The 5 Amazing Benefits of Rice Water for Skin

You may have heard of the wonders rice water can do for hair, but do you know how it affects your skin? Though it’s so simple to make, not enough people know of the healing and anti-aging properties of rice water for skin, so not everyone makes their own rice water. We’ll show you how to create your own batch and what it can do for your skin.

What Is Rice Water?

Have you ever rinsed off your rice and wondered why the water looked so cloudy? Rice water is the starch and minerals left over, and it can work wonders on both your hair and skin. Fortunately, rice water for skin is full of benefits and is both natural and affordable. You can leave your skin glowing while keeping your hair shiny, all thanks to soaking some rice over a couple of days.

Many people who enjoy the properties of rice water use it as a toner — which means it would go on your face after your cleanser but before your moisturizer. If you want to skip paying a potentially high price for rice water toner, you can make your own rice water for just the cost of the rice, then pour it into a spray bottle and keep it refrigerated.

How to Make Rice Water for Skin

The good news is that you don’t need to search for a particular kind of rice, as any kind will work for this water full of benefits. It’s a fully cost-effective skincare product, and you might be surprised by how cheaply you can make rice water for skin. Since you can make it from home, you may never turn to a store-bought product again.

You’ll need to soak the rice for about two days, then stir and strain it. Cover the rice water with a towel or something similar, then let it sit for a while to ferment. Once it starts to smell, put it in an airtight container, like a jar with a lid, and refrigerate it for a few days. This fermentation process allows the rice to access its full beauty properties. Alternatively, if you’re worried about any harmful additives in your rice, you can boil it first to ensure you’re working with the purest product possible. 

Rice Water for Skin: What to Know

Fortunately, there’s no real wrong way to use rice water for skin. The easiest way to implement it into your routine is by making it a toner, which can help refresh your skin after a potentially harsh cleanser. If you have the time to make rice water or even feel like buying your own, you can reap several of the benefits listed here — and maybe some that aren’t.

1. It Could Fight Aging

Though there is still limited evidence for it, rice water could have some properties that can help you in your battle against aging. Rice water can suppress elastase, which leads to the aging of skin. If used diligently, the routine you’ve created of rice water for skin might just help you look your best at every age — and may even smooth out some wrinkles and help you feel confident in your skin.

2. It Might Help You Avoid Dry Skin

Rice water isn’t a replacement for your moisturizer. However, using too many skincare products might make your skin dry and flaky. The healing properties of rice water can combat that, allowing you to use your favorite products while feeling confident in your skin. It could also help with any eczema flare-ups.

3. It Can Brighten Your Skin

The odds are that you’ve dealt with acne at some point in your life, whether it was as a teenager or even into adulthood. Researching acne over time might have given you a better idea of what to do about breakouts as you age, but research alone can’t turn back the clock on any mistakes you’ve made with your face in the past. 

Luckily, certain products can help you achieve brighter skin. Rice water is one of those products. By fermenting your rice water over time, it may gain properties that can brighten your skin and even fade acne scars. Using rice water for skin can help you feel more confident and likely even out your skin tone.

Always remember that your body tries to tell you when something is wrong. Many people subscribe to acne mapping, the practice in which a person looks at where their acne originates to see potentially larger problems with the body as a whole. For example, acne on the nose might be linked to the heart and too high cholesterol or blood pressure. Make sure to talk to a health care professional if you’re concerned.

4. It Might Aid Your Sunscreen

Rice bran was used as far back as 3100 BCE by the ancient Egyptians, as it had some UV protection properties. While rice water isn’t exactly the same, rice may still have some properties that can go hand-in-hand with other natural ingredients in your sunscreen that can protect your skin from harsh rays. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use sunscreen daily because you use rice water — protecting your skin should always be most important to you, whether rice water helps or not.

5. It Can Soothe Inflammation

Are you worried about redness and inflammation in your skin? Alternatively, you could have a rash you don’t want to show off. Rice water has soothing properties that may take some of the redness out of your face. The amino acids in fermented rice water can help restore collagen, which will help your skin rebuild after something like a rash or sunburn.

How to Incorporate Rice Water for Skin Into Your Routine

Rice water for skin shouldn’t be abrasive or harsh on your face, but you should start slow when implementing it into your regular routine. Particularly sensitive skin can begin using it once a week, then gradually work up to daily use as long as there are no adverse side effects. Before long, you may just be using rice water in your routine every day! Then, you can look back and see how significant a difference it made in your life.