To keep their skin beautiful, despite the pink and white foundation layers she applies on daily basis, the geisha washes her face with rice water. This century-old practice is becoming more and more popular today, and rice is involved in cosmetic products in a variety of forms.

Scrabs made of rice bran, rice flour masks, rice water toners, they can all be easily prepared at home and at affordable prices, without damaging the skin like chemically-derived ingredients, promoting a lighter complexion.

Cheap, yet effective

500 gr rice flour is enough for your beautifying masks during the next few months!

The rice flour is mixed with water until you obtain a thick paste, then apply the so-prepared mixture to the face and neck with slight massage movements and after about 15-20 minutes wash it off. Rice flour is made from milled rice (powdered), so even it can be prepared at home, by simply using a blender.

The water left after the rice is cooked can be also considered a finished cosmetic product. It is enough to boil some rice until completely cooked – it usually takes about 15-20 minutes, depending on the particular rice type you are using. Then leave it for another 10 minutes and separate the white and slightly dense liquid that remains on the surface.

Instead of throwing it, pour it into a bottle and wash your face with it every day or every other day. If you dilute it with some rose water, you get a completely natural homemade toner you can use to clean the skin with a cotton swab (perform the procedure every evening just before bedtime).

The rice water provides an additional benefit during the winter season. Those, suffering eczema (atopic dermatitis [1]) or cold allergies, affecting the skin on the hands and face can successfully eliminate the problem by applying rice water to the sensitive areas just before going out. Rice water also relieves the inflamed corners of the lips. This is due to the antioxidant activities and skin hydrating effects of rice [2].

According to the ancient Japanese, it also acts as a beneficial hair balm. It gives the hair a natural shine and makes it thicker and stronger. That’s why the Japanese women have long and glossy hair.

Benefits of rice

Rice contains a large amount of aminobenzoic acid, which provides a sun protection and is the main ingredient in SPF creams and lotions.

There are two other ingredients, playing an important role when it comes to skin regeneration – ferulic acid [4], which is proven to have strong antioxidant and anti-aging properties and allantoin [5] – a gentle, non-irritating, skin hydrating agent that helps exfoliate the outer layer of the epidermis and promotes new tissue formation.

Thanks to them, rice masks soothe the irritated skin, which is often associated with acne breakouts. It is also used for the removal of pigment spots, freckles, and acne scars, as it provides a lightening effect on the outermost skin layer making blemishes disappear. In India, people often use cooked rice (white) as a skin-healing ointment.

Nutritional value

Besides the skincare products that can be made of the pearl grains, rice also provides the skin with various nutrients.

That’s why Ayurvedic specialists recommended rice products for the high nutritional value they can provide after undergoing as little processing as possible before it reaches the consumer.

In the white rice, which is the most popular, the grain, the germ, and the pollen are removed. Still, white rice is among the super nutricious foods – it is rich in protein and fiber, free of cholesterol and harmful fat. The manganese in it is beneficial for the bones, nails, and skin, and strengthens the immune system.

Historical reference

Despite the long hours of work on the rice fields under the bright sun, women in Japan have always been famous for their porcelain skin- white, soft, smooth, and blemish-free.

Today scientists believe that this paradox is due to the fact that women working in the rice fields, used the water left after the rice was cooked as a facial cleanser, just like geishas did.

They transferred this tradition to their homes and even expanded it to the point that they even bathed in rice water. That is why rice is traditionally considered a universal source of beauty in Asian cultures.

References

1. Efficacy of Fermented Rice Flour for the fix of Atopic Dermatitis
   https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03157284
2. Antioxidant activities and skin hydration effects of rice bran bioactive compounds entrapped in niosomes.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21449379
3. What Is It: Ferulic Acid
   https://www.truthinaging.com/review/what-is-it-ferulic-acid
4. Allantoin
   https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/allantoin

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