History of Rice Water for Hair - Rapunzel’s Secret?

September 27, 2020 Meraly Djemesi

Over the past few years, YouTubers and beauty bloggers have been buzzing with excitement over a viral DIY hair care challenge—rice water, and for good reason.

While its hype may be new to the West, the use of rice water can be traced back to ancient Asian civilizations. Rice water has been a staple in both skincare and haircare for hundreds of years in ancient Japanese and Chinese cultures. Recently, one community in Southern China has been gaining a lot of attention lately for their religious use of rice water for their Rapunzel-like hair.

The Yao people live in a remote region in Huangluo village in Southern China. This region received very little attention until 2002 when the Chinese government encouraged tourism in the region. However, it is not the pretty pink traditional dresses of the Yao women that will grab your attention—it is their 2m long hair. How did people living in a remote Chinese village with no access to luxury hair products achieve 2m long hair?

Yao women take their hair very seriously, with girls only cutting their hair once in their lifetime. For these girls, their hair is something to be show off and be proud of—especially since they have to cover their hair till they get married.

How Yao Women Prepare Rice Water Hair Rinses

While preparing rice water may sound easy, it actually requires a lot of effort and time—sometimes even months. To make the hair rinse, rice is boiled in water inside a massive clay plot with an open fire.

Several other fragrant ingredients are added—the main one being citrus peels. The Yao women use Pomelo peels along with other minor ingredients like ginger and fleeceflower root. The boiled mixture is then drained to remove solid particles and poured into containers to be fermented. The fermentation process takes several days, with some even leaving it for over a month.

Science of Rice Water For Hair Growth

Technically, there is no miracle hair treatment that can speed up your rate of hair growth. That is all down to your genetics. However, rice water can reduce hair loss and breakage, so that more of your hair strands are left to grow longer.

Rice has vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and proteins that are very beneficial for hair growth. Studies have also shown that a compound found in rice, called inositol, can repair damaged hair by infiltrating deep into damaged hair shafts. This results in hair looking smoother, shinier and drastically reduces tangling. The fermentation allows nutrients in the rice water to become even more potent.

Rice Water Products To Try

However, the process of boiling and fermenting rice water can be quite tedious and time consuming. So, leave the hard work to the professionals! If you want to give Rice Water a try without going through the hassles, click to check out our White Rice Serum.

This White Rice Hair Serum is rich in Vitamin E, minerals, important amino acids and B Vitamins—even more than in regular DIY rice water.

Use a drop of it to deeply massage your scalp. This will increase circulation to the area and help the serum penetrate deep into the hair follicles. Over time, your hair becomes super shiny and smooth, which automatically reduces tangling and breakage.