Natural cosmetics, like kings and queens Part 4, rice water

The skin is our interface with the outside world, it helps us feel consistency and temperature of what is surrounding us and it also protects us. And we must protect it, too. In the posts dedicated to the INCI of cosmetics we are learning that, unfortunately, creams, serums and lotions often contain too many ingredients and not all beneficial. Indeed, some of them are harmful, irritating and sometimes even carcinogenic as the famous formaldehyde, we dedicated a post about the topic last week. There is nothing simpler and more pleasant than taking care of our beauty in a natural way, with easy recipes that everybody can put into practice. A help comes from the beauty secrets handed down over the centuries. Today, we will see a beauty treatment known and used by Oriental women since ancient times in order to have a luminous, compact and uniform skin like porcelain and to feel ourselves also as a real queen, or king. I'm talking about rice water. When you boil the rice, do not throw away its precious cooking water, which has captured many properties of the cereal, as antioxidants, vitamins, especially the E and group B, and mineral salts such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. However, the cooking must be without salt. Then filter the water and let it rest in a covered container for one day at room temperature. After this time put the rice water in the fridge, you can keep it for a week. An alternative procedure consists of rinsing raw rice, about half a cup, under running water and then covering it with 2 cups of water. Let it rest for thirty minutes then filter it. This water should be left to ferment at room temperature for a day and then placed, as in the first process, in the fridge. You can use the water of rice as a tonic for the face skin, thanks to its astringent action it closes the pores, but it is also able to balance the the production of sebum, has soothing properties and may calm irritations. The remedy makes also the skin smooth, elastic and uniform by counteracting the skin spots caused by photoaging. Rice water is helpful also for the hair, makes it easily combable, soft and strong at the same time. You can apply the rice water after the shampoo, leave it for ten minutes and then rinse. In fact, the use of rice water for hair care is also scientifically confirmed. According to an article published in 2010 in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science (Inamasu et al), rice water has shown to be able to increase hair elasticity.