It’s a strangely sunny afternoon in late March. I’m looking longingly at the garden with dreams of topping up my lockdown tan and I’ve just finished reading a third press release in as many days, dedicated to the new beauty buzz-ingredient CBD. My interest is piqued.
Beauty and wellness are always rapidly moving forward with R&D. Hyaluronic Acid, squalane and bakuchiol (hydration, hydration and anti-ageing, respectively) are new, powerful additives we have seen brands enthuse over in recent years. But even long-standing disciplines such as gua sha massage are running the mainstream gauntlet again. Whilst bakuchiol has been used with a thorough understanding as a constituent of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for far longer than the recent buzz would indicate.
When we read these advertising posts and the backs of aesthetically-pleasing boxes or shelfie-ready bottles, we ask: are these fundamentals new or is it just good marketing? I had heard friends mention CBD in passing (who hasn’t these days), with uses ranging from easing aches, pains and anxiety through to helping moderate metabolism. But why was it now having its moment in beauty too?
I had just restocked a favourite skin-soothing facial oil, CBD Booster by Bibi, when I started giving thought to how well established the ingredient was. Is this the reworking of something we’ve seen before – a come-and-go fad which would fade with the summer and the next spin of the marketing wheel? After all, hemp seed oil has been used as a hydrating ingredient in cosmetics for years. Or is CBD here to stay – poised and ready to change the landscape of beauty and wellness?
Whilst looking into CBD, it became apparent that I needed some help with the terminology in this brave new cannabinoid world. I managed to steal some time from a specialist in the field, Dr. Julie Moltke, who was able to offer some clarity. How she came to be so knowledgeable in the field also provided an insight into where this rabbit hole could eventually lead me.
“After a few years of working in the traditional medical system, I realised that not only was I making myself sick with stress, but I was also not able to help my patients who came with various chronic diseases, stress, and mental health problems in the way I wanted,” Julie explained. From her medical training, she undertook further research into areas currently seen as more holistic. “I started to focus on mental health, stress management and sleep. Within the medicinal cannabis industry I realised that a more holistic approach was what I felt lacked in the conventional system.”
Her work is now wide-reaching, and her methods intuitive to each client she sees. Most recently publishing her book, A Quick Guide to CBD, she also founded the London-based health, wellness and cannabis science publication, Getthedose, as well as The Holistic Medicine Podcast. “I prescribe medicinal cannabis at the pain clinic, Clinic Horsted in Denmark, I offer holistic consultations, I am a public keynote speaker, and a yoga and mindfulness teacher. I also run a retreat centre at my farm in southern Sweden. I see this as one of my most important tasks to help bridge the gap between the conventional and more alternative worlds and bring a more holistic view into healthcare in the west. At the end of the day, everyone deserves to be seen for everything that they are, and not only as a symptom with a diagnostic code.”
In order to help me better understand CBD, Julie proffered a quick yet specialised science lesson.
I started simple. Firstly, what is CBD? “It is one out of more than 100 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. The cannabinoids are active ingredients that are produced in the flowering head of the cannabis plant,” Julie explained. Most of us know of THC, but that’s very different: “THC is the most famous cannabinoid molecule; the one with intoxicating and euphoric properties. CBD, on the other hand, is non-intoxicating and even though it works by modulating systems in our brain, it does not change our state of consciousness”.
Secondly, what does CBD do? I had seen so many different products across this new sub-industry, but I was still unsure how it would work for the body and mind. Almost every bit of research and brand information mentioned the endocannabinoid system (ECS). “The ECS is the key to all the magic and can explain why CBD and medical cannabis can have so many benefits,” continued Julie. “It is a regulatory system, a bit like the main butler in a grand hotel, it makes sure that everything in our body is kept under tightly regulated control. It controls mood, memory, appetite, fertility, immune function, and reward among others.”
How this relates to our bodies’ use of CBD, however, is incredible. Julie elaborated, “the ECS consists of receptors, which are spread out over the body, including high density in the brain, the skin, bone, immune cells and internal organs including intestines and reproductive organs. Then there are the messenger molecules, our body’s own internally produced cannabinoids that help regulate the above functions. CBD and other cannabinoids work in our body by interacting with the ECS and thereby help balance some of the functions controlled by the ECS.”
My interest was now bordering on enthrallment. I was struck by the revelation that, despite all this being present in our bodies, moderating and influencing so many key processes, ongoing research into CBD’s potential was still so hampered by current guidelines and legislation.
Having learned a little more about the what and why, I was intrigued by the range of terms I was seeing when sampling CBD products. Alongside varied terms for the type of CBD itself, different products offered a range of ‘milligrams per recommended dose’ which seemed inconsistent at best.
