How to Make Rice Water for Hair

Rice water has some great benefits for hair and what follows is a recipe of sorts for a rice water rinse. You might have come across this if you are a “Curly Girl” or a fan of K-beauty trends, or otherwise gotten wind of the fact that rice-rinsing is great for your hair and scalp! 

So without further ado, roll up your sleeves and let’s get into it.

You will need:

Rice (1 – 3 cups depending on hair length)

Water (3x rice. Therefore 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of rice, for example.)

Two large bowls or saucepans

A fine sieve

Method:

Using your sieve, give the rice a rinse in running water. Not too much, as we don’t want to remove all of the starch as that’s what we need to create our suspension.

Empty the rice into your large bowl and pour your water over. You can run through it with very clean fingers to release the starches and ensure the surface area of all grains get a tumble- around. Or use a fork if you prefer.

Leave it to sit for an hour and then repeat the process above to release even more of the nutrient-rich starches. By now you should have a cloudy white liquid suspension.

Now – this next bit is important…. Do not go into autopilot as if you are rinsing your basmati to start cooking, because I have lost count of the friends who have told me they poured all their lovely rice water down the sink! Make sure you place your second bowl or pan in the sink first and put the sieve over the top. We are not wasting anything here!

Pour your rice and water into the second bowl, using the sieve to catch the rice grains. Set the rice aside for cooking your evening meal. Et voila! You have your lovely rice water in the bow ready for a rice water rinse!

Read on to find out why you need to do a rice water rinse.