Published October 14, 2024
Scroll through Beauty YouTube and you’ll see countless tutorials promoting rice powder masks. Its fans swear it exfoliates, brightens skin, and even provides UV protection.
Image: iStock
Rice flour may not be a household skin care staple in the United States, but it’s a beloved beauty ingredient throughout East Asia, especially in countries like China, Korea, and Japan. But can rice flour live up to the hype? Can it actually change your skin or is it just a DIY fad? Here’s what you need to know about skin care ingredients that are still under-researched despite this viral outbreak.
First of all, what is rice flour?
As the name suggests, rice flour is finely ground rice grains. However, not all rice flour is created equal. The way rice flour is made can affect its potential benefits for your skin.
Rice is a whole grain similar to wheat or oats and is made up of three parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Bran is the hard outer shell of the grain, rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, and is the healthiest part of the grain. Bioactive compounds such as ferulic acid and phytic acid, often extracted from bran, are added to skin care products for their known benefits.
Like all flours, rice flour is made by separating these parts and grinding them in different proportions. Whole grain rice flour contains all three parts of the rice grain, while white rice flour contains only the starchy endosperm. When you buy rice flour at the supermarket, unless it says brown rice, it’s probably white rice flour.
How rice flour has a positive effect on the skin
If you’ve been scrolling through YouTube, you’ve probably seen some DIY “whitening” face masks made with rice flour. Claims suggest that it works as an exfoliant, sunscreen, and even an anti-aging solution.
Rice flour contains several bioactive ingredients that are thought to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but the problem is that the amount contained in rice flour is not high enough to have an effect on the skin when applied directly. whether it is or not. Brown rice protein is touted as a natural exfoliant, and rice starch is known to absorb excess oil. Here’s a breakdown of some claims about the benefits of rice flour:
1. Sunscreen
Some beauty bloggers suggest that rice flour has UV protection thanks to compounds such as ferulic acid and PABA. Friedler explains that PABA (vitamin B10) stimulates cell regrowth and protects against UV rays. However, while PABA was once used in sunscreens, it is no longer approved by the FDA because it causes allergic reactions.
Ferulic acid, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is also a compound found in rice bran and other plants. It has been shown to have the potential to enhance the UV protection provided by vitamins C and E, and is also known to protect skin from photodamage when applied topically.
What about the prey? Ferulic acid is a proven ingredient in many skin care serums, but it’s unclear whether the amount present in rice flour is concentrated enough to have the same effect.
2. Treatment of acne and hyperpigmentation
Rice flour enthusiasts also claim that rice flour is effective against acne and whitens the skin, possibly thanks to phytic acid, an AHA, an antioxidant known for its exfoliating properties. Phytic acid has been shown to treat acne and pigmentation as effectively as glycolic acid, but with a gentler feel.
Phytic acid helps the skin shed dead cells, minimizing signs of aging and improving symptoms such as melasma and acne scars. It is also used for chemical peeling of age spots.
3. Wound healing
Another compound found in rice is allantoin, which has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Some animal and in vitro studies suggest that it may support wound healing, but further research is needed.
4. Oil absorption
Rice flour’s most well-known benefit is its ability to absorb oil, and it is often used in commercial skin and hair care products to reduce shine and minimize pores. A type of rice starch, which is rice flour with the proteins and fats removed, is commonly used for this purpose.
But does rice flour really benefit your skin in its DIY form? It depends.
Why rice flour doesn’t give you all the results you expect
When companies extract ingredients from rice, they soak the plants in liquid for hours to obtain high concentrations of bioactive compounds such as ferulic acid and phytic acid. This means that the extract is much more potent than if you apply rice flour directly to your skin.
So, while ferulic acid and phytic acid are great for skin care, there is no guarantee that your homemade rice flour mask will contain enough of these compounds to make a noticeable difference.
Bottom line: Some dermatologists are hesitant to recommend rice flour outright because there is no solid clinical data to support it itself.
How to use rice flour wisely
If you’re looking to try rice flour at home, your best bet is to combine it with another proven ingredient in a DIY mask. Mix rice flour and olive oil or rose water. Both are proven to be good for your skin.
DIY rice flour mask recipe
There are many rice powder mask tutorials on YouTube. It usually combines rice flour with other ingredients such as oats, avocado, honey, and milk. Although these recipes are not backed by clinical research, there is usually no harm in trying them unless your skin is allergic to any of the ingredients.
Here we will introduce a simple rice flour mask recipe.
3 tablespoons powdered milk
5 tablespoons brown rice flour
tablespoon of olive oil (optional if you have oily skin)
enough rose water to make a thick paste
Apply the mask to your face, let it air dry for 10-15 minutes, then gently rub it off with a little water to get an exfoliating effect.
Another option: Add brown rice flour to your bath water for a full-body treatment.
final thoughts
Rice flour is a popular DIY ingredient used in homemade face masks and is praised for its whitening and exfoliating properties, as well as its ability to protect against UV damage. However, while some compounds found in rice, such as ferulic acid and phytic acid, have been proven to be skin care ingredients, these are often found in much higher concentrations in the extract than in the rice flour itself. there is.
If you want to try rice flour for your skin care, you can maximize its effectiveness by mixing it with other beneficial ingredients, such as olive oil.