At the time of writing, UK government guidelines recommend a maximum of 70mg per day. This amount was referred to by one of the brands I spoke with as a ‘micro-dose’. Indeed, depending on who I spoke to, I was hearing anecdotal evidence that the daily dose which suited individuals best was generally up to the individual themself. With something of a trial-and-error factor involved in working it out.
Across the plethora of products I was dabbling with, ensuring my doses were acceptable and consistent meant I had to look closely at the ingredients list, as well as the concentration. I noticed different names for CBD too: isolate, broad-spectrum and full-spectrum were all popping up regularly, with no real indication as to what the terms meant. Cue the next wave of questions.
I went back to my guru, Julie, in order to look more closely at what I was actually finding in these different products. “CBD comes from the cannabis plant, but it isn’t quite that simple” Julie explained. The plant consists of more than 500 molecules; cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenoids.” I hoped that looking at what different components offered may indicate why they were selected for different products. As such, back to class with Dr Moltke.
What is CBD isolate? “When buying a product with CBD isolate, you are only getting the CBD molecule and nothing else. The CBD has been extracted, either by CO2 or ethanol extraction, from the plant and only the pure CBD crystals are left. When getting a product on isolate you are not getting any terpenes, flavonoids, or minor cannabinoids.”
Moving on to CBD broad-spectrum: “Broad-spectrum indicates that the product is based on all the contents of the cannabis plant, except THC,” she said. “The THC has been removed to make it legal to sell in the many countries in the world where there is a 0% tolerance for THC in high-street CBD.”
Finally, CBD full-spectrum: “You guessed it: a full-spectrum contains all the molecules in the cannabis flower and all cannabinoids including THC and CBD.”
Despite Julie reassuring me that all serious brands labs test their products and will offer these results on their website, I felt that, as THC remains illegal in the UK, it was broad spectrum or isolate CBD, with undetectable levels of THC that I needed to look for.
Having done far more research than I had anticipated, merely to understand the various products available, and with only a little ‘incidental dabbling’, I obviously needed to try CBD at some point with a more critical eye. But where to start? The range of available products was already so diverse that I was more than a little tentative when deciding which product was the best for me to begin my personal exploration.
OTO are big in the CBD world, with a wide product offering which includes skincare, aromatherapy scented oil roll-ons, (alcohol free) drink shots, oil-form tincture sleep drops and even a brand new pillow spray. The range was developed by husband-and-wife founders Gemma and James Bagley, who had come across CBD whilst working and living in San Francisco. Upon moving back to the UK they were shocked to find no high-quality equivalent products available in Britain. As such, creating their own was the logical next step.
The CBD Bitters by OTO are a very unusual product, but one I’ve immensely enjoyed for its uniqueness. An easy and palate-pleasing way to incorporate CBD into your day, with simple dosing instructions, the bitters can be mixed in iced water and tonics or in cocktails and juices, with the recommended dose of three dashes providing approximately 50mg of CBD. Taste-wise, the cacao and lemongrass offered a rich sweetness with a herbal depth, packed with flavour as any good bitter should be, but not overpowering in any one drink and working perfectly with a slimline tonic and ice. Another OTO product which is now a firm favourite of mine (as a newly converted advocate of scented oils) is their Amplify 20% CBD Roll-On Oil. Offering a 15mg transdermal application of CBD isolate per roll, the mix also contains a soothing blend of bergamot and uplifting bitter orange aromatherapy oils. On reaching out to the brand, I was reassured that CBD isolate is used in all of their products, ensuring no risk of THC presence.
Another of the first products I tried, CBD Drops by BeYou has since become a permanent addition to my daily routine, with my morning and evening self-care regime now including their sublingual CBD drops. The little dropper-tip bottles find their home in the cupboard between the coffee and tea, an easy grab for a twice-daily pipette of oil under my tongue, held until it dissolves. I had been warned by a few individuals I spoke with that the natural flavour of CBD has the potential to come across as grassy or overly strong. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, across the three flavours offered by the company (berry, lemon and natural), the unadulterated natural option was actually my personal favourite due to its soft, herbal flavour. BeYou offers a great variety of products, also available in a spray form, with three strengths (300mg, 600mg and 1200mg). The company provides an excellent introduction for novices and very clear instructions on dosing.
After reading a little more about the company, I was intrigued to find out how BeYou had moved into the CBD industry. As a brand that primarily offers products relating to menstrual health, they also now offer a large range of CBD products. Alongside their CBD drops and sprays, the brand also produces edible CBD gummies and a topical muscle balm. I reached out to one of the co-founders, Hemang, for a little more information.
