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Special Article
Use of rice bran oil in the personal care industry

Introduction primarily composed of starch, and is
Rice is one of the oldest cultivated often the image that comes to mind
plants in the world. From Southeast when the word “rice” is mentioned.
Asia, its cultivation spread over India
and Persia to the Mediterranean. Each grain contains an embryo or
Though it is mainly cultivated in the germ at its base. If planted, this
Asia today, there is significant pro- is what will grow into a new plant.
duction in other countries including
Italy, Spain, South Africa and several What is Rice Bran Oil (RBO) tralization, degumming, decoloriza-
countries in South America. RBO is derived from the bran of tion, deodorization, and dewaxing.
the rice grains by both expeller press-
Aside its use as a staple food, ing and solvent extraction. Constitution of RBO
many ingredients made from rice are RBO contains high levels of Vita-
used in cosmetics and personal care After it is placed in an expeller, mins B and E, and is an excellent
products for a variety of functions. the squeezing barrel’s inner screw hydrator and anti-ager. Vitamin E is
presses the mass of bran, causing a natural sunscreen, which is very
Rice bran it to release its oil. Freshly pressed effective in the fading of scar tissue
After rice is harvested, a grain RBO trickles out through openings at and improving the general condition
containing one rice kernel (referred the bottom of the barrel. of the skin.
to as paddy) has several layers. The It also contains squalene, which
outermost layer is the husk or the Throughout the pressing process, makes up 12% of human sebum, the
hull, which is two half shells made a bran “press-cake” develops. This skin’s natural moisturiser, and is pro-
of silica and cellulose. Each of these cake consists of solid bran matter, duced in the liver. Due to this com-
shells protects one half of the paddy. and it remains inside the barrel. Any ponent, RBO has been found to be
Coming together, they form one pro- remaining oil in the cake is extracted effective in the treatment of very dry
tective outer coating for the entire through the use of a food-grade sol- and ageing skin, with particular im-
grain. vent such as hexane. provement in the condition of severe
dermatitis.
Next, the RBO undergoes a pro-
cess of refinement, which produces The fatty acids and other nutri-
different grades of the oil. Typically, ents in RBO provide excellent anti-
this process includes filtering, neu- aging properties while protecting

Table 1
Components of rice use in cosmetics and personal care products
Application Rice component used
Abrasive Rice bran, rice germ powder
Absorbent Rice starch
Under the husk, is a hard but thin, Binder Hydrogenated rice bran wax
clear brown cover called the bran.
Composed largely of fibre, fat, pro- Bulking agent Rice bran; rice starch
tein, and Vitamin B complexes, this Hair conditioning agent Rice extract, hydrolysed rice bran protein,
layer contains the most nutrients as hydrolysed rice protein
well as over 75% of the grain’s oil Skin conditioning agent Rice bran oil, rice germ oil, rice bran wax, hydro-
content.
genated rice bran wax, hydrolysed rice bran ex-
tract, hydrolysed rice bran protein, hydrolysed
Removing the bran layer exposes
the innermost part of a grain known rice protein
as the Kernel. This part is white, Surfactant Rice bran acid
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