A good friend recently shared her latest “CBD” product.  She was so excited about how good it made her feel. With an extensive professional background in ingredients, I immediately looked at the labeling. Tit was immediately obvious. The front label and the ingredient label did not match. The product advertised on the front that it was “CBD”. But the ingredient label clearly indicated otherwise.

With the CBD product rush in full swing, this is all too common.

Here’s the breakdown on CBD as a cosmetic ingredient. Too many cosmetic products are claiming to have CBD in them when they do not. Ingredient truth-fighters have worked tirelessly over the last decade.  For instance- and thanks to their efforts, transparency in claims for natural and organic products has truly paid off.

Until now. So here we go again. Everywhere we look, its all about CBD. This hot new ingredient truly needs clear communication.  

How to identify real CBD in your cosmetic product.

This is strictly a review on how to identify CBD as the ingredient in topical products.  Things that we eat and smoke will be discussed in future posts.

Begin by doing what you always do. Read the ingredient label. Ingredients can come in various forms and CBD is no different.

Begin by doing what you always do-

1. Read the Ingredient Label.

Does “hemp oil” also referred to as “hemp seed oil” have CBD in it?

NOPE. Hemp Seed Oil comes from just as it says, the seed. CBD comes from different parts of the plant- the stalks, leaves and flowers. Hemp seed oil claims to have nutritional and cosmetic value, but it is NOT CBD. So, if you are thinking you have purchased a cosmetic with CBD in it, the ingredients must list more than just “hemp oil” or “hemp seed oil”.

But labels can be tricky, everybody seems to be using different wording.

So, if a label says just “hemp oil”-read further . Do your research to make sure you are indeed shelling out for a CBD product and not just a seed oil.

Don’t misunderstand. Hemp seed oil is wonderful. It is like many other cosmetic botanical oils such as jojoba seed oil, macadamia seed oil, sunflower oil-these are all great oils with tons of benefits. But, you might be paying for and expecting CBD level results and quality and not getting it!

Here is are ingredient label examples that perfectly show the difference in the ingredient names and how they are listed.

Kiehl’s has a Hemp Seed Oil Product and it is labeled properly. Note the “Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil”-this is the hemp seed oil. It is not CBD and Kiehls is not trying to sell it as CBD.

Ingredients

Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Dicaprylyl Ether, Tocopherol, Pelargonium Graveolens Flow Oil, Origanum Heracleoticum Flower Oil / Sunflower Seed Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Mentha Piperita Oil / Peppermint Oil, Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene.

Here is a product that DOES have CBD in it. This is a very good back label ingredient list by Pacific CBD Co:

 Ingredients: Cocoa Seed Butter, Paraffinum (Mineral Oil), Pure CBD Isolate (CBD Oil), Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Lanolin, Eucalyptus Oil, Arnica Oil, Calendula Oil, Lavender Oil, Frankincense Oil, Coumarin, Fragrance.†

https://pacificcbdco.com/products/pacific-cbd-co-face-body-lotion-80mg

Notice there are other botanical oils, but no mention of hemp seed oil.

Hope this explanation helps! More posts to come on this very hot, but sometimes very confusing and misleading ingredient!