Rice water and hair mask review

I am a self-identified ‘Lazy Natural’. I get upset when I spend more than 5 hours on my hair on wash day. I don’t love switching up my hairstyles because it’s too much effort to think of and execute new hairstyles often. I’m a ‘if it works let it be’ type of Natural. I’m also a Cynical Natural. Any trend or product which promises instant hair growth incites doubt and slight annoyance for me… we know better now. Hair, especially 4c kinky/coily hair, does not have a magic pill for instant hair growth. And besides, we need to shift our focus from long hair to healthy hair. This has been my guiding principle for most of my natural hair journey.

When I heard of the rice water rinse as a treatment for shiny, softer and detangled hair, I decided it would be worth a try. I ignored all the videos and articles where the bait was the length which could be achieved using rice water. Having tried the rice water trend, I must say I am not disappointed. NB, DO NOT DO THE RICE WATER RINCE MORE THAN ONCE EVERY FEW MONTHS, your hair may fall out. I also incorporated a new mask, Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Masque, in to my routine which I used on the same wash day as the rice water. I bought the mask at Clicks and it’s not the cheapest product, retailing at R249.99. As a disclaimer, my hair’s great response may be as a result of one or both of these products.

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I cheated the rice water process a little bit. Apparently the rice water is supposed to ferment for a number of days but I, the Lazy Natural, didn’t have the enthusiasm for that so I soaked brown rice overnight for about 20 hours and then cooked it. I drained the boiling rice water into a bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I decanted it into a spray bottle and got to detangling. I had just removed my braids so my hair was tangled and matted and in need of serious help. An hour and a half later, I had thoroughly detangled and lost about a small potato sack of hair.

I sprayed more rice water into my detangled twisted hair until it was completely drenched and then I covered my hair in a plastic bag. I kept in it in the bag for about 20 minutes before hopping into the shower for the hair wash. I used my usual products (I’ll do a full wash day review soon) and deep conditioned with the Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Masque. It smells fabulous and really gave my hair a lot of slip. I was impressed with how nourished and bouncy my coils felt after the deep condition.

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I would definitely give the rice water treatment a thumbs up. It made the detangling process so much easier; my hair is shinier and softer while my edges look fuller. Again, only use the rice water rinse a few times a year. The hair mask did a good job at hydrating my hair. Even after a few days my hair feels fresh out of wash-day. Putting it into a protective style was easier than usual and I didn’t shed as much as I usually do while styling my hair. My verdict? Both the rice water treatment and the hair mask are definitely worth a try. Oh! By the way, comment if you’d like me to do a post on this protective style, I added a hair piece because I like things and it protects your ends.