CBD Oil Benefits For Skin: Better Than CBD Topical Products?

Of all the CBD products that have hit the market since they were legalised in most jurisdictions in the late 2010s, CBD oil is the most popular. CBD creams, lotions, and other topical products are #2.

Naturally, skincare products infused with CBD (the common abbreviation of cannabidiol) are designed to provide benefits for users’ skin health. But according to preliminary research, CBD oil consumed orally or sublingually (dropped under the tongue to be absorbed) also appears to deliver substantial topical benefits.

Cannabidiol’s effects haven’t been proven to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or the medical world, but CBD’s apparent medical properties explain why it would help users with a variety of skin issues.

• Cannabidiol is an anti-inflammatory, and inflammation causes many painful and problematic skin conditions including the severe itching caused by psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema, and the acne that can be triggered by inflammation.
• CBD is an antimicrobial that can fight skin infections that cause pain and discomfort and may also lead to acne and other skin diseases.
• Cannabidiol is an antioxidant, which means it can battle the free radicals that cause cell damage, potentially protecting skin cells and reducing signs of aging like wrinkles and fine lines.

There’s also some evidence that CBD regulates the body’s release of sebum, the oily substance that causes acne outbreaks when excess sebum is produced.

Which would be a better choice for those benefits, CBD oil or CBD topical treatments? It comes down to the type and severity of the skin condition, disease, or issue you want to treat.

When CBD is applied to the skin, its effects are only felt or seen in the areas where it’s been used. Cannabidiol can’t penetrate all of the skin’s layers to reach the bloodstream and provide systemic effects. That could make CBD topicals a better choice for localised inflammation, infections, dryness, or outbreaks, as well as the pain caused by those issues.

CBD oil takes longer to work when it’s consumed and it may be less effective for problems on specific areas of the skin. If a skin problem isn’t limited to a relatively small area, a systemic approach — and CBD oil — could be the better approach. It would also provide the user with all of cannabidiol’s apparent benefits, not just the ones that help the skin.

Want more information before deciding? We have it right here.

What is CBD Oil?

Simple answer: it’s CBD combined with oil. The longer answer might be more helpful.

CBD and Its Apparent Benefits

CBD is one of two major cannabinoids (a class of plant compounds) found in cannabis and hemp plants. The other is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), known to marijuana users for its psychoactive properties. CBD and THC have very similar chemical structures, but their slight difference is why THC makes users high but cannabidiol is non-intoxicating.

Each cannabinoid provides apparent medical benefits but their slight differences come into play there as well, with CBD seeming to help with a larger number of diseases, disorders, and conditions. Only preliminary research has been done so far, so to date, cannabidiol has only been approved as a prescription treatment for a few types of rare childhood epilepsy.

However, studies have shown that CBD may help to ease inflammation and immune system problems and diseases and the chronic pain they cause; anxiety, stress, and depression; more serious mental health issues; insomnia and sleep disorders; neurodegenerative diseases, acne, and quite a few other issues, perhaps even some types of cancer.

The Story of CBD Oil

Cannabidiol is extracted from hemp plants because they’re rich in the cannabinoid and contain very little THC, not enough to get users high. That lets people use CBD for its apparent benefits without having to worry about being impaired. There’s not much cannabidiol in cannabis, so there’s no reason to try to extract it from those plants.

There’s one big problem, though: the body doesn’t absorb CBD very well. It needs help if it’s to deliver its maximum benefits, so producers add so-called “carriers” that increase cannabidiol’s “bioavailability” (the amount available for the body to use). Most often, CBD gets that help in the form of what’s called a carrier oil — and the combination of the two is called CBD oil.

Carrier oils are chosen for two properties. They boost cannabidiol’s absorption, and if they’re consumed orally, they don’t have to spend very long in the digestive system. MCT oil, coconut oil, and hempseed oil are the most common carrier oils paired with CBD.

Being able to avoid lengthy digestion is a big deal. CBD oil is often added to food or beverages, which means the oil winds up in the gastrointestinal tract and stays there while the food is broken down. That process can take as long as two hours, and during the process, much of the cannabidiol is lost.

The smarter way to use CBD oil is to drop it under the tongue (known as sublingual administration). That allows the oil to be absorbed by the sublingual tissues located there and moved into the bloodstream without ever reaching the digestive system. The CBD oil goes to work much faster without substantial loss of cannabidiol.

