If you soak and cook rice at home, you probably throw away the water in which it stayed. However, you’ve been missing out on a lot if you were doing this.
This milky leftover after rice soaking can do wonders for your skin and hair health.
In fact, it’s known to encourage hair growth and prevent hair thinning. It can also provide nourishment for those with an aging, sensitive skin.
Since you need only two simple and affordable products to make it, i.e. rice and water, there’s really no reason not to try it out!
How Can Rice Water Help You Have a Healthy Hair?
Rice water, also known as kanji, is a cloudy liquid made through the soaking of rice for several hours.
Rice is a highly nutritious grain and when soaked in water, it releases its nutrients into the liquid which is then used for the hair.
Rice water contains antioxidants, vitamins B6 and E, polysaccharides, amino acids, and organic acids.
When you use it for your hair, you’ll help encourage growth, boost its shine, removing leftover impurities; make it softer and less tangled up and stronger without split ends.
How Does Rice Water Help the Skin?
Skin health is another benefit of rice water. It has actually been part of Ayurveda for long.
When you rinse your face with rice water, it will keep it moisturized and lower eczema and dryness, it will relieve dermatitis and irritation, it will cleanse it gently, make it softer and tighter, lower the signs of aging, and boost the blood flow.
In fact, a study done in 2018, rice water had potential anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging effects on the skin.
How to Make Rice Water Easy
You need:
A cup of rice, whole grain, brown or white
A cup of water
Prep:
Rinse the rice under running water and then strain it. Add it together with the water in a bowl. Leave it to soak for several hours.
Keep the strained water in a glass pitcher and cover it with a lid. Leave it at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
This will encourage fermentation and the development of microbes. After this, you can transfer it in the fridge.
But, make sure you use it within a week.
You can add it directly onto the hair or add it to your masks and shampoos. Massage the hair with rice water before shampooing or as a mask after shampooing.
To use it with your face, rinse it after applying a gentle moisturizer. Do it daily or several times per week. You can also add it to homemade facial masks.
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