The popularity and potential benefits of CBD (cannabidiol) as a health supplement are now everywhere you look. Reports on specifics vary but all point to the same thing - the number of people globally using CBD is growing tremendously each year.
Over the last year or so CBD in skincare (and cosmetics) has also become hugely popular. Here we delve a little deeper into why and how this amazing plant compound could be useful within these types of products.
We now know that when CBD is applied to the skin (topical use) it interacts with receptors in the skin itself - unlike when ingesting CBD sublingually (usually as oil drops under the tongue) or orally in capsule, food or drink form.
So when you put CBD or CBD infused products onto your skin what does it actually do? As a starting point we really like this quote by Dr Cheryl Bugailiskis who is a board-certified cannabis specialist with HelloMD:
“There are lots of different claims out there about what CBD can do for your skin, but first it's important to understand how it would even give you those desired effects.
“The skin is the largest organ and our body’s first line of defence against unwanted organisms. As such, this protective layer has the highest amount and concentration of what are called cannabinoid receptors. Cannabinoid receptors are located throughout the body as a part of our endocannabinoid system — a checks-and-balance matrix, which regulates a number of critical bodily functions and responses such as stress, pain, appetite, inflammation, sleep, immunity and even processes like how much or how little oil our skin produces."
So when CBD comes in contact with these receptors in the skin it has the opportunity to interact in a myriad of positive ways; two widely reported benefits are highly anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which can be helpful for calming and healing irritated skin as well as working on specific conditions like acne and psoriasis.
In terms of visible skin ageing, a key area of interest when it comes to CBD and skincare, studies are in their early days but they do suggest that CBD can certainly play a valid role…
“Cannabidiol upregulates melanogenesis, and melanogenesis plays a critical role in the protection of skin against external stresses such as ultraviolet irradiation and oxidative stressors” as sited here by a study from the National Centre for Biotechnology information.
As ageing is also in part an inflammation issue this does make sense and although these are early findings this bodes well for CBD in cosmetic use now and in the future.
