CBD topicals have quickly become one of the most popular types of CBD products.
There’s a reason for that: they work! More specifically, CBD topicals can be great for your skin and underlying muscles. If you’re ready to feel refreshed, energized, and get your glow up, CBD topicals might just be right for you. Keep reading to learn how they could be great for your skin.
- Why you might want to try CBD topicals
- The #1 thing that makes CBD so powerful
- How topical CBD works its magic
- How CBD topicals could strengthen your skin
- An easy way to experience the power of topical CBD
- How to keep your skin healthy in the long run
Why you might want to try CBD topicals
Any type of CBD can be impressively effective. Many people experience the results they’re looking for — and more! — from just a few drops of CBD oil per day. Even a small amount of the compound is enough to rebalance the human endocannabinoid system and boost your wellbeing.
But what about when CBD isn’t effective? What about when two weeks on a starter-strength CBD oil doesn’t seem to be doing much? Though rare, this does happen.
In cases like these, it’s usually a good idea to complement your ingestible CBD intake with something else. Many types of ailments can be attacked from more than one angle by the introduction of a CBD topical.
What’s a CBD topical? To put it super simply, a CBD topical is a cream or balm infused with some form of CBD. CBD topicals can come in many different forms, including balms, salves, skin creams, lotions, and more.
While not as effective from a bioavailability standpoint as CBD oil, topicals might just work for you when nothing else will. That’s because they ‘hit’ endocannabinoid receptors differently than other ingestion methods do. Topicals are able to kick in quickly, provide fast relief, and even increase the energy-absorption capacity of skin surfaces.
And while most CBD topicals don’t actually make it into the bloodstream, they’re still great for acute pain. People with chronic issues like arthritis may thrive on a regimen of consistent CBD oil intake + strategic CBD topical use. Given many of these health issues are cyclical, unpredictable, or even weather dependent, using a topical on an as-needed basis actually makes a lot of sense.
In other words, use a CBD topical when nothing else works. We’d encourage you to try taking CBD oil consistently almost regardless of your health status. Give it a few weeks, and from there try adding in alternative methods. The beauty of CBD is that finding the best dose is more an art than a science. It’s all about what works best for you.
The #1 thing that makes topical CBD so powerful
The way topical CBD works is complex — but let’s keep this section simple. CBD topicals can be powerfully effective because they promote full-body balance. When you apply a CBD topical, it goes to work bringing balance to the skin’s oil production, oxidative state, and inflammatory status. These types of balance power have all sorts of beneficial effects. [1]
CBD topicals: what the experts say
According to neurologist and cannabis expert Dr. Ethan Russo, topical CBD works through two major pathways. “The ECS’s role in skin’s immunity is to constantly control the activity of the skin’s immune and inflammatory system,” he explains. Cannabinoids may:
- Exert anti-inflammatory effects
- Prevent immune activation when it is not needed
The implication of all this? “Novel drugs that increase the activity of the skin’s ECS may hold promise for [..] inflammatory and immune [ problems].” Until such drugs are available, though, there’s a simpler solution: topical CBD! [2]
How topical CBD works its magic
As you’ve read about, your body’s endocannabinoid system is the biological basis for why CBD works. CBD may regulate the ECS...the ECS regulates everything else...and better health could result.
The best way to boost endocannabinoid function is usually through ingesting CBD. Taking CBD via an oil/tincture is a tried and true method that has long-lasting effects and decent bioavailability. And while it’s also normally true that applying natural substances topically doesn’t do much for one’s internal state, CBD might be different.
That’s because the CB2 receptors that CBD ‘activates’ are everywhere — on the surface of your skin, deep within the tissues of your muscles, even in your brain. Even if CBD is only supplementing these receptors in one area (in this case, the skin), it could reduce the burden of overall endocannabinoid production in others.
Could this explain why so many studies have highlighted CBD’s transdermal benefits? Maybe so — one study discovered that CBD’s anti-stress qualities reached all the way to the nerves within the spinal ganglia, while another found that transdermal CBD might be powerful enough to reduce the symptoms of drug addiction. [3]
Long story short, if you want to take CBD for overall health and wellness, don’t discount the important role that topicals can play!
