Having radiant, youthful, flawless skin has always been part of the societal beauty standards that women must achieve for them to be considered beautiful. This gave rise to the skincare culture that is taking the beauty industry by storm.
The skin care culture nowadays is dominated by South Korean cosmetics. K-beauty has popularized the idea that if makeup is the art that enhances one’s beauty, then the skin is the canvas, and it has to be clear and healthy-looking for the makeup to sit well and look good in it. Essentially, having healthy glowing skin is the first step to achieving beauty by their standards. That is why having a multiple-step skincare routine has become a trend in recent years. And do you know what else is trending? CBD products! And the best part is that CBD skincare products are on the rise as more and more people seek all-natural skin care products as an alternative to synthetic ones. In this guide, we will elucidate how you can use the touted panacea—cannabidiol—to solve common skin problems and achieve the sought-after glowing glass skin.
Most Common Skin Problems
Skin problems—be it itching, flaking, or spots—are some of the most common reasons why patients seek medical consultation. Here are the most common skin problems doctors encounter in the clinics:
Acne (Acne vulgaris)
Acne is a skin condition wherein the hair follicles and sebaceous glands found in the skin get clogged. And when it does, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and pathogens that subsequently cause infection. This results in large, inflamed pimples, blackheads, cysts, and nodules that make the skin on the face redder than it should be. When left unchecked and untreated, acne often leads to permanent scars and dark facial spots.
Atopic dermatitis (Eczema)
Atopic dermatitis—or more commonly known as eczema)—is a common skin condition that causes dry, scaly skin that prompts inflammation, redness, and irritation of the skin, especially in the hands, feet, or in creases and folds of the skin. It is often itchy, which could prompt one to scratch the skin. But when you scratch the skin to relieve the itchiness, this can cause the spots to leak fluid and form crusts. While the exact cause of atopic dermatitis is yet to be known, researchers theorize that it may be due to genetics, the environment (i.e., allergens), and/or the immune system.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder wherein the body’s own defense system attacks healthy skin cells. This results in skin rashes with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly seen on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp.
Skin Cancer
Skin cancer involves uncontrolled and abnormal division and proliferation of skin cells. This is most commonly caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun, tanning beds, or sunlamps. Skin cancer is a common and life-threatening condition, but it is remediable when diagnosed early.
Skin Aging
Although aging is a natural part of life, one can keep the signs of aging at bay with the use of the right products and a skincare routine. Aging skin looks thinner, paler, and more translucent than younger skin. The presence of pigmented spots like age spots or "liver spots" will also be noticeable in sun-exposed areas.
How CBD Can Help Solve Common Skin Problems
An excellent way to combat typical skin problems is to have a good skincare routine using the right products. And the best way to ensure that you’re using the right product is to check the label for the list of ingredients used. With the rise of CBD in popularity, more and more skincare brands are incorporating it into their ingredients list. This is all thanks to CBD’s versatile benefits, such as its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, and hydrating properties. This may sound too good to be true, but such claims are indeed backed up by scientific studies. Researchers discovered that the human body has its own endocannabinoid system, to which the CBD molecules bind to exert their effects. In turn, CBD helps regulate essential skin functions, such as oil production, modulation of inflammation, hydration, and fighting off free radicals.
CBD as an Anti-inflammatory Agent
CBD is touted for its anti-inflammatory properties. While the research is still preliminary, there is enough evidence to suggest that cannabidiol helps reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, along with inhibiting T cell proliferation and induction of T cell apoptosis. As a result, it helps reduce skin irritation, itching, redness, swelling, pain, and inflammation, which makes it an excellent remedy for skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis. CBD exerts such benefits whether it is consumed orally or applied topically.
CBD as a Keratinocyte Antiproliferative Agent
Endocannabinoids such as CBD were found to have the ability to inhibit human keratinocyte proliferation, along with various tumorigenic cell lines, some of which are mediated via cannabinoid receptors. Thus, CBD shows the potential to be a therapeutic alternative in the treatment of psoriasis by decreasing rapid skin growth and turnover, thus decreasing pruritus, skin flaking, and xerosis (the medical term for dry skin), especially for patients with psoriasis.
CBD as a Regulator of Oil Production
Our body naturally produces sebum—an oily substance that lubricates the skin to prevent dryness and flakiness. In patients with acne, there is overactivity in the sebaceous glands, which leads to excess sebum production, subsequently clogging up the hair follicles and causing infection and overactive inflammatory responses. Research reveals that CBD helps prevent the overproduction of sebum by modulating the activity of sebocytes, which are the specialized epithelial cells that modulate sebum production.
CBD as Potential Anti-Cancer Agents
While the research on CBD’s role as an anti-cancer agent is still in preliminary stages, there is evidence that suggests that CBD has the potential to fight off cancer cells in animal models with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer through its modulation of the CB1 and CB2 receptors. This is because the activation of these endocannabinoid receptors was shown to decrease tumor proliferation and angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels).
CBD as Moisturizer for Dry Skin
As mentioned, CBD can modulate the activity of sebocytes. If the body detects that there is too little sebum production, the activation of CBD’s receptors can modulate the sebocytes to produce more of the lubricating oil called sebum, therefore ensuring that the skin stays hydrated and moisturized.
CBD as an Antioxidant
CBD is known to have plenty of skin-rejuvenating antioxidants that prevent free radical chain reactions. CBD acts as an antioxidant, either capturing the free radicals or transforming them into less active forms of molecules so that they won’t be able to cause a chain reaction of biochemical events that end up damaging and aging the skin.
