The Lowdown on CBD Skin Care

person Oksana Ostrovsky
calendar_today May 09, 2019

Cannabidiol (CBD) craze is hitting the world hard, especially now that the entire hemp market appears to be on the verge of exploding. It seems as if the cannabinoid, with its dozens of healthful properties, is finding its way into every preparation under the sun. Shops also appear to be rushing to stock CBD skin care and CBD beauty products, leaving the consumer quite spoiled for choice.

Let’s start by looking at the researched reasons CBD can make a difference in your skin’s health. Also, we’ll briefly discuss the numerous CBD preparations for skin care and beauty you can expect to find in your nearest health shop soon.

Why All the Buzz About Cannabidiol And CBD Skin Care?

Well, this one is simple to answer—because CBD is awesome. At least according to thousands of testimonies from satisfied users, and even a smattering of preliminary studies.

“Preliminary” means the studies were done in a petri dish or on animals, and not in a clinical population, meaning on humans. These outcomes were positive, though, even for the animals (it would be difficult to hurt anyone or anything with low- to medium-dose CBD), but every responsible doctor and scientist will tell you that a lot more research needs to be done before CBD will satisfy scientific standards.

In the meantime, it should suffice to know that hemp-CBD is generally at least considered safe to experiment with.

Why All the Buzz About Cannabidiol And CBD Skin Care?

RELATED: What is CBD Oil?

1. CBD Is Safe and Not Mind-Altering

The bulk of current literature attests that CBD appears to be safe for human consumption and use. As one 2011 review concluded:

“Based on recent advances in cannabinoid administration in humans, controlled CBD may be safe in humans and animals. However, further studies are needed to clarify these reported in vitro and in vivo side effects.” [1]

The mentioned side effects showed up only in very high doses, which is not what you’ll encounter in either CBD skin care products or CBD beauty products.

Also, because CBD is most often extracted from hemp—and hemp is cannabis—the misconception exists that it can cause you to feel high. CBD seems to make many people feel relaxed and less anxious, and it is indeed used by many as an anxiolytic or to help with insomnia. Yet it does so only in higher doses. But these effects are not as potently psychotropic as those of weed or marijuana. (Psychotropic means something can affect your state of mind.)

Marijuana is commonly high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, and it is often used as a relatively safe recreational drug by many. It, too, has many healthful properties (such as pain management) and works excellently together with CBD, but THC is also the constituent in cannabis known to cause intense, almost psychedelic experiences. In some, it seems to encourage schizophrenic symptoms, such as paranoia and extreme anxiety. For these and other reasons, it is still the bane of U.S. federal law.

CBD Is Safe and Not Mind-Altering

CBD, on the other hand, is its more benign cousin that some studies have confirmed can be a safe and well-tolerated alternative treatment for schizophrenia. Go figure. No altered mind with cannabidiol, then. [2]

While this is good to know, why exactly will you benefit from CBD skin care?

First of all—maybe because CBD was probably designed to benefit your skin...?

2. The Endocannabinoid System in The Skin

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a fairly recently discovered regulatory system, with many receptors throughout the bodies of all vertebrates. Researchers increasingly speculate that it seems to affect almost every biological activity in the body, so this is a very exciting field of study.

The ECS comprises millions of receptors of various types, spread throughout multiple organs and tissues, including the skin. It plays a vital role in skin health, as one review speculates:

“It seems that the main physiological function of the cutaneous ECS is to constitutively control the proper and well-balanced proliferation, differentiation and survival, as well as immune competence and/or tolerance, of skin cells.” [3]

The skin’s ECS is already modulated by the body’s self-produced endocannabinoids, so it takes no leap of the imagination to conclude that phytocannabinoids can also have an effect on skin health. CBD is a phytocannabinoid.

3. CBD And Inflammation, Acne, And Pain

Let’s start with the most well-studied and obvious benefit—the data suggests that CBD is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent.

Together with THC, CBD appears to bind to certain receptors in the immune system that suppress the cells’ inflammatory response. Even your body’s own endocannabinoids have been shown to do the same by modulating the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is intimately involved in the immune and inflammatory responses of all vertebrates. [4]

Animal studies demonstrate that CBD’s benefit can be conferred with its transdermal application.

What’s more, animal studies seem to demonstrate that this benefit can be conferred with the transdermal application of CBD. [5]

Another oft-quoted preliminary study points to CBD’s potential to soothe acne. This it does via the mentioned suppression of cellular inflammatory responses and an apparent ability to “suppress sebocyte proliferation.” [6]

As explained by another study, sebocytes’ main function is considered to be the production of lipids (oils) to moisturize the skin. However, it also seems that sebocytes release chemokines and cytokines (involved in inflammation) and respond to proinflammatory stimuli as well as the presence of bacteria. [7]

CBD also seems to have a powerful ability to lower pain, a property that may be enhanced with skin application. This was clearly demonstrated in arthritic mice—so much so that they moved around more after CBD administration. It does so together with a tiny amount of THC (not enough for a trip, except if you’re a gnat, perhaps) in what is often referred to as the entourage effect. [8]

So, it should be clear that with these effects alone, CBD could be a worthy addition to any cream, lotion, or preparation to enhance skin health. What should you be looking for in CBD beauty products?

CBD Beauty Products for Skin Health

As mentioned, you’ll find yourself spoiled for choice. These days, CBD can be found in a myriad of products, including serums, moisturizing face creams, hand creams, body lotions, oils, mascaras, and brow tints.

Muscle balms and massage creams could serve to soothe achy bodies in ways not experienced before. As explained, CBD attenuates pain, and it does so excellently with topical application. Look for slightly higher-dose CBD creams.

A hemp face mask at night, together with some hemp-infused tea, could well send you off to dreamland in the best way possible.

CBD Beauty Products for Skin Health

The only thing you might find slightly off-putting could be the smell of hemp-infused products—if these are unscented. Fortunately, there are already many sophisticated, heavenly-scented CBD skin care products available, so this should not pose a serious issue. CBD beauty products could easily replace your current skin care collection. For optimal results, aim for products without harmful chemical content, but with organic hemp-derived CBD and other skin-enhancing ingredients such as hemp oil, vitamin E oil, vitamin C, collagen, etc.

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