“The journey started when my sister was period-shamed at her first job out of uni. After launching and getting really strong traction with our flagship monthly patches we were looking at expanding the range so we asked our customers what they wanted to see next. The most common reply we got was CBD, by a long shot, which was surprising.”
The knowledge that BeYou’s decision-making was consumer-led was so interesting to hear, while the high-level of respect for their customers was shown by being one of the first brands to publish their lab tests on their website.
Hemang elaborated, “we got to work with the knowledge that in a hugely-crowded marketplace, people just aren’t sure who to trust. Before we did the survey, CBD wasn’t a firm yes on my product roadmap because the research was relatively scarce for any female-specific issues. In fact, one of our core aims is to contribute to fixing this gender gap in medical research as we grow. But all my research on pain-science, inflammation and menstruation from when I was creating the patches came in pretty handy, as I was able to find strong links between period pain and the research that was available at the time on how CBD compounds interact physiologically. I quickly realised the theory strongly supported the anecdotal evidence being put forward by so many women who were swearing by CBD.”
Hemang’s was one of many accounts I had heard from different brands which had a shared theme: their journey into CBD had been led by something less straightforward than marketing and profit. Maybe I had been somewhat jaded before. However, after years of working in the industry, this revelation was a breath of fresh air.
Back to my own ‘CBDiary’. By mid-May, I had been taking CBD for a few weeks. In honesty, despite all my research and the wealth of amazing stories I had heard from others, I hadn’t personally seen much of a difference. I confided in a friend who had been using CBD regularly for some time. I was worried, if nothing else, that this article would be less-than-important if I simply provided a written ‘shrug’ in response to the CBD revolution. They shared insight from their own use of CBD. “It’s not a pain killer and it’s not a glass of wine. You won’t feel an instant gratification or change, but after a while, something will happen and you’ll think ‘wow, I dealt with that so much better than I would have a few months back’. Or you’ll notice small habits moving on or forming.”
Unsure of the cause of my own lack of noticeable response to regular use, I wanted to delve deeper in order to explore other means of incorporating CBD into my lifestyle. Maybe I just hadn’t found the right one yet. I might add that, at this point, I was being targeted with very specific advertising. Apple was certain that I was a total fiend for all that is CBD, with Google and Amazon not far behind. I’ll admit, whilst paranoia inducing (even without the THC), this wasn’t unhelpful, as it allowed me to see just how many brands were stepping into the ring.
After a little more reading, I found Kloris, a British brand offering a wide range of CBD-based products. But Kloris was a little different. From first impressions, the products themselves seemed luxurious; classic medicinal brown bottles to preserve the product, with monochrome labelling and kraft boxing adding an air of minimalism and calm. Their products range from CBD sublingual oil (in 5% and 10% strength) through to a Luxury CBD balm. The latter, a topical salve for aches and pains (or generally stressed-out skin) is made up of a veritable buffet of organic plant butters, waxes and oils, and contains vitamins A and E and, of course, cannabidiol. A vegan-friendly Superboost Facial Oil moves us over into facial skincare, with hydrating vegan squalene and cucumber oil being complemented by (you guessed it) CBD. An oil based serum its full-bodied texture melts into the skin, offering deep hydration with a light herbal scent. For the body, they excel with their spectrum of relaxing bathing options, with bath bombs and bath melts through to their Uplifting Body Oil with vanilla, bitter orange and oud. It’s divine to smother on after the shower for its light feel and skin calming properties. It’s now a firm favourite for days I don’t necessarily want to wear a perfume, for its calming, lingering scent. Their hand sanitiser, in particular, showed a pleasant consideration for the pitfalls of such products, with the skin-soothing effects of topical CBD regulating and preventing much of the harm of regular alcohol application our days now entail.
Always looking at the ingredients lists, I was seeing isolate and broad-spectrum used seemingly interchangeably across their range of different products and applications, but what was behind the decision to use different extracts? On speaking to one of the founders of Kloris, Kim Smith, I received an enlightening explanation.
“This is largely down to what CBD brands are allowed to use across the different types of products, she explains. “EU and UK regulations state that CBD in topicals and cosmetics has to be isolate. We use isolate in our Superboost face oil and body oil, for example. For our oral drops, we choose to use broad-spectrum CBD. Full spectrum oil is basically not feasible within the legal regulations in the UK. This means our entire range is compliant 100% of the time and has zero psychotropic properties.”
From an industry that promotes the use of natural ingredients, Kloris takes it a step further in their mission to create high-quality CBD products with an ethical business strategy. “The other founders, Matt and Pedram, and myself were all using CBD for differing reasons, ranging from day-to-day anxiety, sleep issues, period pain and so on. We were frustrated at the lack of ethical, science-backed brands out there so we decided to do something about it.”
