Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Dr. Manisha Singal, author of the new The CBD Skincare Solution
Several years ago, I suffered from a painful and embarrassing skin condition. As a critical care doctor, I’d always tried to avoid drugs—even aspirin. But the pain and unsightly condition of my skin forced me to try steroids and other powerful medications that I was uncomfortable taking. I “made the rounds” of traditional doctors, including President Clinton’s allergist. Nothing seemed to help. One doctor even suggested that I soak in a diluted solution of bleach as a treatment. For a physician who dislikes artificial anything, that was the last straw.
Over the course of my medical career, I had learned about CBD’s palliative properties as they related to pain management. I wondered if it could help my skin. Readers should know that I came to the study of CBD with a lot of training in science and medicine. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and from George Washington University Medical School. I wasn’t about to get sucked into the hype about CBD. But if I wanted to feel better, I knew that I needed to invest the time to learn everything I could to help myself, and potentially help others.
Ways You Can Use CBD Products
CBD products can be used to treat Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, Rosacea, and many other skin irritations and diseases. Since you’ll be buying a plant-based product, it’s nice if you can find organic CBD products.
What to Look for When Purchasing:
- Topicals treat mostly the surface layer of the skin, and are used for simple outbreaks
- More penetrating formulas are used to ease joint soreness and connective tissue, inflammation inside your body
- Look for or request the product’s COA (Certificate of Analysis) that determines product potency
- Check labels for trace amounts of chemicals
- Buy American because hemp sources are more reliable and contain fewer pesticide residue
- CBD should come from flower and leaves, not stems and seeds. Look for label clues. If the label says “hemp seed oil,” try another product. Read up on other CBD terminology.
Once you’ve purchased a topical formulation and/or ingestible forms of CBD, using them consistently is key to getting the most benefit for your money. Do not stop and start usage with CBD or any other supplement. Decide on the proper dosage, and then take or apply it on a regular schedule (taking a brief few days off every few months). Only by standardizing the use of CBD can you measure its effectiveness and adjust accordingly.
Buy a reputable product in the ideal form for the condition you’re treating, and use it on a schedule that makes sense, and CBD can offer tremendous benefits to your skin and beyond.
Remember…This Isn’t the Summer of ’69
It truly is high times for CBD, but not in the way that you think—CBD has none of the high-inducing chemical properties. New plants have been bred without THC, which is the component that causes people to become high. It’s from these newer strains of plants that CBC is then extracted.
Taking care of your overall health with a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients, exercise, and other stress reduction techniques goes a long way toward achieving a healthy glow.
Our thanks to Manisha for her guest post! For more from Dr. Manisha Singal, check out her new book, The CBD Skincare Solution and read her article, “How to Use CBD Oil for Skincare.”
