Rice water (kanji) as a beauty aid
Rice Water (RW), or Kanji in most Indian languages, is a beauty secret for the skin, especially in Asia and more amongst the Japanese women.
RW has been a great beauty product but never advertised as such.
RW is useful on all skin types – dry, oily or normal skin. It can be used as body scrub, thereby helps remove the dead cells.
Use homemade rice water as it is chemical free and fresh.
Procedure to make RW at home: Take rice, preferably organic rice as it is pesticide-free and wash it with water until final water appears clean. Boil the rice till it is cooked. Now drain the water in a vessel ensuring it does not have any rice grains. The RQ is ready for use.
Rice water as a beauty aid:
- Skin Toner: Damp a cotton ball with freshly made rice water and apply it on your face. It will even your skin tone and help in keeping the skin smooth and glowing.
- Reduces skin pore size: Sometimes the pores in the skin become big and give a unhealthy look to the skin. Wet a cotton ball in rice water and apply it on your skin. The rice water acts as an astringent and tightens the pores, making it smaller. Do this on alternate days to have a normal skin.
- Acne: Applying it on the acne area by using a cotton ball reduces the redness effect.
- Deals with eczema: The starch component in RW helps in dealing with eczema. Make sure that the drained water after boiling the rice is a bit hazy as it would have enough starch. Regular application will treat eczema.
- Skin Lightening: RW is a great skin lightener and is as beneficial if not more than the artificial products. Try it and see. Use RW as a regular face wash to get that glow on your face. It will also gradually lighten your skin tone. Damp the cotton in rice water and apply on your face. Let it air dry. Keep it for 5 minutes and wash with water.
- Hair Mask: Use RW as hair mask to get that long silky shiny hair. Pour the rice water on your hair and scalp and let it stay for about 5 minutes. after which wash it with normal water. The shampoo it and apply a conditioner.
Written by: Dr. Ajay Sati.