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Can CBD Oil Reduce Acne?
CBD (Cannabidiol) belongs to a large group of plant-based chemicals (phytochemicals) present in the cannabis plant. CBD is typically the second most abundant compound by concentration in cannabis, after tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is highly psychoactive. Medical professionals utilise the therapeutic activities of CBD for a wide range of disease conditions, including those affecting the skin, immune and musculoskeletal system.
Since CBD has been successfully incorporated into beauty products, plenty of people wonder if the compound can be used in the treatment of acne hence the question; can CBD oil reduce acne?
This article will give you the best answer we can find based on research data, personal experience, and client testimonials. We will also cover the best CBD products for acne, whether they help with other skin diseases and more.
What is Acne?
CBD (Cannabidiol) belongs to a large group of plant-based chemicals (phytochemicals) present in the cannabis plant. CBD is typically the second most abundant compound by concentration in cannabis, after tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is highly psychoactive. Medical professionals utilise the therapeutic activities of CBD for a wide range of disease conditions, including those affecting the skin, immune and musculoskeletal system.
Since CBD has been successfully incorporated into beauty products, plenty of people wonder if the compound can be used in the treatment of acne hence the question; can CBD oil reduce acne?
This article will give you the best answer we can find based on research data, personal experience, and client testimonials. We will also cover the best CBD products for acne, whether they help with other skin diseases and more.
What Is CBD?
CBD is a cannabinoid that derives from the cannabis plant. It comes in the form of numerous CBD products, like CBD oil.
CBD oil can interact with your endocannabinoid system and affect the cannabinoid receptors by activating their mood-lifting effects.
Doctors prescribe CBD oil for numerous medical purposes, such as lowering pain, reducing anxiety effects, relieving inflammatory skin diseases, and more. They do this because of CBD’s anti inflammatory properties.
THC is the second prominent cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. THC affects the cannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system by lifting your mood and providing a high. Recreational cannabis and CBD products are currently illegal in New Zealand.
How can CBD Reduce Acne?
1. Improved skin health
CBD oil adjusts the method and rate at which the body produces sebum. Sebum is a waxy and oily substance produced by the skin, and it plays an active role in the expression of acne in all ages. Data gathered from a 2014 study revealed that CBD oil could reduce the body’s rate sebum and prevent dead skin cells.
You need to make sure your dosage isn’t too high because if you lower your sebum levels too much, you can get dry and itchy skin.
2. Reduction in chronic inflammation
The anti inflammatory properties of CBD come in handy in checking the production of sebocytes and limiting other local reactions giving rise to acne. It can also boost the activity of the immune system in fighting against microbial invasion.
CBD oil’s anti inflammatory properties can also reduce inflammation from various pains, such as chronic pain from cancer, physical pain (back, neck), and more.
3. Triggering hormonal balance
Hormonal imbalance is a primary cause of acne in the body.
Hormonal imbalance is when you have too much of a specific hormone in your body (or too little of a particular hormone). Hormones that badly affect you if you have hormonal imbalance include cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, insulin, and more.
CBD and its interaction with ECS receptors can help regulate hormone production, thus triggering hormonal balance in all ages.
4. Reduction in the expression of stress, anxiety, and depression
Acne can negatively affect your mental health as well as your skin health. In some cases, it can cause various mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Additionally, it can cause significant stress, negatively affecting your personal and working life.
CBD can fight this by triggering the release of feel-good hormones, which plays active roles in relaxation, sleep, stress reduction and limiting the expression of anxiety and depression.
5. Antimicrobial activities
While microbial activity can benefit several bodily functions (decomposing organic matter, cycling nutrients, etc.), too much activity can make infection more likely.
CBD can limit the growth and spread of bacterial and fungal cells in the body, thus reducing the infection levels from dirt and other pollutants.
CBD does not produce adverse side effects and you can utilise it for a wide range of disease conditions. In addition, it is safe and highly affordable.
Can You Use CBD Oil For Other Inflammatory Skin Diseases?
