Here’s why you should include rice water in your beauty routine

Next time you’re boiling some rice in preparation for a meal, you may want to hold on the strained rice water we’re all so quick to discard. Rice water. Yes, the same one we pour away while making a meal of rice is an important skincare product.

It sounds absurd, right? How can such a thing of waste promote the skin’s condition? But here’s a shocker; rice water is packed with amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. It also contains antioxidant ferulic acid, as well as allantoin.

Proven by experts to be effective, rice water has been used from centuries past in Japan, in maintaining hair and skin.

Like most beauty trends, rice water made a comeback a few years ago and globally, beauticians, experts, beauty and lifestyle bloggers and influencers have sworn by their expertise and videos alike, that indeed, rice water is the answer to major skin problems.

Rice water, is basically the water gotten after cooking rice. It’s usually thick in texture and had a milkish or cloudy colour.

This colour is as a result of the starch washed off or parboiled from rice and this water, has been proven scientifically to contain substances which repair certain skin and hair conditions.

Some of the reasons you may want to consider this experimental routine include;

• Rice water repairs damaged hair

If you struggle with hair conditions such as hair loss, dandruff, or split ends.

Simply rinsing your hair with rice water can prove to be highly advantageous. In addition, rice water has been said to condition and soften hair greatly. In fact, it has been said to help in improving hair’s elasticity.

To get desired effects from rice water, rinse hair thoroughly with rice water after shampooing and conditioning twice weekly.

• Rice water is great for the skin

If your skin goal is getting lighter, glowing skin, then maybe your salvation could lie with rice water.

Using rice water over time has been attributed to solving hyperpigmentation and sunburns. Rice water is so effective for toning, lightening, and cleansing the skin that it can be compared with even the best facial serums.

Rice water similarly aids in reducing acne spots and clearing the spots they create.

How to make Rice Water?

To extract rice water, all you need is some uncooked rice, water, and a pot.

Pour the raw rice grains in the pot and add enough water to cover up the rice. [Basically, you’re going about boiling your rice the usual way but this time with way more water. Since we’re after extracting enough water. Do not include other ingredients such as salt or curry into the rice as that would defeat the purpose of this procedure.

Let the rice cook for 20 minutes to half an hour and then strain the rice [you can make some jollof rice or etc with the strained rice or just discard them]. Now, with the rice water extracted, [which could be milky white], pour in a jar and leave to cool off. You may store remaining rice water in a refrigerator for future use. [I’d advise keeping the stored rice water no longer than three weeks afterwards].

Alternatively, rice water can be extracted simply by soaking raw rice grains in enough water for half an hour and then proceed to strain the water from the rice.

Some people argue that the boiling method works more effectively for this purpose compared to the soaking.

All the same, remember to consult a dermatologist or beautician for additional information on how rice water works best for your skin type.