Black Rice Water Treatments

My experience (thus far) using Black Rice Water

Y’all know as a whole, we’re real good about jumping on the bandwagon of trending styles and turning junkie over the newest products. (At this point, it’s kind of a “thing”), But still, rice water though?

After doing some research for months after seeing so many of y’all posting videos on your rice water hits and misses), I decided that I would conduct my own rice water experiment. The only way to truly walk this natural hair journey is through trials and errors.

Benefits

Black rice was once called the “Forbidden Rice” in China and at one time was reserved only for the Emperor and his royal staff.

The outer husk of the black rice is removed during processing and the result is brown rice. After further processing and removing an additional layer, white rice remains. These husks are rich in nutrients which make the unprocessed black rice more protein-rich and higher in antioxidants than all other rice.

Aside from black rice, I only recomend wild rice for rice water treatments as they both contain the highest nutrient content without processing.

Rice water is acidic. While the word “acid” scares me, rice water will actually balance the ph on your hair and scalp, helping to restore your scalp health, including clarifying and removing dandruff.

It offers the benefits of a protein treatment, strengthening the hair and reducing shedding.

Some folks, like myself, also noticed softer hair.

For me, the ph-balancing abilities of rice water contributed to a refreshed scalp. It had no smell and left no residue on my hair. I noticed less itching, and, because of my eczema, that's always a plus.

Fermentation

When fermenting the rice, I used a 1:3 ratio of rice to water because, unlike white rice, it will essentially cook itself and completely absorb the water. The amount of water left over will be dark, nutrient rich and reddish-purple color.

Keep in mind, the fermentation process involves soaking your rice in water in an air-tight container for 24 or so hours. The actual fermentation process causes the water to become acidic and form healthy bacteria. It won't be a visible growth of bacteria, but, you will actually notice tiny bubbles forming, similar to a carbonated drink. You may notice a short “fizzle” sound when opening your air-tight container.

(Did you make the sound in your head when you read “fizzle”? Lol, I did!)

I did NOT notice a funky smell coming from my water like some people did. I took note of their experiences and poured a few drops each of peppermint and rosemary essential oils into my rice water before sealing my glass bottle. Lesson learned in advance! It pays to study.

I also blended a chunk of ginger with water in my Nutri Bullet. No real meaurements here. I just made sure the ginger was covered with water before I blended.

I strained that blend and poured it in with my rice water before using.

Ginger is a great scalp and follicle stimulant which encourages hair growth. It has antiseptic properties and it doesn't hurt that it leaves the hair and scalp smelling great.

Treatment

I wanted to use my rice water as a leave-in hair and scalp treatment. I have locs and my thick, 4C, high density, high porosity hair NEEDS water and LOVES oils. I don't shed much with locs but my dry scalp becomes itchy…which cause me to scratch…which causes my scalp to break…and my dry hair to snap… which we don't want.

So, I started with clean hair. I washed first with African Black Soap and then Dr. Bronnor’s peppermint castle soap.

I keep all my products natural, especially when my eczema flares up. The itchiness and dry, dark patches are irritating and embarrassing.

I have a habit of scratching my scalp so I have to be careful with which essential oils I use on my hair. I added Peppermint Oil. It is antibacterial so it’s great for combatting dandruff. It has a cooling effect and smells phenomenal. Tea Tree would have easily been a runner-up. It is an antiseptic, so, while it will cleanse and clarify the scalp, it is also drying. Another, moisturizing oil like lavender pairs well. Lavender is great for scalp stimulation, hair growth and itchiness.

My locs after washing and applying rice water and oils.

After I washed, I sprayed my locs and scalp with the rice water mix. I did not wash it out. I tied my locs up and wrapped them with saran wrap. I don't know how long I kept it wrapped. I forgot about it and went about my day.

That night for sure, I took the saran wrap off and applied my oil blend to my locs and scalp (shea nut, jojoba, macadamia nut, hempseed, avocado + lavender, peppermint and rosemary essential oils).

I two-strand twist my locs, air dried over night and sat under the dryer the next day.

My intention was to use the rice water every other day- and I did, for the first few days, then, I don't know, I just kept spraying whenever I felt like it. I definitely liked the way my mix smelled with the ginger water and peppermint essential oil.

Also, EVERY time I sprayed my rice water blend, I applied my oils and YES, I did apply my water and oils to my locs AND scalp.

What I've noticed:

My locs feel softer. I was paying most attention to the area by my nape, where I used to have my undercut. I started some new locs there tbat are about five inches long now. I don't retwist my hair often, but my baby locs, I don't retwist them AT ALL.

All that being said, I have a lot of new growth I get to play with when I'm testing ingredients. My hair really does feel softer all over and I noticed my scalp hasn't been as itchy as it usually is.

A lot of naturals showed super growth using rice water as early as two to four weeks after starting. I haven't used it long enough to test how much growth I gained from using it but trust that I'll be posting my results when it's time. It's honestly only been one week.

DRAWBACKS:

The only thing I had an issue with was some itching the first time I applied my rice water mix. It went away after I applied my oils. I had some itching the second time using my rice water but not as much as before. No itch after that. My 4C hair loves water so I was applying it daily to my SCALP by days five and six and to my actual locs every other day.