CBD oil is fantastic for treating acne in numerous ways, but can it help with any other inflammatory skin diseases?
Essentially, CBD can relieve many skin diseases that cause a change in your physical appearance.
A 2019 study presents findings stating that CBD relieves some of the most prominent skin diseases like psoriasis ( a skin disease that causes the skin to turn red, dry and flaky), atopic dermatitis (otherwise known as eczema; it makes the skin itchy and red).
The test also didn’t find any adverse side effects or allergic reactions to the CBD treatment, making it a possible alternative to traditional treatment.
CBD oil can also help patients with Sensitive skin. While not as physically noticeable as acne or psoriasis, sensitive skin can be just as irritating. CBD can soothe and relieve sensitive skin pain and make skin irritation less frequent.
An important aspect to remember is certain additional ingredients, which can cause further irritation. Therefore, your doctor needs to carefully check the ingredients before prescribing you a product.
For older patients, CBD can also help with wrinkles and aging skin. CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects can gradually reduce wrinkles. It also promotes better skin health overall, perfect for aging skin. While CBD is a good treatment, other antioxidants are far easier to obtain (antioxidants in fruit and vitamin E products).
Does CBD Oil As An Acne Treatment Have Side Effects?
While side effects when taking CBD for acne are very rare, they can still occur.
The minor side effects when taking CBD for treating acne include:
- A reduction in appetite, resulting in weight loss (may or may not be an issue depending on if you want to lose appetite/weight or not).
- Diarrhea.
- Tiredness and daytime drowsiness.
Although these side effects are rare, you need to ensure that the prescribed CBD dosage is correct. If the dose is too high, you will likely experience at least one of these side effects. Luckily, if you only need a small amount of CBD oil, it is doubtful you will have any of the side effects.
The side effects of CBD aren’t a significant issue, but there is a risk that can be more serious; taking CBD with other medication. You need to inform your medical professional if you take any other medication so they can tell you if you can take CBD oil or not.
Some of the prescription medications that will interfere with CBD acne treatment include:
- Heart rhythm medication.
- Thyroid medication.
- Seizure medication.
- Blood thinners.
How Does CBD Oil Compare To Traditional Acne Treatment?
While CBD effectively relieves acne, there needs to be more research to determine if it effectively replaces traditional acne treatments. Therefore, unless your doctor explicitly recommends CBD for treating acne, you should continue to use regular acne treatments.
However, CBD does have less frequent side effects than traditional medication. For example, acne topicals (creams, gels, etc.) are mostly without side effects, with the only ones being dry and irritated skin. However, oral acne medication can have far more side effects.
Some of the side effects you can get from oral acne medication include:
- Oral antibiotics can cause multiple side effects like stomach problems and dizziness. Some oral antibiotics can even interfere and lessen the impact of birth control pills. If you take oral antibiotics for treating acne and are also on birth control, you need to take a backup method of birth control to be safe.
- You can also solely use oral contraceptives to treat acne. However, there are some severe side effects, including higher blood pressure and the potential for blood clots.
- Oral Isotretinoin is also an option to treat acne, but some of the potential side effects can be severe–possible side effects include depression, high cholesterol levels, a reduction of liver function. The most severe side effect of the medication is a potential congenital disability for a newborn if you’re pregnant.
What CBD Acne Products Are Best To Use For Acne?
Of the three main types of CBD (Full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD, and CBD isolate), CBD isolate is the best one to treat acne.
Full-spectrum CBD and broad-spectrum CBD contain a minimal amount of THC, which doesn’t add any benefits to the skin (there is also no evidence to suggest that THC has any adverse effects on acne). You can take CBD with THC in it if you want, but not everyone enjoys the high effect.
CBD Isolate only contains CBD, providing all of the acne treatment benefits while not adding on a high effect.
There are also multiple forms of CBD oil you can take to treat acne. However, topical CBD products are the primary form we recommend for acne and other skin conditions.
CBD skincare products can include creams, gels, CBD enriched ointment, and patches. These CBD products are the best option for acne because they directly apply and treat the skin instead of targeting the whole body.
