Fermented Rice Water

**Anje** · May 23rd, 2016, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Sarahlabyrinth

Can you eat the rice after you have soaked it for 24 hours? It seems like a waste if you can't.

My understanding is that this is usually rinse water, not water that the rice has been soaking in for all that time. So you let it soak for a few minutes, strain the rice, and cook it. Keep the water around that you used to wash the rice and use it the next day on your hair.

**Sarahlabyrinth** · May 23rd, 2016, 02:41 PM

Well I allowed my rice water to sit for 24 hours then used it. It may not have fermented much as it is currently very cold here, but I used it and my hair is feeling very nice. I shall experiment further.

**Shorty89** · May 25th, 2016, 10:15 PM

I think I finally did things right. I've never gotten the water to get a true sour smell, or be as white/cloudy as it looked in the video. But instead of just soaking the rice for a bit, then taking it out/waiting, I rinsed the rice in really hot water and "caught" the rinse water in a bowl. Then I let that sit covered for two days and Voila! Perfect water!

**Morri** · June 10th, 2016, 03:23 PM

This sounds amazing and I will definitely try it next time I have to wash my hair. I have brown, wild and black rice, I wonder if they all have the same effect? Also, as this rice is fermented, I'm wondering if hair can be washed with kombucha (fermented tea) too! Too bad I don't brew it anymore, otherwise I would experiment

**Morri** · June 17th, 2016, 07:53 PM

Hmm I tried washing with fermented rice only and it didnt clean my hair at all. Then I just did as in the video - rice water and shampoo as usual. I ended up with waxies and didnt notice any improvement in appearance or feel of hair. Will be trying again as a pre wash treatment

**Morri** · June 17th, 2016, 07:55 PM

P.S. I was cooked and ate that fermented rice, it didnt taste any different and took less to cook

**Gvnagitlvgei** · June 18th, 2016, 04:13 PM

I've been away from here for eons of time... Anyway, I'm going to try it. You shouldn't boil it because you'll destroy the nutrients. You can also use the rice water as a facial tonic. Lots of B vitamins good for hair and skin.

ETA: Going to rinse with this as the final after my henna gloss this evening.

**CarrotTop** · June 23rd, 2016, 01:36 AM

Fermented rice water is the best!

I typically make it by leaving a pitcher of rice and water on the counter for 4 days or so. (I live in a cold climate, so it takes a little longer for it to ferment.) I let it sit in my hair for about 30 minutes before I shampoo. I haven't been using FRW for long, but I notice that I haven't been needing to oil my hair as often. I've found that it softens my hair really well without making it greasy.

**pailin** · June 23rd, 2016, 02:35 AM

I cooked rice on Tuesday, so I saved the water from washing it before I cooked it (all the while thinking 'LHC is making me nuts, I can't believe I'm doing this!'

). I stuck it in the fridge, then used it before shampooing my hair last night. I really did the minimum amount with it- I refrigerated it and only kept it for one day, then dumped it on my hair in the shower, so only left it on maybe 3-5 minutes before CWC as usual- and it really did make my hair feel nice!
Next time I'm not putting it in the fridge, because it was still pretty cold when I used it. I usually cook rice about 2x/week, so I think I will have to continue doing this.

**ephemeri** · June 28th, 2016, 06:12 PM

I tried this for a second time today. (I did a FRW rinse a month or two ago and for some reason forgot about it and didn't do it again until now!)

Yesterday I found some old red(!) rice that we're never going to eat. I rinsed it, let a 1/2 c sit, covered, in 4 cups of water overnight. This morning it was cloudy and had a lightly sour smell so I poured it over my hair until it was saturated, squeezed the excess out, and put my hair up in a big claw clip and let it sit for 30 minutes. I then co-washed and conditioned. I was happy to see that it didn't lift any of my henna/indigo out, especially since I only just henna'd yesterday.

I didn't notice any big differences in my hair texture but I'm also kind of playing around with my styling product routine so it's a little hard tell. If anything my hair feels a little more full? And it didn't seem to get very frizzy even though it was crazy high humidity today. What I'm really looking for is a decrease in shedding and an increase in hair strength in general ... will report back if I get more to report!