Definitive Guide to The Benefits of Hemp Oil for Skin Health
If you’ve heard of using hemp oil or CBD for its health benefits, it is most likely that you’ve heard of taking it either by drops under the tongue, vaping or maybe through edible gummies. With a long list of ailments that people are hoping that these products made from hemp will be able to help with, one thing that is often overlooked is the skin.
In fact, the skin can benefit hugely from a little CBD or hemp oil – which can be either ingested or applied directly to the skin. We have seen a massive boom in both the popularity of hemp-derived products on the market and also in the range and options that are available to you.
What is Hemp, CBD and what is the Fuss about?
It is impossible to ignore the explosion in popularity of all things hemp. So, what is it all about?
Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant. It has been used over thousands of years not only for its effects on the human body but also to produce a whole manner of products including paper, fabrics and even building materials.
Although there has not generally been a legal problem with a lot of these hemp products, things have really taken off since the Farm Bill 2018 was passed in the USA. It now means that hemp products can be easily and legally traded and transported across the entire country.
Hemp is a particular variety of cannabis which has very low levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) – one of the compounds which are found in the cannabis plant. THC is the compound which makes you high and is therefore illegal in many countries and states in the US.
CBD – or cannabidiol is another compound in the plant which can sometimes be present in higher levels in hemp, and which scientists believe can have numerous health benefits for the human body. Although more research is needed into how CBD can help, it is being seen as having great potential for medicinal reasons.
We have seen more and more products which are based around CBD – both to be used on the skin as well as consumed in other ways recently. These products are often made from hemp, meaning that the THC levels are very low – meaning that it is legal in many more places and, of course, won’t make you high.
Hemp seed oil is also a product which is made from hemp. Unlike the CBD oil which is commonly used (and usually made by using CO2 to take out the plant extract), the hemp seed oil is most commonly made by cold pressing the seeds.
This means that although the two oils can both come from the same plant, they can have very different properties. Hemp oil will contain no CBD or THC, won’t make you high, but does have some significant health benefits in general and especially the skin.
What does hemp do for your skin?
Regardless of whether you are taking hemp oil or CBD oil, it can be beneficial to your skin. It is a natural moisturiser with anti-inflammatory properties and can be effective whether it is taken in hemp oil or CBD oil form.
The oil also has a selection of other substances which can be useful for keeping your skin looking great and staying healthy.
One of the most important things that hemp can do for your skin, is reduce the amount of inflammation in the skin area. This means that it can calm any flare ups – which are often the cause of skin problems such as psoriasis or dry skin. It is also an emollient, which will leave the skin supple yet strong.
CBD can also help to regulate the production of sebum – the oil in the skin which, if in excess, can be instrumental in causing acne, and the depletion of which can cause dry skin, and inflammation.
Can CBD oil reduce wrinkles?
CBD can be effective in helping to reduce wrinkles in three ways – it can act as an antioxidant and therefore slow down the breakdown of collagen, it can reduce dryness and therefore the appearance of wrinkles, and it can help you to relax taking less strain off the skin on the face.
By using CBD oil, you can give wrinkles a three-pronged attack, helping you to look younger.
Through its antioxidant properties, CBD can be effective in slowing down the breakdown of collagen which is what actually causes wrinkles. If you already have wrinkles forming, you can ensure that your skin is well moisturised to make them less obvious and by relaxing your face more, wrinkles are also less likely to form.
You can take CBD to try to help to reduce wrinkles either by ingesting it or by rubbing it into your skin.
Can CBD oil make you look younger?
Given that the main way to make your skin look younger is to protect it and look after it properly, as well as try to prevent the breakdown of collagen, CBD can be useful in making your skin look younger.
However, it is more useful as part of a healthy daily skincare routine as opposed to a fix for aging skin. It is also very important to protect the skin from the sun, eat a healthy diet and avoid smoking to help to reduce the signs of aging.
Through its antioxidant properties, CBD oil can be very effective at helping to protect the collagen breakdown in the skin and therefore reduce the chance of and appearance of wrinkles. Using good CBD moisturisers will also help to keep your skin healthy, which can make you look younger.
However, none of this will be effective if you don’t protect your skin from other aspects which can speed up the signs of aging skin – as well as be detrimental to your health.
Is hemp oil good for aging skin?
