Rice Water

A couple of weeks ago my friend told me that Rice Water had made her hair thicker so I started to do some research into the use of Rice Water for hair. A YouTuber who had been using Rice Water for years said that the protein in Rice Water made her hair dry out so I was a bit reluctant to use it. I was interested to learn that Rice Water contains a beneficial nutrient called Inositol. I checked the Cosmetic Ingredients database  and learned that Inositol is a humectant, a hair conditioner and an antistatic agent (detangler), so I ordered some Inositol powder online. The Inositol powder arrived on 1st May and I decided to wait until my hair grew longer before using it.

In the early hours of this morning I decided to do some further research into Rice Water to see if it could repair the sun damaged hair on the top of my head. In this study the researchers studied the effectiveness of Rice Water, Inositol, Rice Bran Oil, Phytic Acid and Hydrolyzed Rice Protein and found that these ingredients are all beneficial for the hair. Inositol and Phytic Acid were both found to be more effective at reducing surface friction, increasing tensile strength and improving gloss than using Rice Water alone. Hydrolyzed Rice Protein was found to have similar benefits to using Rice Water and Rice Bran Oil was found to be less effective at reducing surface friction but more effective at strengthening the hair. The study found that Rice Water caused flaking when used alone and it also contains a number of non-beneficial nutrients. 

In order to get the benefits of Rice Water without the negative side effects, I've decided to make myself a conditioner using some of Rice Water's beneficial nutrients. I made myself some Flax Seed gel a few days ago and Flax Seeds contain Phytic Acid so I will use that gel as my base. Flax Seed Gel usually causes flaking in my hair, so I added 15% glycerin and I haven't experienced any flaking. 

According to the aforementioned study, Rice Water contains 4% Inositol so I plan to use this amount in the conditioner. The study suggests that Rice Water contains 16% protein but that is way too high. I have some Hydrolyzed Keratin from Croda and their studies have shown it to be effective at 0.2% (2% diluted with water) so I will use that amount in the conditioner. The study indicates that Rice Water contains 10% Triglycerides and 10% 'other lipids'. I have some Rice Bran Oil at home as I have been using it in a hair pomade but I don't want to add it to the conditioner because I will need to add an emulsifier and that would dilute the Phytic Acid content down even further. Instead of adding the Rice Bran Oil to the conditioner I think that it would be more beneficial for me to apply Rice Bran Oil directly to my hair after applying the conditioner. 

I don't expect the conditioner to make my hair thicker or longer but I'm hoping that it will help to repair my sun damaged hair. Stay tuned for the results!