CBD might also have an antioxidant effect on your skin. Even the normally-reserved US government has been looking into CBD’s antioxidant qualities over the past twenty years. In a patent titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” they attest that “cannabinoids [are] useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of [a] wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases” This same patent goes on to say that CBD is the most advantageous cannabinoid of them all! [4]
The practical implications of this patent are clear. Given that oxidative stress is one of the primary causes of many skin conditions (and general skin aging!), using CBD topically is a pretty good plan.
How CBD topicals could strengthen your skin
Here’s another potential benefit of topical CBD: it may help you strengthen your skin by boosting its collagen production. Collagen, of course, provides the structural framework your skin needs to (literally) shine. One study used synthetic cannabinoids to mimic CBD’s effects and found that it could benefit “skin barrier repair, epidermal proliferation/differentiation, and inflammation.” More differentiation = more balance = more collagen = younger, healthier skin. [5]
Noted cannabinoid researcher Tamas Biro has also found that the endocannabinoid system — that entity CBD so boosts — may play a pivotal role in sebum oil production. This means CBD could work wonders for acne and other oily skin problems, if only indirectly. [6]
An easy way to experience CBD topicals
There’s a simple way to experience the power of topical CBD: just obtain a specialized topical product from a trusted CBD company. How can you find this type of company? They tend to meet a few specific metrics:
They’ll have a medical review board
They’ll have some sort of organic or all-natural certification
They’ll have all their reviews and COA’s (lab tests) available online
Medterra’s full topicals selection
Many of our customers are surprised to learn that CBD can be applied topically. Not only is topical CBD possible...it can be a very powerful delivery method!
However, not all topical CBD products are created equally. The CBD molecule is quite large and needs the help of other ingredients to absorb into the skin. To make sure our CBD is able to penetrate the outer layers of your skin, all of our topicals are formulated with a synergistic blend of botanicals designed to help their CBD content work even better. Some of our products (like our Pain Cream) also feature menthol, an inflammation-quenching ingredient that should have you feeling better in no time.
Just as important is what’s not in our products. All of our topicals are free from plasticizers, artificial preservatives, and cancer-causing synthetics — delivering results without cutting corners!
Medterra’s Manuka Honey Healing Cream
Our powerful Manuka Honey Healing Cream features an expert-formulated blend of Manuka Honey, either 125 or 250mg of CBD, and over 20 botanicals to help soothe and nourish your skin.
They also stay true to mother nature. We get our Manuka Honey from New Zealand’s finest farms. It’s UMF 12+ (aka ultra-high quality) and intended to improve your skin health the holistic way. Customers say this cream has quickly become one of the top products in their skincare routine.
How to keep your skin healthy in the long run
Now that we’ve gone over topical CBD’s benefits, you might be wondering if can you improve your skin health in other ways. The answer is an emphatic yes.
One 2014 study looked at so-called cannabimimetics — compounds or activities that promote health the same way CBD does — and found that everything from healthy fats to coffee to massage therapy might also boost your endocannabinoid system. [7]
In the words of the study’s authors, “stress-reduction techniques such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises impart mild [cannabinoid-like] effects.” Something as simple as doing some stretching seems to make endocannabinoid receptors in the stretched areas a little more sensitive! And that might make your skin a little more receptive to improvement.
Maybe it’s no surprise that the popularity of CBD-infused yoga would be growing like it is. CBD and yoga complement each other perfectly. Throw some topical CBD into the mix, and you might feel so much better that you truly want to take better care of your skin.
Last but not least, here are a few other ways to give your skin that natural glow and shine:
- Keep your skin cells turning over with bacopa oil or other anti-aging substances
- Get some AM sun — and avoid the harsh rays that come later in the day
- Keep your skin hydrated with natural moisturizers like aloe vera
- Keep your skin’s metabolism up with natural caffeine sources
- Try boosting your skin’s circulation with massage therapy
- Reduce skin inflammation with red light therapy
Summing things up
Well, there you have it. CBD can be pretty great for your skin — and the best way to experience its power is through a premium CBD topical.
Bonus points if you can find a topical that combines CBD with other herbal compounds! Check out our online learning center if you’d still like to learn more about CBD, or our online CBD shop if you’re ready to let your skin shine!