Other CBD products include CBD oil, CBD gummies, CBD vapes, and CBD oral spray.
Can You Legally Use CBD For Acne In New Zealand?
It is currently illegal to use nonprescription CBD products to treat acne. Therefore, you can only legally obtain CBD for acne in New Zealand if you get a prescription for it.
In most cases, your doctor will obtain CBD products that they can access directly. However, there are cases where they can prescribe to you a product they don’t have immediate access to (an overseas product, for example). If they want to prescribe you a specific product from overseas, they can import it with a permission letter and cover any importing costs.
Even though most nonprescription CBD products are illegal in New Zealand, your doctor can acquire approved nonprescription CBD products (products approved by the NZ Ministry Of Health) by sending an approval letter to the Ministry of Health. However, the Ministry of Health can still reject approved nonprescription CBD products requests in certain circumstances.
You can also take CBD for acne on an overseas flight with you if you need to. However, you must remember to present a physical copy of your prescription letter to the airport staff and declare the exact type and amount of product on any necessary destination entry forms.
You must not dispose of the original CBD packaging because you must bring it with you to the airport. You must also remember that the supply of your CBD product must not exceed three months.
Conclusion: Can CBD Oil Reduce Acne?
Further research needs to happen in the future regarding CBD for acne treatment. However, the research so far states that CBD oil can be beneficial for relieving acne effects, reducing irritation, balancing hormones, and more. You can also use CBD for other skin conditions (psoriasis, etc.) and to promote healthy skin in general.
CBD Isolate is the best type to use, but full and broad-spectrum also work. CBD topicals are the best form of CBD for acne because you directly apply them to the skin.
The side effects of CBD for acne are minor and very rare, but they can occur if you are on a larger dose. There are far fewer side effects with CBD than there are with traditional oral acne medication, but you should still take these if your doctor tells you to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will CBD oil Help With My Acne?
Yes. CBD oil can be beneficial for relieving acne effects, reducing irritation, balancing hormones, and more. You can also use CBD for other skin conditions (psoriasis, etc.) and to promote healthy skin in general.
CBD topicals (creams, gels, patches, etc.) are best to use for acne because they specifically target the skin instead of targeting the entire body.
Can I Apply CBD Oil Directly To My Skin?
The only form of CBD that you can apply directly to the skin are CBD topicals. There are numerous CBD topical products, such as CBD creams, CBD gels, CBD patches, and CBD enriched ointment.
These are better for skin conditions than other CBD products (CBD oil, for example) because they apply directly to the skin and target skin conditions more effectively.
What CBD Product Is Best For Acne?
CBD topicals are the best CBD products for acne. There are numerous CBD topical products available for acne, including CBD creams, CBD gels, CBD patches, and CBD enriched ointment.
These are better for acne than other CBD products (CBD oil, CBD gummies, CBD vapes, etc.) because they apply directly to the skin and target the inflammation from acne more effectively.
Can CBD Oil Cause Any Skin Problems?
While CBD won’t directly cause any skin conditions, there are sporadic cases of CBD causing itchy and red skin. However, these side effects are even rarer than the other side effects (diarrhea, sleepiness, etc.), so it’s improbable that you will experience them if you use good quality CBD products.
However, if you use a poor quality synthetic CBD product, you are more likely to experience these effects.
Can I Use CBD For Other Skin Conditions?
You can use CBD for many skin conditions other than acne. Some of the skin conditions/ skin problems you can use CBD oil for include:
- Psoriasis ( a skin disease that causes the skin to turn red, dry and flaky).
- Atopic dermatitis (otherwise known as eczema; makes the skin itchy and red).
- Sensitive skin.
- Wrinkles and aging skin for older patients.
Dr Ron Goedeke, specialises in alternative and functional medicine. He is a foundation member of the New Zealand college of Appearance medicine and has been a member of the American Academy of Anti-aging medicine since 1999. With over 20 years of experience in the anti-aging field, Dr Ron Goedeke is recognized as one of New Zealand’s leaders in this new and growing field of medicine.
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