UNITED STATES—CBD is the latest, greatest craze in skincare, with beauty gurus the world over rushing to support products that contain this incredible cannabis compound. Regardless of how CBD affects your skin, you should feel confident knowing that CBD works wonders at relaxing the body and mind, alleviating stress and improving your mood — and as a result, CBD makes for the perfect ingredient in an at-home spa experience.
To make your at-home spa time as luxurious and tranquil as possible, here is a guide to understanding CBD topicals and choosing the best products to improve your experience.
How CBD Topicals Work
Traditionally, CBD enters the bloodstream when a user consumes cannabis, often through inhalation but also by ingestion. Once in the blood, CBD seems to influence the body’s endocannabinoid system to produce compounds that combat inflammation, pain, stress and other negative sensations. Increasing research demonstrates that CBD does have a physiological effect on the body beyond any possible placebo effect, and many suffering from health conditions like epilepsy can seek potent CBD products, even from a dispensary on Conway, Arkansas.
However, CBD topicals don’t function exactly the same as cannabis or CBD edibles. While other CBD products enter the body and travel through the bloodstream, CBD topicals are applied to the outside of the skin. The skin is the body’s largest organ, but its primary function is as a barrier between the delicate inner workings of the body and the dangerous, sometimes toxic environment. As a result, it is rare for the skin to allow anything to penetrate too deeply into its tissues, let alone reach the bloodstream.
Unfortunately, CBD isn’t some magical compound that the skin willingly permits into the body. Like other topical products, the skin only allows CBD lotions, salves, balms and oils to penetrate so far, usually into the layers of skin and potentially as deep as muscles and connective tissues in the surrounding area. Any CBD that reaches the bloodstream tends to stay in the vicinity, producing targeted physical effects instead of all-over psychological effects associated with inhalables and edibles.
This isn’t to say that CBD topicals don’t work. On the contrary, those who suffer from chronic pain like arthritis attest that CBD topicals are some of the best products for alleviating pain and improving mobility because they don’t generate a groggy feeling like other common types of pain relief do. Plus, some skincare experts laud CBD as a potential wonder treatment for skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema, which are often the result of skin inflammation.
While you could create an at-home spa experience with any luxury skincare goods, CBD can provide a particularly sumptuous experience — even if it isn’t getting you high. Without further ado, here are some of the topicals you need to make your CBD spa superb.
5 Must-have CBD Spa Topicals
CBD Bath Bombs
Soaking in CBD is one of the best ways to encourage the compound to sink deeper into your tissues instead of merely sitting on the outside layer of skin. Bath bombs tend to soften the water of a bath while creating fun colors and aromas to make the bathing experience more enjoyable. Because CBD products are unregulated by any state or federal agency, you should be careful to choose bath bombs from respected CBD companies. Our favorite is the Green Roads CBD Bath Bomb, but the Jasmine and Eucalyptus Bath Bomb from Seabedee is also top tier.
CBD Bath Salts
Many people opt for either a bath bomb or bath salts, but your spa should have both. Bath salts provide a different experience to bombs; they are typically naturally infused with minerals and other compounds that help to soothe the body and mind. When used in conjunction with CBD, like Lord Jones High-CBD Formula, bath salts can ensure a deep relaxation.
CBD Body Soap
Soaking isn’t necessarily bathing. Because you want to wash away dirt and grime to emerge from your spa experience clean and refreshed, you need a CBD topical that will properly cleanse your body without being too harsh or overly drying. There are plenty of body washes out there, but for simplicity’s sake we like the Cannuka CBD Cleansing Body Bar, which uses CBD and hemp oil.
CBD Face Mask
While face masks aren’t the cure-all, magical skin treatments that many believe them to be, using a face mask regularly can help to keep skin moist and alleviate conditions like dryness and acne. While you are soaking, you might apply the Origins Hello, Calm Face Mask or the Mask Spotless CBD Sheet Mask to give your face the same dose of CBD as the rest of your body.
CBD Body Oil
You could invest in any post-bath CBD topical, like a lotion or a balm, but CBD oils tend to absorb into the skin quickly to provide moisture fast. This can be essential just after cleansing, when hot, drying skin can lose moisture rapidly. You need to be sure to purchase a CBD oil meant for topical application, not one intended for oral administration. The best of the best is likely Herbivore Botanicals Emerald CBD.
You don’t need CBD to relax — but it sure helps. Because CBD is legal almost everywhere, and because CBD alone won’t get you high, you should indulge in this CBD spa experience at home today.