Stay with me on this one…

One thing you learn in undertaking this curly girl journey is to think outside the box. Everyday items get looked at with new eyes…and are not safe from potentially becoming a hair care product or accessory!

Rice Water is one of these things.

As we know from previously discussing the science of hair, hair is made up of protein. That protein being Keratin.When hair becomes damaged, through heat treatments, colouring, environmental factors or just every day sun damage, it shows. That damage needs to be “repaired” and measures need to be taken to prevent it reoccurring or limiting the damage done.

Like hair, skin also contains keratin. We all know very well that we must moisturise our skin. But, we forget the same goes for our hair. Whilst deep conditioning helps this process of locking in moisture we still need to address the protein element. I posted about this balance a while back in Always Learning More.

One way of adding protein to assist with hair health is to use products with protein in the ingredients. Hydrolyzed ingredients like silk, milk protein, keratin, casein, are some keywords to look for. Another way to treat hair to a protein fix is to do a protein treatment, protein fillers can be bought and added to currently used. Or even more cheaper, use household/pantry items. Rice or pasta water, probably being the most popular. You can make a fermented rice water rinse, or even cheaper still, just use the water you boil your rice or pasta in! Pop it into a bowl allow to cool and use as a rinse.

Last night I cooked macaroni cheese. So thought, let’s save the water and do my first ever protein treatment on tomorrow’s wash day.

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Post-protein treatment, I am not totally convinced my hair needed it. My curl has dropped a bit and I have a bit of frizz. But, like all things on this journey, trial and error! Hopefully tomorrow will refresh ok. And I will leave off doing it again too soon!

🌀M🌀