Rice for Beauty Care

Beauty treatments always start in our kitchens! There are times where a very expensive product is no match for a home-made beauty treatment. And you get more than one benefit in anything that comes out of your kitchen. So here I am writing on one such staple food which works wonders for your hair and skin. Rice water! It came as a surprise to me. I was not sure if it works any magic but I wanted to try it to see if it does anything to my skin and hair.

The rice water I speak of is not the rice you get after washing the rice, but the water left over by boiling the rice. At my house, we always use pressure cooker, so there is no water residue, but after marriage in a Bengali family, I noticed that they prepared rice by pressing out the excess water after it was completely done! Most of the times I used to think that they are wasting water and that are why I was made to see how it can be used and to my surprise I found a lot of uses. And it has been a part of my beauty regime since then; and with confidence I can tell you that it works. So read on to know how you can use it and how it helps you!

How to get rice water:

While boiling rice, add in more water than necessary. When the rice is cooked, strain the excess water into the tumbler and let it cool. Let it ferment overnight as it becomes rich in antioxidants, minerals, vitamin E. It looks something like below:

Uses for hair:

Rice water contains inositol, a carbohydrate that can repair damaged hair. It can strengthen the roots, make it smooth and silky. It controls hair fall to some extent.

How to use it:

• You can add a few drops of essential oils such as rosemary, lavender or tea tree oil to rice water for added benefits. After shampooing, pour rice water on your hair and massage gently and leave it on for 4-5 minutes and rinse off with luke warm or cold water. But use the rinse only once or twice a week.
• You can add rice water to any hair pack for added benefits.

Effect:

After 3-4 weeks, you can clearly see that your hair fall will be under control. Hair becomes strong and manageable.

Uses for the skin:

• Keep the rice water in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours and let it cool. You can use chilled rice water as a toner or rinse your face once a day (I do this at night as part of my regime) but it makes your skin dry, For those who have dry skin, make sure you don't follow it every day!
• Gram flour + rice water + turmeric + few drops of lemon can be used as a body pack for beautiful skin.
• Dab cotton in rice flour and gently rub it on your body and after 20-30 minutes take hot or cold bath. It reduces tan.
• Use it around your eyes to reduce wrinkles.
• Use it in any face pack.

Effect:

• Rice water helps in promoting cell growth and slows down the aging process.
• It minimizes the pores.
• Tightens the skin and softens it.
• Reduces age spots and lightens skin tone.

So here were very few ways to use rice water in my beauty regime. You can always experiment with different ingredients in your kitchen and team it with rice water. Make sure you do not use rice water that has been stored for more than a week. Dry skinned beauties make sure you use this sparingly as it tends to dry out your skin more. This is a magical boon specially formulated for oily skinned ladies! So go ahead and prepare your rice water and experiment! And if you have any new ways to do things, don't forget to let me know anytime!

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