NEW YORK, Sept 12 — Who needs cosmetics with never-ending ingredients lists when our kitchens are full of miracle ingredients? That’s something we wonder each week when spotting the latest beauty tips going viral on TikTok. After frozen cucumbers and sugar hair removal, the latest trend is rice water, which users of the social network are crazy about, whether for its benefits for hair or skin. So what are you waiting for? To your kitchens!
Should beauty brands be worried? TikTok, through its most ingenious users, is teeming with ideas for embracing a more natural beauty routine using ingredients found not in the biggest cosmetics stores, but in your refrigerator or pantry. The latest example is rice water, which is causing a stir on the social network. Hundreds and hundreds of videos have sprung up, praising the benefits of an affordable kitchen staple that we’re all familiar with, and which has been used for centuries in certain cultures.
Like many traditional tips and folk remedies, rice is back in the spotlight as a beauty booster, particularly for combination and mature skin, not to mention dull hair. In fact, there are already 409 million views for the “#ricewater” hashtag, and its derivatives — #ricewaterforhairchallenge, #ricewaterforskin, #ricewaterforhair, #ricewaterforhairgrowth — are already numerous. The beauty virtues of rice water, known for centuries in Asia, have been going down a storm on TikTok, especially since this particular beauty hack doesn’t involve any great difficulty or danger — which isn’t the case of all the TikTok beauty tips spotted on the social network.
Glossier hair, flawless skin
TikTok users seem to agree that rice water is particularly effective in making hair stronger and shinier, and even for making hair grow faster. To try it for yourself, nothing could be simpler. Just soak rice in cold water for a few hours — although there’s a second variation, which involves using the water rice has been cooked in. Next, transfer the water to a spray bottle or a regular bottle and store it in the fridge. Then, after shampooing your hair, all you have to do is apply the rice water to your hair, leave it for a while, rinse it off, and... discover the result.
With nearly 500,000 followers, a user called Abbey Yung (@abbeyyung) is one of the many TikTokers to have drawn on all kinds of tutorials to show us her take on this age-old (or almost) trick. And it seems to be a hit, since the video has already been seen more than four million times.
But rice water isn’t just good for dull hair, since it also promises to mattify combination or oily complexions, while also combating any loss of skin firmness and signs of age (virtues that we already reported on a few months ago). While videos highlighting the benefits of rice water for hair are most numerous on TikTok, users nevertheless seem to appreciate the many possibilities that this ingredient can offer for skincare. And so, TikTokers are making rice water into their latest lotion, toner and even mask. The basic idea remains the same, though. You let the rice soak in water — whether cold or simmering — then use the cloudy liquid that results as part of your beauty routine.
A subtle variation of the trend also seems to be emerging. Some users are making rice water ice cubes to enjoy the added benefits of cold on the skin, as shown by this user, Elona (@elonaldn). TikTok has previously embraced the benefits of cold with skin-icing and with frozen cucumber to fight acne, among other things. — ETX Studio