Self-imposed sustainability and zero waste practises are of utmost importance for Kloris, with both ideals being traditionally difficult to achieve in the beauty industry. Despite setting such lofty standards, the company appears to have been resoundingly successful thus far. All packaging is 100% recyclable, whilst 95% of the product and postage materials are biodegradable, with no plastic outer wraps.
For the customer, the full lab reports are available on the website, and their blog hosts a multitude of clear, yet science-based articles to learn more about CBD with complete impartiality. I looked back at my initial notes on the topic: was this still a marketing spin or a profiteering fad, or were these brands actually promoting products they believed in? I’m au fait with the term ‘wellness’ as a tool for sales, but with Kloris (once again) I found that it was not just a buzzword or marketing term.
Every brand I had spoken with had been founded and nurtured as a result of the founders’ personal interest in the use of CBD, leading to the development of brands and products intended to share the ingredient’s potential with the world. For many, Kloris included, it seemed that the organic, eco-conscious soapbox was being used as much for education as it was for profit.
I spoke to Olivia Ferdi from Trip. Having started with canned cold-brew CBD coffee and flavour-forward CBD infused soft drinks (think light but tangy ‘peach ginger’ with a pop of turmeric, or energising ‘elderflower mint’ with a herbal hit of lemon balm and rooibos), the brand had just launched two new CBD oils when lockdown started… well… locking down. With the products receiving an accidentally-perfectly-timed release, Olivia explained that they saw a 500% increase in their sales during this period. The sublingual oils use broad-spectrum CBD and also call upon the natural adaptogen chamomile for increased calming effects. Available in two flavours, wild mint and orange blossom, and coming in 300mg and 1000mg strengths, the oils are sold in aesthetically-perfect pastel bottles, which could (and should) take pride of place on any drinks shelf. The flavour profile for orange blossom is so enjoyable it seems, if anything, more akin to a floral summer cocktail; beautifully balanced and punchy, but not overly sweet, the oil is so much more than just functional.
The story behind the brand is touching and, again, personal. Developed by Olivia and her husband, Dan, an injury weeks before their wedding left him worried he may not be able to walk down the aisle. Their discovery of CBD in this time led to amazing results for his injury, even with Dan dancing the night away at their reception. When continuing to use CBD as part of their day-to-day, the couple wanted something that avoided any of the stereotypical bitter taste, creating a way to see the benefits of CBD in an enjoyable and (with their drinks especially) refreshing way.
I had time to take a break from sublingual CBD during my research and was amazed at what I found, now in mid-June. The friend I mentioned previously had been right: anxious tics I had, possibly from years of not quite enough therapy, had dissipated. I had only noticed they had gone when they returned in my dosing break. No longer had I been chewing my lip when I was worried or picking at my cuticles whilst in thought. But let us move back to beauty, which is where this journey started. How did CBD make the move from wellness to our skincare shelf?
Launching in June 2020, fresh as the proverbial daisy to the beauty scene is Ohana. The Full Set of skincare holds the All In One Wonder Balm, a multi-purpose skin-rescue salve, comforting dry patches and calming the mind with the relaxing scent of lavender and palo santo. Their Daily Defence serum brightens skin with the help of vitamin c-rich cucumber seed oil. This light oil-based serum works against imperfections, uneven skin tone and fine lines for radiance and hydration. Finally, the Night Repair face oil is antioxidant-rich to aid skin repair overnight, whilst the soothing blend of essential oils promote overall restfulness. All three contain CBD isolate, known to be the best extraction of cannabidiol for skincare, but overall I wanted to know why they had chosen CBD as their key ingredient.
I reached out for more information and was again touched by a personal story from Ohana’s founder, Jasmin Thomas. In 2015, Jasmin was told she has Multiple Sclerosis. A life-changing diagnosis, for sure, and one which led to the creation of the brand.
“After years spent searching high and low for a functional CBD skincare brand that really works, I realised there wasn’t one, so I decided to create my own.” It was true, with Ohana separating itself from the crowd by its focus purely on functional and luxurious facial skincare products. “Throughout my personal CBD journey, I’ve explored what ingredients and plant-actives have the most effective properties and Ohana CBD is my way of sharing these benefits with others.”
