Rice water and rosemary have both been part of hair routines for a long time, and both are easy to make at home. Here is how to make them, how to use them, and an honest look at what is known about whether they work.
What you need
- 1/2 cup uncooked white or jasmine rice
- 2 cups of water, plus more for rinsing
- 2 or 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, or 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary
- A clean glass jar with a lid, a fine strainer, and a clean spray bottle
How to make rice water
- Rinse the rice in a bowl of cool water for a few seconds and drain, to remove surface dust.
- Soak it: put the rice in the jar with 2 cups of fresh water. Stir, and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature until the water turns cloudy and milky.
- Strain the water into a clean container. Save the rice for cooking.
- Optional, to ferment it: leave the strained water in a covered jar at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. It will smell slightly sour. Then move it to the refrigerator. Shorter is safer, and more time at room temperature is not better.
Fermenting is a tradition, not a requirement. Plain unfermented rice water is simpler and has a lower chance of going bad.
How to make rosemary water
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add the rosemary and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, cover, and let it cool completely.
- Strain into a clean jar or spray bottle.
Put them together
Mix equal parts rice water and rosemary water in a clean spray bottle. Shake before each use.
How long it keeps
Homemade water has no preservative. Keep it in the refrigerator and use it within 5 to 7 days. Throw it out sooner if it smells rotten (not just mildly sour), looks slimy or has mold. Bacteria on your scalp are not what you want to feed, so clean the bottle between batches.
How to use it: wet hair or dry hair?
Either works, and it comes down to what you prefer.
- Wet hair, after shampooing: spray the scalp and lengths, massage in for a minute or two, leave for a few minutes if you like, then rinse. This is the most common way.
- Damp or dry hair, as a leave-in: spray a light mist on the scalp and massage. A little goes a long way, and heavy spraying can leave hair feeling stiff.
Start once or twice a week and see how your hair feels. If it gets dry, brittle or stiff, use it less often or rinse it out. Some people find rice water too protein-heavy for their hair type.
Does it work?
Here is what we found, as plainly as we can put it:
- Rosemary: the main human study is a 2015 trial by Panahi and colleagues in Skinmed. It compared rosemary oil with 2% minoxidil in people with a common type of hair loss, and both groups had similar changes in hair count after six months. That was an oil, used in a controlled trial. It does not show that homemade rosemary water does the same, because a simmered tea has far less of the oil in it.
- Rice water: most of what we have is lab work, and tradition. We cover this in detail in Does Rice Water Help Hair Growth?. Short version: there are no good human trials showing it grows hair.
- The honest conclusion: homemade versions are low-risk and many people enjoy them for how hair feels, but the research does not show that they grow hair.
For the rosemary research in full, see Rosemary Oil for Hair Growth: What the Research Says.
Safety
- Patch test on your inner arm first. Rosemary can irritate some skin.
- Stop if your scalp itches, burns or turns red.
- Keep it away from your eyes.
- If you are pregnant, have a scalp condition, or are losing hair suddenly, check with a doctor before starting.
If you would rather not make it
Homemade is cheap, but it takes time and it does not last. We make a ready-to-use fermented rice water and rosemary spray, so read that with the knowledge that we sell it. It is a conditioning mist for softer, shinier hair, and we make no claims that it grows hair. The ingredients, including rosemary extract, keratin, biotin and aloe, are listed on its page.
The short version
- Soak rice 30 minutes, simmer rosemary 15 to 20 minutes, and mix equal parts.
- Keep it in the fridge and use it within a week.
- Use it on wet or dry hair, once or twice a week to start.
- It is safe for most people to try, but the research does not show it grows hair.
Sources
- Panahi Y, et al. Rosemary oil vs minoxidil 2% for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: a randomized comparative trial. Skinmed, 2015.