Hemp oil can also be useful to help people with aging skin. It contains linoleic acid (Omega – 6 fatty acid) and oleic acid (Omega – 9 fatty acid) which are essential for aging skin. Hemp oil can be rubbed straight onto the skin or taken as part of your nutrition regime.
Linoleic acid and oleic acid are fundamental to keeping the skin healthy and young looking. Linoleic acid – or Omega – 6 fatty acid – helps to maintain healthy cells in the skin as well as aid cell regeneration keeping your skin look as young and fresh as possible.
Oleic acid – or Omega – 9 fatty acid – is an antioxidant, meaning that it can help to prevent the free radicals from causing damage after sun exposure and other outside, environmental stresses.
With the presence of these two particular substances, hemp oil can be extremely beneficial to people with aging skin.
Can you rub hemp oil on the skin for pain?
One of the main causes of pain in the human body is inflammation. It, therefore, makes sense that if inflammation can be reduced, then we can help to reduce pain. With its anti-inflammatory properties, it is believed that by reducing inflammation in the area where the pain is, hemp oil should be able to help to relieve the pain.
In a similar way to CBD oil, some people can find that rubbing hemp oil onto the skin can help to reduce inflammation and therefore help with pain relief. This does, of course, depend on what it is that is causing the pain.
By rubbing the hemp oil into your skin (as opposed to taking it) you can work on localised inflammation as opposed to generalised, which should give you better results.
Does CBD oil remove age spots?
Doctors believe that age spots occur naturally on our skin as we get older. They think that it is due to excessive exposure to UV rays such as those transmitted by the sun or tanning beds.
The antioxidant qualities of CBD are said to be able to help in protecting the skin from these stresses and therefore hopefully reduce the appearance of age spots.
It seems that age spots appear as a result of aging and exposure to the harmful UV rays of the sun and other UV sources. They are a consequence of the overproduction of melanin – or the pigment in the skin. Although there isn’t any significant scientific evidence to support CBD’s removal of skin spots, it can be useful in just making your skin healthier.
CBD can help to protect the skin with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, helping to prevent age spots from forming, but also in helping to reduce them.
Does CBD oil help heal wounds?
There is growing research to suggest that CBD oil can help to heal some wounds or burns if it is used as a topical solution. This is because it can interact with the endocannabinoid system in the skin, aiding in growth, proliferation, differentiation, the production of hormones and apoptosis.
CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties could also be useful in helping to heal wounds on the skin.
If CBD is applied directly to the skin it can directly affect the skin’s endocannabinoid system, helping to promote the regrowth of healthy skin cells. Scientists believe that this can then make it effective to help to heal skin wounds and burns.
In addition to this and its anti-inflammatory properties, CBD is also thought to be anti-bacterial qualities which could help in keeping infection at bay and also to help with pain relief.
Does CBD oil help bruises?
There are many things that it is thought that CBD oil can do for you, however, it seems unlikely that bruising is one of them. Whilst CBD can be great at reducing inflammation and maybe helping with pain relief, bruising is a whole new kettle of fish.
Bruising occurs when the skin suffers a trauma and the small blood capillaries near the skin’s surface burst, however, there is no evidence that CBD can help with this problem.
Although research shows that CBD oil can be used effectively for inflammation and pain which are often associated with skin trauma, there is no evidence as yet that it can help with healing the capillaries which burst and cause a bruise.
In fact, other than ice, there isn’t really very much that you can do to help bruises to go quicker.
Is hemp oil good for dark spots?
Dark spots such as sun-spots are common for people with aging skin, especially those who have spent a significant amount of time in the sin or under a sunbed. Hemp oil might be able to help with dark spots in the same way as CBD – through its antioxidant properties which are useful in protecting the skin.
The components of hemp oil lend themselves to being excellent for the prevention and treatment of dark spots on aging skin. By better protecting the skin, hemp oil can be useful to reduce the damage which can then turn into skin problems such as dark spots.
It is important to remember, however, that the best and safest way to avoid dark spots is by being careful to keep your skin healthy every day and not exposing it to too many UV rays.
Does hemp oil help scars?
Although there is little evidence to show that CBD can directly help scars, there are a number of things which it can do to help indirectly. With its antioxidant properties, it can help to protect from scarring in the first place, it can help to reduce inflammation and also moderate cell regrowth, helping the skin to heal itself.
Small scars such as those from acne can be almost unseen but can have a serious psychological impact on some people, such as the lowering of self-esteem. Through its mixture of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and helping with skin cell generation which can help to promote healthy skin, hemp oil might be able to help to make some sort of a change.
