Using CBD is like the opposite of Fight Club.
If you use it, everyone already knows. In any case, you’re not alone in your enthusiasm. After all, CBD boasts many benefits for your skin and for your mental health.
SEE ALSO: Why the beauty industry is obsessed with CBD
But not all cannabis products are actually CBD or contain THC, the psychoactive that gets you high. Some brands that tout cannabis aren’t being so transparent and are capitalizing on this entire green movement. CBD is really confusing because marketers aren’t doing their best to provide information to consumers. Whether a product has CBD, THC or hemp oil makes a huge difference in the outcome of your beauty experience.
As a single ingredient, CBD sounds magical. Studies have shown that CBD has anti-inflammatory effects and can calm down your skin as well. The oil is nourishing, has plenty of vitamins and can give you an instant, healthy glow. But there’s also so much confusion when it comes to the actual oil. So popular is cannabis, the industry now projects that the market will reach $16 billion by 2025, with beauty being a huge part of it.
By now, you’ve probably used a product or three with “cannabis” on the label. But did it work for you? Did you find it to be anti-inflammatory or something that lessened your anxiety? If not, it’s probably because the product you’re using has zero CBD in it at all.
To understand CBD, one must understand that not all products are made equal. Hemp oil, for instance, is legal everywhere where as marijuana isn’t. To be considered hemp, a product can only have up to .3% of THC, the ingredient that gets people high. While these hemp oils have low THC, it has a high level of CBD, the ingredient that many have heralded as being an amazing anti-inflammatory ingredient. CBD is amazing for skin because it not only has said properties, it also contains essential fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E, all incredible ingredients for keeping your skin beautifully nourished.
But even if you have CBD oil, it doesn’t mean it’s exceptional as a single ingredient. “Not all CBD is created equal,” says Emily Heitman, the CMO and COO of LEEF Organics, to Very Good Light. “With the popularity of CBD you have those only seeking dollars vs. efficacy, taking advantage of a pure marketing play and human desire to live a healthier life.” What’s important, is seeing where your CBD is sourced from and whether it says “full spectrum” on the late or not. This is important, Emily says, because CBD products that aren’t lack the efficacy as those that do.
This means that products ranging from Peter Thomas Roth’s Green Releaf Sleep Cream, Herbivore’s Emerald oil, Kiehl’s Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate are as edgy as drinking coffee out of a plastic straw.
“Science shows that full spectrum is where the efficacy is at,” she says. “Remember, the whole plant is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Possibly the biggest thing to look out for, though, is the word “Cannabis sativa seed oil,” a tricky marketing term that capitalizes off of the CBD movement but has zero CBD at all. Cannabis sativa seed oil comes from the seed and not the plant, whereas CBD comes from the actual plant. In fact, the term “cannabis sativa seed oil” is actually just another name for hemp seed oil, which you’ve heard for years. It’s the ingredient that’s been found in crunchy, outdoorsy brands sold in-stores or at farmer’s markets, for years. While hemp seed oil has no CBD properties, it does provide you with an amazing supply of beautiful non-comedogenic oil.
This means that products ranging from Peter Thomas Roth’s Green Releaf Sleep Cream, Herbivore’s Emerald oil, (the brand also has a full spectrum CBD version here!), Kiehl’s Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate are as edgy as drinking coffee out of a plastic straw.
(Photo Courtesy Lime Crime)
To end, DO NOT FALL for “cannabis” products, folks. Brands are coming out daily with new ones that will make you think you’re getting some CBD or THC benefits when you’re not at all. Just today, Lime Crime dropped its new campaign with a new liquid lipstick, Lip Blaze. It may seem that the product has marijuana in it by the product’s name or campaign, but nah, it just has cannabis sativa seed oil. Which, as we know, is as edgy as eating granola.
