What Is Rice Water Hair Rinse?

A rice-water rinse is the process of coating and then rinsing one’s hair with the water kept from boiling or soaking rice. The amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants present in the grain have fantastic benefits for hair and have traditionally been used for hundreds of years as a strengthening treatment.

Rice-water rinses are said to have originated in Heian, Japan (794 to 1185 CE). Women had floor-length hair that they regularly bathed in rice water to maintain. This practice isn’t just limited to Japan; women of the Yao tribe in current-day China cut their hair once in their life, maintaining their sometimes-floor-length locks by bathing them in rice water. There’s a reason why this traditional rinse is still in use today; it works.

Rice Water Hair Rinse Benefits

There are many, MANY benefits to doing a rice water rinse. Hair feeling limp and lifeless? Rinse. Hair lacking shine? Rinse. Having trouble growing your hair out? Rinse.

A rice water rinse can:

• Strengthen hair;
• Increase shine;
• Improve hair elasticity;
• Reduce hair breakage;
• Detangle hair;
• Improve curl structure;
• Help hair growth.

My Rice Water Hair Rinse Recipe

There are three ways you can make a rice-water rinse: via fermentation, soaking or boiling. Note that fermentation is the traditional method; I prefer the boiling method so I can line this rinse up with my dinner. The below recipe works for short-to-medium-length hair. Double the ingredients for longer hair.

1. Rinse ½ cup (97g) rice in a strainer. Add to a pot with 2-3 cups (472-717g) of water.



2. Bring pot to a boil on medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low. Cover and simmer until fully cooked, about 10-15 min. Make sure to keep an eye on the pot so that the water doesn’t cook off completely.



3. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain water into a bowl or jar. Set in the fridge until cool. Use immediately or store it covered in the fridge for up to 1 week. (Save the rice for dinner.)

How to Use Rice Water Hair Rinse?

There are multiple ways you can use rice water. I tend to like doing a straight rinse as my hair is usually on the verge of being over moisturized (more on that later). Here are two ways to use your treatment:

Read Also: How Often to Rice-Water Hair Rinse?

#1: Straight Rinse

Doing a straight rinse involves putting the rice water directly onto your hair and nothing else.

1. Shampoo hair as normal.
2. Apply rice water to soaking wet hair by scooping it onto your hair, dipping your head in a bowl, or dumping it onto your hair.
3. Rake rice water from roots to tip and make sure that strands are fully coated. Leave on for 5 minutes.
4. Once the 5 minutes are up, rinse completely. Condition and style as usual.

#2: Deep Conditioner Rinse

Many people like to get two treatments in at once and mix their rice water in with another treatment.

1. In a small bowl, scoop in one portion of deep conditioner. Use the amount that you’d typically use when deep conditioning your hair.
2. A spoonful at a time, add in your rice water. Make sure the mix doesn’t get too runny. For me, this is about 3 spoonfuls. Mix thoroughly.
3. Shampoo hair as normal.
4. Apply deep conditioner mix on your length; skip the roots, if using this method. Rake through your hair to ensure it is fully coated. Leave on for 10-15 minutes.
5. Once the time is up, rinse completely. Condition and style as usual.

My Results

After doing a rice water rinse my hair IMMEDIATELY springs up. There is such a difference in how the curls behave; my style lasts for days after a treatment.

Here are my results after one of my first rice water rinses. These photos were taken mere days apart. You can really see just how much body I’ve gained in the after.

Here are my results after a recent treatment. Note the differences in my curl pattern, particularly near the ends of my hair!