Are you one of the 50 million people in the US who suffers from acne? Acne is one of the most common skin conditions and consumers spend over $1 billion annually to treat acne. There are many causes of acne, including stress and hormones. If you’re tired of dealing with it, CBD oil for acne might be the answer you’re looking for.
Keep reading to learn more about how CBD oil for acne might benefit you.
What is CBD Oil?
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is derived from marijuana or hemp plants. But unlike THC, CBD does not produce psychoactive effects. While THC will give you feelings of being high, CBD does not do that. And, because CBD from hemp is naturally low in THC, it is legal in every state.
CBD is a cannabinoid. Cannabinoids already exist on our bodies and are part of the endocannabinoid system. Cannabinoids and their receptors are found all throughout the body. They are in the brain, organs, nervous system, and immune cells.
Cannabinoids perform different functions in each of the different body systems, but the overall goal is homeostasis, or maintaining a stable internal environment. They also facilitate communication and coordination between different body systems.
For example, cannabinoids impact pain receptors that send a signal to the brain. CBD can help minimize chronic pain by muffling the pain receptors that send signals to the brain, reducing pain.
CBD has been used for a variety of different medical conditions, including depression and anxiety, chronic pain, arthritis, migraines, cancer, heart health, and diabetes prevention. In addition, it has been used for skin conditions including acne.
To understand how CBD can help with acne, it’s important to understand the underlying causes of acne.
What Causes Acne?
Acne occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with and/or dead skin cells. The plugged follicles cause whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples and acne usually appears on your face, forehead, chest, upper back, and shoulders.
The main causes of acne include excess oil production, hair follicles that are clogged by oil and dead skin cells, bacteria, and excess hormones (androgens).
The areas of your body where acne most often appears are those that have the most oil (sebaceous) glands. Your hair follicles are connected to the oil glands, so when there is excess oil produced, the follicle becomes clogged.
The clogged follicle could cause a whitehead, which is a plugged and closed follicle or blackheads, which are open plugs filled with bacteria and oil. The bacteria and oil turn brown when exposed to the air, giving the dark appearance of the pore.
Pimples and cyst-like lumps under your skin can also form as a result of clogged hair follicles.
Things That Make Acne Worse
Things that trigger and worsen acne include hormones, medications, diet, and stress. Androgens are a type of hormone that impacts acne. They increase during puberty, causing the oil glands to enlarge and produce more oil (sebum).
Too much androgen activity can cause acne, but not enough androgens, often experienced in women, can result in acne as well.
Hormonal changes that come with pregnancy or with the use of birth control also can contribute to acne. Certain medications, including ones containing corticosteroids (often used for addressing allergic reactions), testosterone, or lithium also can contribute to acne breakouts.
Contrary to popular belief, eating greasy foods doesn’t actually contribute to acne. Your diet does play a role, but acne is more often attributed to foods high in carbs, such as breads, chips, bagels, etc.
Chocolate also can make acne worse, although it’s not clear why.
Finally, stress also can contribute to acne. While it won’t cause it, it can make it worse. There are lots of over-the-counter and prescription medications to treat acne. CBD oil is one alternative to traditional treatments and one that has minimal side effects and could potentially benefit a person in other ways as well.
How Does CBD Oil for Acne Work?
Like the other organs in our body, our sebaceous glands and hair follicles contain CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors work to communicate with the nervous system to produce different effects, such as reduction of inflammation.
CBD oil can reduce acne because of its anti-inflammatory properties that may work to reduce the visible inflammation caused by clogged hair follicles. In addition to the anti-inflammatory function, CBD oil may also help treat acne in a number of other ways.
CBD activates the endocannabinoid system, which includes anandamide, a neurological transmitter that regulates cell growth. When this isn’t balanced, it can negatively impact the skin. CBD oil also may help inhibit overactive oil production, which is one of the key causes of acne.
One other benefit of CBD over prescription medications is that it only targets the problem-causing cells, leaving healthy cells alone and reducing side-effects common to many acne medications, such as dry and irritated skin.
The most common way to use CBD oil for acne is in a topical form, such as a lotion or cream. Making CBD oil a part of your daily skin care routine may have extensive benefits, to both your acne and other skin issues that you might be having.
You can also take a daily CBD oil supplement in pill form to help address acne and any other deeper issues, such as inflammation.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve tried everything out there for acne with poor results or just don’t like the side effects that come along with many over-the-counter and prescription medications, consider CBD oil for acne.
Not only can it help reduce the appearance of acne, it could benefit you in many other ways.
Check out our shop for more CBD oil options, including gummies, candies, and vape oil and to learn more about CBD oil and its benefit.
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