It’s the end of July and my CBD journey for this article is almost over, but my use of CBD will not be ending here. Having noticed the usual symptoms of anxiety melt away the biggest effect had over time shown to be the round-the-monthly pain related to chronic illness, as an endometriosis sufferer. Whilst used to a week of crippling and debilitating pain, with flare-ups throughout the month across different stages, I was tentative to say the broad spectrum of CBD products I had used across the time had affected the symptoms. But low and behold, five months later, and my symptoms were on the whole more manageable and less invasive to my day-to-day with regular use of sublingual oils.
With so many different applications, I was intrigued to see how else CBD could be used in this area of pain management. I found Ohne, specialists in the field of CBD and menstrual cramps. Of their two CBD products from the brand, Holy Cramp is a topical oil harnessing the relaxant effects of cannabidiol alongside a range of natural essential oils known for their therapeutic properties, from evening primrose oil for hormone regulation and lemon oil for circulation. The lemongrass oil is cooling on application, the lavender oil soothes, and the hemp oil makes a luxurious thick carrier for a moment where any opulence is a cherished distraction. After 15 years of prescription medication and surgery, it’s a welcome new addition to the arsenal of products that really work to help keep control of the pains.
Moving into August, my research of products and brands is all but complete, but I still want to know more about the industry as a whole. I spoke to Julie Scheurl, marketing lead at Alphagreen, a leading online market platform for CBD, to find out more about what we don’t see in the CBD industry, behind the scenes, and what they are doing to further it. “We quickly grew the enterprise and shifted from pure e-commerce to offering our brands support for their marketing and sales activities, emulating players in other industries such as The Hut Group.”
Further to sales, they assist brands with tech-enabled services in data and analytics across consumer behaviour and product performance, increasing customer reach via SEO and publishing networks.
Moving forward, Alphagreen Med, their Dusseldorf-based subsidiary, is in the process of receiving an import and distribution license for the provision of medical cannabis within German pharmacies. Julie explained that “this shift came with the need to create more stability in the industry by helping brands to become established players in an oversaturated market. As a SaaS-based platform and thanks to a large network of partner companies, we have the flexibility to offer such services, to build and expand upon them.”
Their May 2020 survey projected a 50% increase in sales within the CBD market for 2020, but measured very early into COVID-19, it’s likely the market will grow even further.
From a business perspective, a recurring theme throughout my research has been the knowledge of how each company entered the CBD industry. On speaking to Alexej Pikovsky, CEO of Alphagreen, he explained how he, too, had made the move into the arena.
“My personal experiences were related to my father improving his arthritis using CBD tinctures and several of my friends using CBD drinks and oils to improve their sleep. I was also very closely watching the stock market evolution related to the big names in the US and Canada and saw how huge the market was becoming in North America. Not just on the CBD front, but all cannabis-related medical, recreational and wellness. Having been studying the market for the first half of 2019 and interviewing more than 50 brands in Canada and the US, I understood the customer experience can be improved by introducing a vetting and curation system and building a technology business similar to Farfetch or Etsy. This was the inception moment of Alphagreen.”
So what about beauty, if separated from wellness? Just rising in the industry now, I asked Julie where that might fit and what the future holds. “Given the lack of maturity in the CBD beauty segment and a smaller product selection of beauty on our marketplace, we can say a 20-80 split between beauty and wellness, respectively, at most. However, we’re listing leading brands in the cosmetic space, so we expect the beauty line to grow.”
I was offered a heads-up on brands I should be looking out for, such as MGC Derma, offering a full range of luxury skincare for different concerns, all including CBD, “We are seeing increasing interest in beauty products from our customers, so this space is one to watch as new players enter and established brands widen their product ranges to include skincare and cosmetic products.”
I asked Alexej what we should expect next in the industry. “There will be much more change and evolution in this market. We are just in the first 15 minutes of a football game. Some of the top FMCG brands will enter this space in the next 3 years. Celebrities are also launching their own brands and top executives from luxury brands are leaving to launch their CBD brands. We recently launched Antedotum, the team behind it includes a senior executive from Chanel.’’
On top of every brand I spoke to, special thanks are passed to Dr Julie Moltke. Her book A Quick Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know is available now. It’s a guide that will benefit everyone interested in CBD. Based on the scientific evidence that we have so far, suitable for everyone from clinicians learning about the EDC to new CBD users buying their first product. Her next project will be a fuller look at holistic stress reduction, and she has several ongoing projects centred around female health.
It’s been six months since I started thinking about CBD and why I may be seeing the name more regularly. The whole journey has been a revelation – from initially struggling with scientific terms in this new world I had stepped into, through an education on biology specific to the area, to feeling the benefits of CBD myself. I can safely say I have joyously discovered products created with true love and passion for health and wellness, and adopted a new, life-long routine along the way. It may be the end of my research for The Review, but this won’t be the end of CBD for me.
