Rice Water For Natural Hair - Thoughts and Challenge Accepted
Wow 2020 really did a number on my hair. It started off beautiful, long, thick and probably the best it has ever been in my life. Then 2020 happened and honestly it was the most stressful year I have ever experienced. I had so much happen this year.... losing people, changing careers, moving, losing more people changing careers again, and the list goes on.
Stress rocked my hair. It sucked. Here are some photos from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2020...... Tell me it isn't as bad as it feels:
I saw it happening and was appalled. I honestly didn't know what to do. Starting in December I bought some collagen. That seemed to be helping, but not too great. Then all of the sudden I started to see "rice water for hair growth". Now, I am a super skeptic and don't believe in most any of these types of things, but I also really do believe in natural remedies. So, obviously I was torn.
After debating on this for like 2 seconds, I decided what the hell? Why not? Seriously though, I am currently working from home, so this really wouldn't affect me at all. Then I started thinking that I guarantee other people are wondering the same thing, so I took on the challenge as it will be easy for me to do, hopefully it works, and hopefully it will help someone else!
Rice Water For Natural Hair -
Thoughts and Challenge Accepted
Does Rice Water Work On Natural Hair
Dude, people are claiming how their hair grew literally inches over as little as a week. Now, I kinda don't believe it. I mean, if it was as simple as rice water to grow your hair, why would there be hair extensions?
I figured, that the only way for me to know if this actually works is to test it out myself. If this rice water thing is a bunch of bull, believe me I WILL TELL YOU! I will share all my opinions, thoughts, and actual real results with you!
Even if I do not gain 3 inches in a couple of weeks, honestly I just want my hair to be back to normal. I do want my hair to grow, I do want my hair to get thicker, but ultimately I just want to be happy with it, so if it grows longer YAY! If it gets thicker YAY! And if it does nothing I will tell you :)
Ok, so let's dig into the Rice Water Challenge that I will be undertaking:
Rice Water Rinse on Natural Hair Challenge
There are seriously so many questions that I need to figure out how to answer:
Does Rice Water actually make your hair grow faster?
What are the benefits to using Rice Water?
How do I use Rice Water?
What is the recipe? Everyone uses something different.
What type of rice should I use?
Does it Smell?
Ultimately, over these next few weeks, I am going to answer all of these questions myself and be able to give you legit answers!
For now, let's just start with a couple that I can answer:
Benefits of Rice Water on Natural Hair
Here are some of the claimed benefits that I have heard so far:
Reduces dandruff
Strengthens hair
Stimulates hair growth and thickness
Removes toxins from your scalp
Increases shine
Repairs damaged cells
Of all the nutritional properties beneficial to the hair, the one that stands out is inositol.
Risks of Using Rice Water on Natural Hair
Throughout my research there are some risks too! Here is what I have found so far:
Dries out hair
Protein Overload
"You have to discern for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the cons. If under any doubt of how rice water would affect your hair, it is always recommended to test a small portion of your hair before attempting over your entire head. If your hair is particularly sensitive to frequent exposure to protein, use caution and go easy if attempting this rice water regimen."
Rice Water on Natural Hair
I have found so many different ways to make rice water it is kind of crazy. Some methods call for soaking the rice where others call for boiling the water. Others then call for fermented rice water (which is the one I will be using).
What is the best method to make rice water?
As of right now I cannot recommend a method as I haven't tried it out yet. I am going to be trying the fermented recipe and then we will go from there :) I do have to say that you need to ensure to rinse the rice water and expect a little trial and error. Everyone's hair is different. There is a possibility that the fermented method works for me where the boiling method works for someone else.
Which Rice Water Method I Am Using
As I stated above, I will be using the fermented method. This is where I will soak the water in rice and then let it sit there for a couple of days. The fermented rice water packs a nutrient punch to help hair reap even more benefits.
Rice Water Recipe for Natural Hair:
Ingredients
. 5 cups of rice
Filtered water
Essential oil of your choice
6 cup Pyrex jar or a large mason jar
strainer
wood stirrer
Instructions
Place rice in a strainer and rinse
place clean rice in a bowl
Add water over rice
Stir until water turns a milky color
cover jar
let sit for 24-72 hours
strain water into spray bottle
add oils
shake
Here are some things you need to make your Rice Water
My Ultimate Rice Water Challenge Plan
I actually am super low maintenance. Honestly, I rarely do my hair. It is either in a side braid, a messy bun, or a hat. So this is going above and beyond for me :) ; however, my hair is still struggling over the stress that just occurred in my life, so I need to do something to help my hair out. So for the next couple of weeks my regiment will include:
Weekly: Wash hair, rice water rinse, de-tangle and brush with large comb. Low maintenance style with no heat.
Daily: Continue to eat my collagen in water and my daily protein shake.
Thoughts and Moving Forward:
I have absolutely no idea what to expect but fingers crossed :) I am excited to try this challenge, but I am really not getting my hopes up. Ultimately, this is a trial for myself and for you, so I am going to stay completely neutral throughout this entire process.
Each week I will be doing a length check so stay tuned for that.
Have you eve tried rice water for hair growth? If so, comment below. I would love to know your thoughts, experiences, and more! TELL ME ALL THE THINGS!
I can't wait to share this journey with you!
Bess
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