Rice Water: Hair Elixir?

My entire family went into shock, then panic upon finding out that the family we were bunking up with had no shampoo. We were staying over for a couple nights, and most of us had not bothered to pack shampoo because what kind of household does not have shampoo? So what did they use to wash their hair? You guessed it. Rice water.

Rice water has garnered much attention online recently as a traditional, DIY, environmentally-friendly beauty concoction. This raised questions such as, “Are there actual proof for the claim that rice water keeps your hair healthy?” and “If so, how in the world does it work?” In this article, I will be exploring some perspectives regarding these two questions.

Some anecdotal evidence

The court ladies of the Heian Period in Japan are believed to have had beautiful, floor-length hair that was maintained by combing their hair using rice water daily. Could it be rice water was the key to growing such hair? A study conducted by Inamasu et al. (2010) showed that while resulting in flaking on hair surface when rice water was the sole hair treatment, rice water had displayed positive effects such as less surface friction as well as greater elasticity.

In today’s world, the women in Southern China are famous for their similarly long hair, shiny and black until their 80s, reportedly maintained by treatment with fermented rice water.

Satisfied with these claims? Me neither.

Benefits of rice water

Let’s then start by breaking down the composition of rice water:

• amino acids

• B vitamins (B1, B3, B6)

• vitamin E

• minerals

• antioxidants

• starchy carbohydrates

By studying these nutrients found in rice water, dermatologists have developed various yet-unproven theories to explain the supposed benefits of rice water on hair.

Theory #1: antioxidants

Various studies across the years have discovered the antioxidant properties of rice water. It contains antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin A, phenolic acids, and more. These antioxidants scavenge and neutralize free radicals, thus preventing damage to cell membranes and other cellular structures, thus potentially minimizing the damage to hair cells.

Theory #2: antifungal properties

This one is rather controversial, as far as I can tell. In some studies, rice water did not exhibit antifungal activity, however, in others boiled rice water did and scientists reasoned that this was due to the presence of zinc and selenium. Zinc and selenium are nanoparticles that have shown significant inhibitory effects on different species of fungi.

Other theories

Other suspected explanations for the benefits of rice water include:

• the starchy carbohydrates can cover the hair shaft, thus strengthening hair strands; and

• B vitamins are associated with production of red blood cells, thus promoting hair growth.

Conclusion

So maybe there hasn’t been much modern scientific evidence that rice water does have cleansing, strengthening, and other properties, but that does not mean scientists won’t eventually find something in the future. Personally, though, I’ll stick to regular shampoo for now.

References

Burgess, L. (2023b, October 5). What does rice water do for your hair? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321353#how-to-make

Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Antioxidants. Better Health Channel. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants

Inamasu, S., Ikuyama, R., Fujisaki, Y., & Sugimoto, K. (2010b). Abstracts: The effect of rinse water obtained from the washing of rice (YU-SU-RU) as a hair treatment. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 32(5), 392–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2494.2010.00605_3.x