Yep, ya gals been at the kitchen cupboard again!
This time, I wanted to try out the rumoured prodigy that is rice water for hair.
Josh has started hiding his weekly Tesco big shop in the fear that heâs going to find me sat around with bits of crushed up Sour Cream & Onion Pringles in my hair or something.
A few weeks ago, I posted about my experiences using raw eggs on my hair to boost condition and support healthy growth: https://www.carajasminebradley.com/post/i-washed-my-hair-in-eggs-this-is-what-happened đł
People raised their eyes, people were sceptical, and people thought I was simply having a yoke with them... (Note to self, Cazza: nobody but you finds endless egg puns remotely funny. Stop.)
Despite the dubious critics, I am proud to come out as a proud supporter of TEAM EGG.
I think I made it quite clear in my original blog how I impressed I was with raw egg hair masks after just one use. I am a complete convert! Since my very first experiment back in June, I have incorporated eggs into my hair care routine every week.
The results have been incredible - funnily enough, far, far better than any expensive product I have ever been tricked into buying!
A friend at work initially alerted me to the growing trend of rice water for hair, and you know me: I love do a natural remedy! Obviously, I was all over it.
I spent that lunchtime gathering all of the science-y evidence and ogling âbefore and afterâ pics. (Oohh, I canât get enough of a good before and after! My faves at the moment are reels of people cleaning their hobs with The Pink Stuff. Soooo satisfying!!! đ)
â ď¸ Hereâs what I learned about the benefits of rice water:
𤯠Rice water has been popular in Asia for thousands of years. In Japan, many women attribute their floor-length hair to rice water. In China, Yao women â who have locks up to SIX FOOT LONG â claim their length is also a result of rice water. (Seriously, Google Yao Women. Hair goals FOR DAYS.) Apparently, they also claim that rice water wards off grey hair, which was evidence enough to get me reaching for the Pilaf. At just 28, I look like some sort of starved racoon with my white streaks.
𤯠Rice water is bursting vitamins and minerals, including amino acids, B vitamins, vitamin E and antioxidants. Regularly applying rice water to the scalp nourishes hair.
𤯠Benefits of washing hair in rice water include shinier, smoother tresses, promotion of growth and an increase in overall hair health.
Ready to rice 'n' roll! (... that was such a terrible pun, even I have been forced to disown myself. đ¤Śđťââď¸)
Two weeks ago, I tried rice water for the first time and to be honest, I wasnât overly amazed. I felt disappointed, but vowed to give it another chance. After doing some further research, I realised that I had applied it at the wrong stage of my wash. Iâd mixed my eggs and olive oil into it and used the whole thing before shampooing and conditioning. For the best results, itâs advised that rice water is used after shampooing, and before conditioning (some websites even state that conditioning is not necessary after rice water, although I donât think this is advisable with my coarse, thick hair. My hair DRINKS conditioner like Ribena).
The second time I used rice water â last Sunday â I applied it as recommended, and WOW! My hair literally expanded! It felt exceedingly full! I received endless comments about how 'voluminous' my tresses looked.
Remember at school when we learned that onomatopoeia is the fascinating art of a word resembles the sound it makes? Well, I onomatopoeia-d the hell outta my hair, post-rice. My hair full-on SWISHED. Like, when you read the word âswish,â you can actually hear it, canât you? SWIIIIIISH.
That was my hair after my second rice appliance. Sooo swishy!!
It was only my second time using the rice water technique (and only my first time doing it correctly), and so I am intrigued to see the long-term benefits.
One thing I have certainly noticed is that my split ends appear to look a lot less, well, split. I'm currently 6 weeks into my 8-weekly trim so my ends are pretty bad at the moment. That being said, the rice water has definitely made my hair feel sleeker and has eradicated the appearance of dead ends and dryness.
âI think there a few pieces of ham left in the fridge if you want to try them, too,â Josh remarked sarcastically as I twisted this way and that in the mirror, tossing my egg-y, rice-y, olive-y locks.
Mate, Iâm not ruling anything out!
You start to view the world very differently when you realise that the whole beauty industry is a lie. 𤣠Thousands of pounds Iâve spend over the years on pointless products and false promises, when all along, my true saviours were basking in the humble depths of my kitchen cupboard, alongside my stash of plastic straws (sorry) and borderline-obsessive jars of Marmite.
One thing is for sure, though: I will be making rice-water a regular addition to my hair washing formula, alongside my trusty old olive oil and my eggs-delight.
So, to recap, here is my new and improved hair routine:
1. Lightly dampen hair
2. Crack three eggs in a bowl and remove yolk (I use three eggs due to the length and thickness of my hair, but you may be able to get away with one or two)
3. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture and stir
4. Apply to hair from root to tip. Massage into scalp.
5. Leave for an hour and in this time, prepare the rice.
6. Rinse a cup of rice (you can use any rice, apparently. I used standard brown Aldi rice, which I noted with irritation has also risen in price, much like every other thing in the world at the moment. No wonder Iâm raiding my cupboards for beauty tips!)
7. Add the rice to a bowl and add three cups of water until rice is submerged
8. Use a spoon to swill rice around the bowl, releasing all the good stuff (omg I havenât used the word âswillâ for ages and I love it!)
9. Leave sitting at room temperate for an hour
10. Once the hour is up, sieve the rice, catching the water in a jug.
11. Wash the egg and olive oil off your hair. I always find that I have to shampoo at least twice to fully rid my scalp of the residue
12. Now itâs up to you how you do the next bit â if you just want to simply wash your hair in the rice water, then you can pour over your scalp and massage it in, distributing evenly up and down the shaft (oo er). I personally like to continue with my single-handed over-consumption of the UKâs dwindling water supply by leaving the rice mixture on my hair for a further hour, which does mean another shower later on, but also means shiny-shiny hair...
13. Whether you wash the rice water out instantly or after an hour, be sure to just go over your mane with a quick slick of conditioner to lock in the moisture.
14. Voila!
Yes, it all sounds like an absolute bloody mission, but long locks donât just rock up overnight (well, they do if you cheat with extensions, etc, in which case I envy you. My hair is like a full time job!). I only wash my hair once a week so I do try to find the time to really look after it.
There is a picture of one of the Yao Women with her hair wrapped around her husbandâs neck, and having given it a lot of thought, I think that is one of my main ambitions in life: to be able to lasso Josh with my hair. Or dangle my hair out of the top window into the kitchen and lasso my Biscoff Kit Kat bar. Priorities, and all that.
Stay tuned for next monthâs foodie instalment, where I will be trying out the âMarmite Fake Tanâ craze!!*
(*I made that up. Please donât use Marmite as fake tan. But then again, if you do use it and it works and you take the idea to Dragonâs Den, donât forget to credit me. Iâll PM you my bank deets x)
My hair before & after washing it in eggs and rice water
Cara Jasmine Bradley Š
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