Should you be adding CBD to your daily skincare routine?

More and more people are beginning to realise that CBD does not produce a “high” feeling or have any mind-altering side effects on users of the cannabinoid. We are also aware it has been promoted throughout different aspects of health and wellbeing, including when it comes to the health of our skin. Slowly CBD has been trickling into products that we use on a daily basis, but is a CBD oil, serum, or cream beneficial enough to add it to our skincare routines?

Name an industry and CBD surely has taken it by storm- CBD is everywhere. And the beauty industry is going crazy for this cannabinoid. Even though it’s controversiality is slowly fading, there is still a lot more research that needs to be done. Refinery29 summed up the journey CBD has taken with the following, ‘Somewhere between the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness stoking the fears of pearl-clutching parents all over America and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s categorization of marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970, an inconspicuous plant with psychoactive effects became an enemy of the state. Fast forward to 2019, and the conversation has taken a different turn — and cannabis has come to a beauty retailer near you.’

The products you are seeing everywhere from health and beauty stores to drugstores, aren’t marijuana but are actually hemp- or more specifically a hemp-derived compound- CBD (cannabidiol). You’ll see CBD on the labels of products from sunscreens, acne treatments, bath bombs, lotions and serums. With this invasion of CBD in mind, by 2024 it is predicted that the US CBD market will exceed $20 billion, and it appears a big percentage of this will more likely come from topical products. So we can understand why beauty retailers are jumping on the band-wagon. The growth and interest in CBD can also be seen in the UK market as ‘The UK now ranks second in the number of web searches for CBD products online. It’s also estimated that the global CBD industry is already worth around £200 million, with increased demand for cannabis leading to an additional 42,000 acres of crop-farming in parts of the EU.’

As we know, the human body has a biological system called the endocannabinoid system which can regulate processes such as appetite, blood pressure, skin barrier function, and pain response. Within our endocannabinoid systems, we already produce our own cannabinoids, so we are already prepared for incoming CBD (ingested or topical) to bind to cells- like a lock and key. So, it only makes sense that it could be possible for CBD to be a good addition to your skincare routine, it could be the key you have been looking for, to get that glowing skin.

The general consensus when it comes to reviews and testimonies of these CBD skincare products is that users have seen beneficial results from their new skincare routines. The preliminary research on this cannabinoid is looking promising but there is still a lot of ground to cover. And at this point, until further and more extensive research has been done, it has to be up to the consumers whether they think adding CBD products to their skincare routine will have a difference. Why not do your own first-hand research and see for yourself if these products can work for you, and your skin.