Incidentally, many people consume CBD oil without knowing it. CBD capsules are just an easier and more discreet way to take CBD oil, and CBD edibles and beverages are infused with the oil.

CBD topical products are infused with it, too.

What Are CBD Topicals?

You’ll see many varieties of CBD topical products at your local store and online: creams, lotions, balms, and salves are just some. Here’s what they have in common; they’re the same skincare and facial products you’d normally buy, but CBD oil has been added to them.

Topical CBD products all have one major drawback. It’s virtually impossible for them to pass through all layers of a user’s skin to reach the bloodstream, so they can’t interact with most of the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) receptors to deliver all of their full-body benefits.

Topical CBD can only deliver localised benefits in the area where it’s applied. That’s enough for many users, though, because these products provide an extra advantage. They’re simply CBD-infused topical creams or lotions, so they also contain ingredients that provide additional skincare and/or pain relief benefits.

However, cannabidiol appears to have the potential to do pretty well on its own.

• Studies have shown that CBD has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties that reportedly help battle inflammation and infections that can be painful on their own, but also trigger acne and other skin diseases.
• Cannabidiol appears to regulate the secretion of oily sebum that keeps skin moist but can trigger acne when too much is released.
• CBD’s anti-inflammatory powers appear to fight the skin dryness and itching that can be caused by dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis.
• Cannabidiol is also an antioxidant, and when combined with its anti-inflammatory properties, it reportedly may protect the skin from damage (both systemic and environmental) and reduce the appearance of aging.

And since CBD appears to ease pain in users with anti-immune and inflammatory diseases like arthritis, it would also seem tailor-made for those suffering from skin, muscle, and joint pain.

That’s the background. Now, how do you decide if a CBD topical is the right choice for you?

CBD Oil or CBD Topical Products for the Skin?

Let’s start with a reminder that when you use a CBD topical, you’ll also be using CBD oil. That’s what topical products are infused with. That doesn’t answer the real question, though.

The endocannabinoid system has receptors throughout the skin, allowing cannabidiol to go to work and provide its apparent benefits to an affected area. However, the CBD won’t deliver its full-body benefits since it’s blocked from the bloodstream by the skin — and it won’t be as effective at potentially fighting inflammation, infection, and skin damage.

That understanding can help users decide whether to choose CBD oil or a topical like CBD cream when they want to ease a skin condition.

When the problem is localised, a CBD topical product often makes sense. It’s absorbed by the skin and works quickly to provide relief to the affected location, while the product’s other pain-relieving or skincare ingredients deliver their own benefits. Many athletes, for example, regularly use CBD cream or lotion on sore or inflamed areas after a game or workout.

If a skin problem is systemic in nature, however, CBD oil could be the better choice.

For instance, psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that can lead to breakouts all over the body. Putting cannabidiol to work internally should be more effective at battling the disease and easing the problem. Similarly, CBD oil would seem to make more sense for skin damage caused by regular exposure to the sun’s UV rays.

There could be an even better answer: using both. CBD oil appears to provide a bonanza of medical, health, and wellness benefits, not just those that help the skin. Combining the use of CBD oil with the application of CBD topical products could ensure that users receive cannabidiol’s effects.

Types of CBD

Whether you’re buying CBD oil or a CBD topical (or both), you’ll be faced with one other decision. Most CBD products are available in three varieties: full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate. Which is best for skin conditions?

Full-spectrum CBD oil or topicals are usually the best choice. Here’s why.

When cannabidiol is extracted from hemp and turned into CBD oil or infused into a topical product, it contains all of the plant’s important compounds: terpenes, flavonoids, cannabidiol, and the other cannabinoids found in hemp — including its small amount of THC. All of those compounds work together in an “entourage effect” to maximize the CBD’s effectiveness.

Products created with that extracted cannabidiol are known as full-spectrum because they contain the complete spectrum of hemp’s plant compounds.

The CBD can be processed further before it’s used to manufacture products, though. THC can be removed to create broad-spectrum CBD, or all of the other compounds can be removed to produce pure CBD, known as CBD isolate. The former has less of an entourage effect, making it somewhat less effective, and the latter has no entourage effect at all.

Why would anyone use less-effective CBD? Some people are allergic to THC, while others fear that the THC in their oil or topical might cause them to flunk a drug test. Broad-spectrum contains virtually no THC (trace amounts may remain after processing) and CBD isolate contains none at all, giving users the ability to choose the CBD product that meets their needs.