hair that gives it more strength. It also reduces surface friction so that during detangling and styling your hair, it doesn't break as easily.
'It's also packed with vitamins and amino acids," Abdullah says, noting that although rice water can't "revive hair follicles," it can "grow your existing hair longer." If your hair strands are thick but your hair is thinning from the scalp, Adullah says that rice water can help you "grow what you have to a greater length."
Turner echoes this sentiment, noting that the vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur and iron can all work to promote healthy hair growth and repair strands that have been damaged from chemical treatments or heat styling. He adds that this powerful tool can even prevent dandruff and itching. Sounds like a miracle-worker!
Abdullah provides one word of caution, though: if your hair and scalp are very dry, you might want to be careful with rice water products "as they are a bit drying." She also advises anyone with *very* fine hair to contact a hair expert when thinking of using rice water, as its coating, for some "might be more than their hair can handle." However, oily hair types can benefit greatly from rice water products for this reason.
"Rice water strengthens the hair, which prevents breakage and excessive shedding," adds Orpi. "The inositol inside the rice water penetrates the hair to strengthen it and improve elasticity, shine, and frizz."
Overall, with a plethora of potential hair benefits, an intriguing, ancient history and possibilities for growth, rice water is worth a try. Wondering what the best way to incorporate rice water into your hair care routine is? Ideally, it is to be applied to hair after shampooing, massaged into the hair and scalp, left on for approximately 20 minutes, and then rinsed thoroughly with warm water from the tap. Turner also suggests adding it to your shampoo. "It's best to use in place of regular shampoo if you have any scalp issues or sensitivity issues with conventional shampoos," he adds.
For more information about rice water related to your specific hair type, visit a trichologist or hair expert and see what the hype is all about.
