Leave it to TikTok to introduce yet another beauty hack we didn’t know we needed. This time, it’s all about rice and it all boils down to our hair health. According to research compiled by LOOKFANTASTIC, the trend “Rice water for hair growth” has garnered a solid 284.1 million views, and we don’t see the trend fizzling down anytime soon.
According to beauty database Spate, online searches for rice water are not solely attached to TikTok—in the past year, online searches for rice water have skyrocketed to over 10.2 percent.
To address whether or not this trend is “fact or CAP”, Troy, MI plastic surgeon Tony Youn, MD shared an in-depth video on his Instagram account, and got straight to business: “Rice water contains inositol and it is believed that that can actually help your hair grow quicker and longer and be more healthy—this is fact.” The concoction also contains amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins B and E, says the doctor.
As it turns out, this practice has been around far longer than any social media has existed. During the Heian period in Japan, women were known to have floor-length hair that they kept healthy by rinsing with rice water, a practice known as Yu‐Su‐Ru.
To create the rice water mix, all you’ll need is one cup of rice and one cup of water. Simply strain your rice to drain any dirt or toxins out of the ingredient before mixing the rice with the water until the water becomes cloudy. Next, strain the rice and save the water in a bowl or a jar to ferment for at least 12 hours at room temperature. Keep the mixture refrigerated until you’re ready to apply it to damp hair post-shampoo. Pro tip: We like to pour our rice water into a spray bottle for easy application.
