What is rice water, its uses and benefits for skin and health

The starch-filled water that you have been throwing is something that has been used since ancient times as a remedy for hair and skin health. It is one of the beauty secrets that no one will talk about but use it on themselves. Rice water is nothing but cloudy-milky water that you throw away after soaking the rice for a few hours or boiling them. You would be surprised to know that rice water contains a lot of minerals and vitamins like amino acids and vitamin B6, which might benefit your skin and hair by increasing shininess, enhancing softness, strengthening the hair while protecting against the various damages to your skin & health goes through. Here are some of its uses and benefits that you should know about. (Images courtesy: iStock)

In Korean cuisine, rice water has been used for a long time to cook dishes like stews. They also use rice water for braising fish or to wash it, which further takes away all the smell of the fish. Korean people also use rice water for deodorizing their plastic containers. You will be surprised to know that it can also be used for cleaning dishes and as a natural fertilizer for plants as it's loaded with minerals and vitamins.

It is said to be an inexpensive and effective beauty balm for cleansing, toning, and lightening hyper-pigmentation, sun, and age spots. Many say you can see and feel results after a single-use. Helping with smoothing texture and hyper-pigmentation and creating a porcelain finish, rice water illuminates, firms, and tightens skin to appear refreshed. It reduces pore size, leaving a powdery, soft feeling behind. Over time, if you use rice water regularly, hyper-pigmentation or brown spots are said to diminish, and the rice water works as well as any expensive skin lightening serum or cream at a fraction of the cost. We like the fact that it’s DIY and zero waste, as well—no plastic containers with leftover cream in the bottom that can’t be recycled. Rice water is also good for acne since it reduces redness and blemishes, and the starch in the water is said to soothe the inflammation of eczema.

Soak a reusable cotton pad or cotton ball, or the corner of a washcloth thoroughly in rice water and apply it all over your face in the morning and evening. Let your face dry naturally. Going to bed with freshly applied rice water is said to increase benefits. You can also add rice water to the bathtub or a foot soak.

Recently, rice water has seen a lot of craziness as it is said that it can help in deeply conditioning and softening hair. Not just that, rice water makes the hair fuller, thicker, and healthier-looking. According to the Chinese community, some women believe that it is the fermented rice water that keeps their hair healthy, shiny and long. It also helps to detangle the hair while improving its elasticity. A study of Japanese rice water published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science found out that it had significant benefits for improving elasticity and reducing surface friction.

Its use for hair is quite simple. All you need to do is that after shampooing and conditioning, as usual, rinse hair thoroughly with a generous helping of cooled rice water as the final finish. You can also massage the rice water into your scalp, as it will absorb the same vitamins and nutrients that make it so good for your skin. Use rice water finish rinse once or twice a week for best results, always on clean hair.