CBD In Skincare-- What is It and What are Its Benefits?

Around the middle of 2018, more and more skincare companies, especially those within the Green Beauty sphere, began to launch products with the cannabis-derived CBD oil. Unlike hemp seed oil, CBD is extracted from the flowers, leaves, and stalks on the cannabis plant, but as with hemp seed oil, it contains no THC (the part of cannabis which induces the high). In spite of that with product names that cheekily refer to the era of peace, love, and rock n roll, and oftentimes deep earthy-green hues, it's easy to get caught up in the marketing and novelty of putting such a funky, fun-loving ingredient on the face. As it turns out, though, CBD oil could provide lots of tangible benefits for our skin and bodies on the whole.

Reducing Oxidative Stress: Both within the body and topically on the skin, stress and environmental pollutants can make it hard for the body to ward off infections and pathogens because we have encountered more free radicals than our bodies have antioxidants to balance them out. This puts the body under oxidative stress. Under oxidative stress, the immune system becomes weaker, leading to everything from severe health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes to skin concerns such as acne and premature aging. CBD oil has been shown to help lend antioxidants to our systems to work to neutralize the free radicals and, thereby looking and feeling younger for longer.

Fighting Bacteria: CBD has proven to be exceptionally good at destroying bacteria, even more advanced and drug-resistant strains. Some researchers believe, therefore, if CBD can fight off these more complex bacteria, then it would also be a good remedy for acne (which is caused p acnes bacterium) since it would help eliminate the bacteria and also soothe the painful inflammation associated with most breakouts. Because CBD oil is also has Vitamin E, it would also be less drying to the skin than many acne-fighting ingredients in the world, natural or synthetic that are more commonly used such as salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide.

Calming Other Skin Conditions: CBD Oil is also being highly regarded to assist those with chronic skin conditions such as dermatits, rosascea, and eczema. Though all of these are innately different and are triggered by different things for different people, they are all caused by varying degrees of a stressed out, inflamed, and sensitized skin, CBD can help to work as an anti-histamine, controlling the flare-ups and also reducing the redness and feeling of heat within the skin during these flare-ups. Because of its pain-relieving nature, CBD oil can also help with the chronic itchiness that a lot of people with these skin conditions as well as severe dryness often experience. Dermatologists are also looking into CBD oil as a possible alternative to the steroid creams often given to patients with both eczema and dermatitis, as long-term use of steroid s, even when applied topically, can start to have the opposite effect on the skin and actually make the condition worse.

As with any other ingredient or formula out there, skincare never will be a one-size-fits- all mission, but it is always interesting to learn about new discoveries being made and new ingredients being unearthed and coming to our shelves in a big way. CBD oil certainly has, and it is nice to know that it is not just an ingredient there for the "cool" factor. I'll be curious to as to how many other brands jump onto the CBD train and what other innovations come on to the scene. What do you think? Would you add in a CBD product into your routine, why or why not?