CBD and Skin Care: Your Top Questions Answered
Posted by Nikki Washer on Aug 29th 2023
Nature is truly spectacular – we’re surrounded by plants of countless varieties, with so many of them holding precious compounds that unlock health benefits for us. One of those amazing compounds that researchers are learning more and more about every day is CBD. CBD has been a hot topic in healthcare for years, and skin health is part of that conversation too.
Curious what CBD could do for your skin? You’ve come to the right place for answers to all your top questions about CBD and skincare.
What Is CBD?
CBD is an abbreviation for a natural compound called cannabidiol. Cannabidiol is one of the major compounds in the cannabis plant – yes, the marijuana plant. Hold on before you go making friends with Cheech and Chong, though. CBD is not psychoactive, meaning that it won’t get you high. The psychoactive effects of cannabis come from a different compound in the plant called THC (more on that later).
What Benefits Can CBD Have for Your Skin?
Before we dive into the potential benefits of CBD, we need a caveat here: CBD research is still in its early days and it’s robustly ongoing. Federal laws severely limited cannabis research for decades, and while it’s now able to pick up some steam, proper medical studies take years and years to complete. While early studies are showing promising results, the research is simply too young for us to definitively know the benefits of CBD.
With that said, there are several positive ways CBD appears to affect skin:
- Anti-inflammation: CBD has natural anti-inflammatory properties both topically and orally. When it comes to your skin, CBD could help to reduce inflammation from skin irritation and from conditions like rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, and acne
- Antioxidant: Your skin can accumulate damage on a daily basis from free radicals like pollutants in the air and sun radiation. Antioxidants block those free radicals from damaging your cells, and CBD is a natural antioxidant.
- Acne control: Some research has found that CBD skincare products can reduce the oil your skin produces, called sebum. Excessive sebum is one of the top factors that cause acne breakouts, so by keeping your oil under control, CBD may be able to prevent acne breakouts.
Is Topical CBD Safe and Effective?
As I noted, the medical research process is a long and intensive one, and the research into CBD is still young. Early studies have, though, shown promising results. It’s no miracle cure-all but there’s reason to be optimistic.
You might ask, “If we still have so much to learn about CBD, why is it used so prevalently?” Part of this is just because there’s a lot of buzz around CBD and some companies want to make their dollar, sure, but it’s also because alongside the promising early results, CBD research has been showing strong safety results. Both side effects and allergies seem to be very rare. In other words, CBD is already being widely used because, with such outstanding potential benefits and few potential risks, it’s well worth a try.
There is one safety note to keep in mind, though: CBD isn’t recommended for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding because researchers don’t know how it could affect babies. That includes topical CBD because your body does absorb CBD through your skin.
Where Is CBD Skincare Legal in the US?
This is a common question and the answer actually changed a few years ago. While marijuana is still federally illegal, the US passed a bill in 2018 that legalized CBD products derived from “industrialized hemp.” The bill defined industrial hemp as cannabis plants that contain 0.3% THC or less. These levels of THC are too low to create any psychoactive effects but they can still offer the benefits of CBD. Since then, CBD has become legal throughout the US.
How Can I Incorporate CBD into My Skin Care Routine?
Today, there are CBD products for just about any step of your skin care routine, so you can add it to your daily regimen easily. Some of the most common options include:
- Use a soothing CBD balm. As I noted, one of the top benefits of CBD appears to be soothing inflammation. When your skin is dry or irritated, a calming product like the GlyMed Plus CBD Power Balm can ease that inflammation and redness.
- Try an anti-aging serum with CBD. CBD’s anti-inflammation and antioxidant properties can both help your skin look younger while also making your skin healthier. An anti-aging serum like GlyMed Plus CBD Micro Silver Miracle combines CBD with other active ingredients to help you enhance your skin’s appearance and health at the same time.
Want to know if CBD can help your skin? The only way to know is to give it a try! Check out our catalog of cutting-edge skin care products including our products with CBD.
Sources
https://www.webmd.com/beauty/cbd-for-skin
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nomanazish/2020/12/30/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cbd-skincare/
https://sweetearthskincare.com/pages/cbd-frequently-asked-questions