However, it is important to remember that this is most likely to be as a result of the combination of effects that hemp oil can have on the skin in general.
The Benefits of Hemp oil for Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic disease that is more common than you think. It occurs when there is a build up of cells on the skin surface and often shows itself through areas of red and dry skin, itchiness or soreness and pain in swollen or stiff joints. It is thought that hemp seed oil might be able to help with psoriasis.
Hemp seed oil is almost completely made from essential fatty acids (mainly Omega – 3 and Omega – 6) giving it the ideal balance of the substances that are needed for the healthy creation of human tissue as well as keeping the skin well moisturised.
Its potential properties of anti-inflammation and pain relief could also be useful in helping to deal with the symptoms of psoriasis. It may be able to help to calm red and angry inflammation, reduce dryness and reduce itching. The potential anti-bacterial qualities of hemp seed oil also mean that it might be able to help to protect a problem area from infection.
Some scientists are also suggesting that there is a link between psoriasis and mental health. It is fairly well-known that it can be enhanced by stress and researchers believe that there could be even stronger links. There is an amount of evidence which suggests that CBD can be useful in reducing stress and helping with depression and anxiety.
The Benefits of Hemp oil for Eczema
Atopic dermatitis – or eczema as it is better known – is another common skin problem. It occurs when something – often a disease linked to the immune system – causes flare-ups in the skin, producing patches of inflamed, red, itchy or painful skin. There appear to be a number of things in hemp oil which might be able to calm down eczema.
Mainly thanks to the fatty acids which are abundant in hemp seed oil, which can soothe and moisturise the skin, it seems that it might be a good option in terms of dealing with the symptoms of eczema.
Of course, hemp seed oil can help to calm inflammation, moisturise and promote the proper cell growth of healthy skin cells. This can prove to be helpful for people who are already suffering from the symptoms of eczema.
It is important, however, that if you are thinking about trying hemp seed oil to try to help your eczema, that you check the other ingredients that are present in the product. These can sometimes cause irritations and make the eczema worse.
How to use Hemp Seed Oil for the Skin
There are generally three ways that you can take hemp seed oil for your skin. You can either make a mixture of the hemp seed oil with other essential oils and apply it onto the skin like any other topical, you can buy hemp seed skin products, or you can take the oil through the mouth.
If you are looking for a general boost for your skin, it is recommended that you ingest the hemp seed oil.
However, if you have a particular area that you are hoping for the hemp seed oil to help you with, it is recommended that you use it topically.
If you have decided to take the hemp seed oil orally it is very simple. You should first speak to your doctor to ensure that it is safe for you to take. You should be able to take 1 or 2 teaspoons of the oil once or twice a day.
If you really don’t like the flavour of the hemp seed oil, it can be mixed into dressings, smoothies, sauces or soups for easier ingestion.
If you want to use hemp seed oil topically, you can buy creams and lotions which are ready to use. However, it is also easy to make your own.
Firstly, do your research into which essential oils you would like, their effects and whether they are recommended for the use that you are intending Some common and favourite essential oils include lavender oil or rosemary oil.
Then simply mix together 4 tablespoons of hemp seed oil with 2 teaspoons of melted coconut oil and 4 or 5 drops of your chosen essential oil.
Before you start to cover your body with it, it is important that you first do a patch test to ensure that you don’t have any allergy to the lotion. Apply some to the inside of your elbow once it has been properly cleaned, cover it and leave it for 24 hours. If you haven’t had an irritation or soreness you can go ahead!
It is essential that you clean the area properly before applying your hemp seed oil mixture.
If you are using your oil for acne, it is recommended that you apply it, then wash it off after 1-2 minutes.
There are many skin issues that you might be able to find help for in CBD oil or hemp seed oil. Although there are some major differences between the two, when it comes to your skin, they also have many similarities.
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of both CBD and hemp seed oil can be extremely useful – and even more so if it is being used in a combination of other essential oils.
Regardless of whether you buy your own ingredients to make your own topical, use one that is bought over the counter, use edibles, CBD oil or just use the hemp seed oil in your cooking, there are many benefits that can be taken from consuming the goodness from the cannabis plant.
Karen Asprey is a CBD writer and enthusiast who has made it her one woman mission to break down the taboo of cannabis, and make it more accessible to those who can benefit from it.