Rice water for hair growth. Does rice water really grow hair? I mean if you go back in time to the
heian period in japan, women had healthy floor length hair and attributed a lot of that back to
rice water. And in todays world, the yao women in china, who live in huangluo are famous for
having 6 feet long hair and credit not having grey hair until they reach their 80s, back to
rice water bathing. In this video we will look at the 3 pros and cons of rice water for hair growth
so you can get a short and sweet rundown of what you should know before trying it out yourself.
If you guys are new here, this channel is all about helping you make informed decisions as well
as be in the know when it comes to your health and wellness, and I would love for you all to gently
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as well. Also, if you guys are on instagram, you can follow me there too. Now without
wasting anymore time, lets get straight into it. So what in rice water makes it so special? Isnt it
all just starch? And while it is true, 75-80% of rice is made of starch, and you can see it after
you let the rice soak. It looks murky and foggy. Well it turns out there is more than just starch.
It contains amino acids, b vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and a very interesting type of
sugar responsible for cell membrane structuring, called inositol, which well come to in a second.
And there are several methods of making the rice water preparation. You can soak the rice in water,
by taking ½ cup of uncooked rice with 2-3 cups of water, and let it soak for 30 minutes,
then strain the rice into a clean bowl and keep the water, OR you can ferment the rice water by
leaving it in room temperature for 2 days before straining it and then actually massaging it into
the hair and scalp, covering it with a shower cap for up to 20 minutes before finally rinsing
it all out. And like i said, there are multiple variations to this, some even like to boil it and
add in essential oils, which btw I made a video on the top 3 hair oils I believe has the best
shot at growing hair, which you can watch here. Whatever method you choose, i think it is fair to
say you need to stay consistent with them, if you choose to try it out yourself. And with that said:
lets actually move on to the three pros and cons. With the first pro being. The inositol.
Now from the limited information that is out there, inositol was found to reduce surface
friction of hair as well as improve elasticity of hair. If this actually were to be the case, thats
a tremendous benefit just right there because we know if hair strands are resilient to friction,
less hair is going to fall out, which means, more hair actually stays on your head. This
is why im in favor of silk pillowcases, although you got to wash them more often, they do reduce
the frictional pull on hair overnight vs other pillowcases which youll find a ton of hair stuck
to on when you wake up in the morning. The second pro for rice water is: the fact that it contains
magnesium. And the great part about that is that it can dissolve calcium buildup on the hair from
hard water. You see, when Calcium deposits in the hair follicles, it can cause hair loss,
which is why magnesium oil was used to remedy this in settings where there is hard water coming from
your showerhead. Now obviously you can get a water softener to address this better, which is the long
term solution, and ive linked one that i recommend down below. They're quick and easy to install and
can really make a difference in not only your hair but your overall skin health as well. And lastly,
rice water contains niacin or vitamin b3, which can reduce inflammation by increasing blood flow
within the scalp and bringing oxygen to the actual hair follicles as seen in this pilot
study looking at females with pattern alopecia. Now that we got the pros out of the way, what
could actually be the cons or the actual harms of rice water so we can go full circle. And I get it,
you might find tons of people in favor of using rice water for hair, but heres the thing,
you'll find just as many who've experienced less than positive results and that can be due to the
first con which is. The protein buildup. If you have low-porosity hair, which you might
be thinking what on earth is that. It basically is hair that doesnt like to absorb water or treatment
due to the cuticles having few amounts of pores. The rice water will just sit on top of the hair
and can cause extreme dryness and sometimes damage since the proteins become harder over time, which
can lead to brittle and dry hair. Second con is: drying scalp. Lets say your hair is able to absorb
the rice water within the first 30 minutes or so, if you have yeast overgrowth on the scalp, that
you arent aware of, chances of a dry, flaky scalp will only get worse if you expose that to all of
the starch and sugars in the rice water for a long time. And lastly, the arsenic. Rice that’s grown
in the US is often grown in what used to be cotton fields. These fields, back in the day were sprayed
with insecticides that contained arsenic and those trace elements still remain here today. And yes,
the amounts are not large enough for the governing bodies to take them off the shelf,
but i still think its important that you know that they are there, especially in the milky residue
left from the rice water. Basmati rice, imported from nations without an arsenic issue, like India,
may be lower in arsenic vs here in the US, with the exception of california rice, which has fewer
contaminated rice paddies than other states like texas and arkansas. And no brown rice aint any
cleaner either, since brown rice can contain 50% more arsenic than white. So do be aware of that.
In the end, using a rice water hair rinse is overall safe to try at home to see if it
works for you. But if your main concern is hair growth, make an appointment with a dermatologist
or trichologist to address the underlying cause of your hair loss because hair loss
is multifactorial, and tiktok does not have all the answers.