Fermented Rice Water

[Decoy24601]

So, I did my first fermented rice water soak today. I let my rice water ferment at room temperature for about 18 hours until it was cloudy and had a lightly sour smell and rinsed my scalp and hair in it and soaked the length of my hair for 30 mins. I drew a hot bath and poured the rest of my rice water in. After that I rinsed my hair and scalp with tea I made from some herbs I had around the house and poured the remainder of that in the bath as well. I let the tea soak into my scalp for a few minutes and then washed it and soaked in the tub for about 20 mins. My hair is drying now and wow, it already feels so soft. The argan oil conditioner I was using before made my hair soft too, but it completely weighed my hair down to where my naturally wavy hair couldn't even hold tight braid-waves. My ends feel so good, I don't even feel like using my hair moisturizer. I'll be doing this for once a week from now on. My hair and skin seem to absolutely love fermented rice water. I also wiped my face with some of it and let it soak in. I have issues with my face being irritated and red from the products that keep my acne at bay and my skin tone looks a fair amount more even and it feels so soft.

[Hairkay]

Hmm, what's with the trend of wasting rice? Can't you just use the rice water from rice you've already washed or cooked? That's how it was originally used.

[Decoy24601]

I can't speak for other people, but my SO makes rice all the time so I was able to just use water from rinsing that rice.

I don't think a single cup of rice would be as wasteful as what other people use on their hair anyways. Some people use eggs and other raw food ingredients and sometimes in larger quantities, how is this any different?

[samanthaa]

I did a FRW soak last Saturday, 1 cup of rice to 4 cups of water, left to sit for about 36 hours. I let my hair soak in the mixture for about fifteen minutes, I think, before hopping in the shower and S&C'ing. I can't say I noticed much of a difference, but I'm planning to try it again this Saturday.

[dfotw]

I also use the 'rinse water' from the rice my dad makes every week, but I hardly think using a cup of rice is more 'wasteful' than the honey in SMTs, the eggs for washing, the soy sauce for protein treatments, the vinegar for rinsing, etc, etc. If it works for people, it's all good!

More on-topic, I'm still using this faithfully every week, and I love it! The one thing I've noticed is that FRW doesn't mix well with ROO (rinse-out oil), so I just skip the oil on days I've used the rice water.

[Hairkay]

I can't speak for other people, but my SO makes rice all the time so I was able to just use water from rinsing that rice.

I don't think a single cup of rice would be as wasteful as what other people use on their hair anyways. Some people use eggs and other raw food ingredients and sometimes in larger quantities, how is this any different?

Well the rice doesn't have to be used that way. I cup of rice is enough to make a meal for one. I'm sure if eggs etc just had by products to be used others would have been able to chose that method.

[ephemeri]

I'm on my second FRW rinse today (I'm doing once weekly rinses). I used white rice this time, 1/2 c in about 2 c of water. Since it's not organic rice, I rinsed it a few times first before I let it sit for about 2 days. I think it was too long though because it smelled kinda funky, a little more than just sour. But I'm being brave so I rinsed my hair with it anyway, after I put a couple drops of my favorite EO blend to mask the smell haha

I'll let it sit in my hair for 30-40 minutes then co-wash and condition. I want to believe my hair was shedding less this week but I don't really have a way to measure for sure, just eyeballing it.

I think next time I will rinse it briefly again, then let it soak in the water for about 20 minutes, remove the rice and let the water sit. That way I can cook the rice and it's still edible. One thing I really like about this method is that it feels good knowing I'm putting something so natural on my hair. It really makes me think about slimming down my routine to the bare essentials with only natural products. I don't know if I could actually do that and ever be able to wear my hair down but it does make me think....

[ephemeri]

Checking in. Just did my 3rd weekly FRW rinse. I rinsed 1/2 c. rice a little first, then let it sit in 2 c. of water for about 30 minutes. I took the rice out and let the water sit for about 2 days, covered on the kitchen counter.

This time instead of doing the FRW and then shampooing/conditioning, I shampoo'd/conditioned, then soaked my hair in the FRW. I let it sit in my hair for 30 minutes or so then rinsed with just water. I wanted to see how this would work ... hoping there won't be any rice-y residue but I guess I'll find out.

[Decoy24601]

I'm doing another FRW soak tomorrow with brown rice and will let you guys know how it goes. My SO and I decided to try out cooking with brown rice and hated it, so I figure that's one way to use it up without completely wasting it and letting it sit. It's only a small bag anyways.

[sumirechan]

Hello! Hope everyone is doing great! This thread has been very helpful to me, as I am a newbie FRW user. I just have some questions for the FRW users here:

1. I read in some websites that you need to dilute the fermented ricewater before using it for hair care . Do you have to? And if you do, what is the ratio of fermented ricewater vis-a-vis water?

2. After you ferment the ricewater, do you need to boil the FRW before using it? The reason that I'm asking is that some FRW users advice to boil before use, while others just immediately use it. So, I got confused. I also saw a video of a Yao woman doing an FRW tutorial where she boiled the FRW and added some orange peelings and shavings from a cake of camellia oil. Here is the video for reference: https://youtu.be/CEOUIWYGfn8

Would appreciate any help and feedback for the questions I have above.