WHAT IS CBD BALM  

Did you know CBD can be used to make a balm for pain relief? CBD has healing properties. CBD balm can serve various functions in offering calmness and relaxation to the affected areas, from relieving nerve pain and jaw pain to relieving muscle and joint pains. Furthermore, it also has other benefits that may come in handy.

The cannabis plant has proven to host a variety of healthy natural benefits. CBD is being added to numerous products, from edibles to topical use these days. Cannabidiol is the second most prevalent active compound in the cannabis or hemp plant. It is federally approved if it only contains traces of THC. Though CBD is hitting the markets with a bang, there is still much to learn about CBD, and scientists are investigating its other benefits. CBD offers benefits such as helping improve sleep and help with pain and anxiety; it contains anti-inflammatory properties and many others, some of which are still under research. CBD may be ingested or used topically. One way CBD may be used topically is with products such as CBD balms.

What is CBD Balm

Whenever one experiences pain or soreness in the joints or muscles, they will often reach for a pack of ice or hot water to relieve the pain. Another way of relieving pain is using pain-relieving sprays, salves, creams, lotions, and balms. According to Burr et al.  (2021), CBD balm comes in, also known as CBD muscle rub, and is made from CBD as the main component and other additional compounds that help in calming muscle pain. CBD balms are similar to any other balms as they are mostly thick and waxy; this makes them a good choice for pain relief as they are concentrated and will last longer on the applied area.

What CBD Balm Do

CBD balms are intended for topical use over specific localized areas, just like other over-the-counter balms are. They are rubbed on the skin and absorbed to offer relief to muscles or joints. One thing to note is that the skin absorbency is weak compared to other mucous membranes. This means that when using topical products, one should go for those with high levels of CBD and consider using liberally for long-lasting and better results. CBD balm has numerous uses:

Pain Relief                

This is the main use of the CBD balm; they are used on localized pain in specific body parts. They are applied directly on the skin around the areas where the joints or muscles are sore or in pain. Younger (2019) explained that using CBD balm offers extra pain-relieving ingredients such as menthol, camphor, and capsaicin, which provide even more therapeutic effects on the affected areas. 

Skin conditions

Besides offering pain relief to the muscles and joints, CBD balms also come in handy in helping deal with specific skin conditions. Though research is still underway, Tabassum& Hamdani (2014) showed that topical CBD products have the potential to lower inflammation that can bring about skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema. This is due to the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties of CBD.

Other uses of CBD balm

Studies and scientific investigations have shown that CBD balm can be potentially beneficial to other pain conditions that include:

Arthritis related pain

Kumar et al. (2015) found that CBD gel applied topically on the skin may significantly lower joint swelling. Arthritis, the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints, is characterized by joint pain and stiffness.  Using CBD balm may relieve the pain; however, the pain relief will be short-lived and wear off when the balm wears out. Some people with arthritis have tried using CBD products topically and have reported that CBD balm calms the pain and is relaxing.

Nerve pain 

Soliman et al.  (2021) showed CBD oil’s effects on pain. People with nerve damage applied CBD oil and reported that it lowered pain levels, noticing a drop-in sharp severe, cold, and itchy feelings of pain. This is not the regular muscle or joint pain; if it works the nerves that carry sensations to the brain, it can also work on the physical pain.

Jaw pain 

Philpott et al. (2017) explored how topical use of CBD may aid with a certain type of pain that largely affects the jaw area.  He concluded that those who used topical CBD at least twice daily consecutively were more likely to experience a significant reduction in the pain after two weeks.

Benefits of CBD Balm

Help to relieve muscle pain – Gibbs et al.  (2019) noted that CBD balm potentially aids in relieving and soothing not only painful but tired muscles, whether temporary or chronic. These balms have anti-inflammatory properties that come in handy for people suffering from skin conditions.

Reduce acne and blackheads – Acne is a problem that is not discriminative and affects most of the population, whether at puberty or old age. Some treatment methods may leave the skin with scars and black spots. Nudelman (2010) showed that CBD balm, on the other hand, counters acne and doesn’t leave any scars behind. CBD balm may also help treat blackheads to leave the skin smooth.

Leave the skin feeling soft and nourished – Goyal& Jerold (2021) reported that CBD balm contains CBD oil processed from natural extracts containing nutrients. These nutrients include omega 3 and omega 6, which naturally moisturize and nourish the skin.

Can be used in treating eczema – Eczema is another indiscriminative condition that can affect anyone. According to Cream (2020), CBD balm can help reduce and eliminate eczema by deeply nourishing and moisturizing the skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties are useful in combating eczema and eczema-related symptoms.

Aids to heal psoriasis – Pang et al.  (2021) indicated that CBD balm could also be useful in treating psoriasis, a disease characterized by the formation of patches caused by the destruction of healthy skin cells. CBD balm can help relieve psoriasis and deal with the patches and red spots that are a consequence of psoriasis. CBD balm also slows down the multiplication of psoriasis on the skin. 

Relieves rashes and burns – besides just dealing with muscle and joint pain, CBD balm may also come in handy in hastening recovery. When used on wounds and burns, CBD promotes the regeneration of fresh skin to replace the burned skin. It is also useful in eliminating skin problems like rashes due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Contains antioxidant properties – CBD balm contains antioxidant properties which are useful in healing scars and reducing the impact of allergic reactions on the skin. Antioxidants also keep the skin from drying and come in handy in reviving dead skin.

Conclusion

You must understand that only limited research has been done on CBD balm and CBD as a whole. More research needs to be conducted to prove some of the health effects of CBD completely. Also, these studies are ongoing to find more effects of CBD. Otherwise, from the limited research conducted, it is evident that CBD seems to be working a great deal in dealing with some health conditions. 

References

Burr, J. F., Cheung, C. P., Kasper, A. M., Gillham, S. H., & Close, G. L. (2021). Cannabis and athletic performance. Sports Medicine, 51(1), 75-87.

Cream, L. S. (2020). Where Nature & Science Meet Skincare, Haircare, Beauty & Wellness Clean and Green Beauty Clean & Green Beauty. Aging, 22.

Gibbs, B., Yates, D. A., & Liebling, J. (2019). CBD in the UK. London, UK: Centre for Medicinal Cannabis.

Goyal, N., & Jerold, F. (2021). Biocosmetics: Technological advances and future outlook. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-22.

Kumar Sarwa, K., Rudrapal, M., & Mazumder, B. (2015). Topical ethosomal capsaicin attenuates edema and nociception in arthritic rats. Drug Delivery, 22(8), 1043-1052.

Nudelman, J. (2010). Waking the White Goddess: a novel (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand).

Pang, Y., Wu, S., He, Y., Nian, Q., Lei, J., Yao, Y., ... & Zeng, J. (2021). Plant-Derived Compounds as Promising Therapeutics for Vitiligo. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 685116.

Philpott, H. T., O'Brien, M., & McDougall, J. J. (2017). Attenuation of early phase inflammation by cannabidiol prevents pain and nerve damage in rat osteoarthritis. Pain, 158(12), 2442.

Soliman, N., Haroutounian, S., Hohmann, A. G., Krane, E., Liao, J., Macleod, M., ... & Rice, A. S. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis of cannabinoids, cannabis-based medicines, and endocannabinoid system modulators tested for antinociceptive effects in animal models of injury-related or pathological persistent pain. Pain, 162(1), S26.

Tabassum, N., & Hamdani, M. (2014). Plants used to treat skin diseases. Pharmacognosy reviews, 8(15), 52.

Younger, D. S. (2019). The science of medical cannabis. Nova Medicine and Health.