Cannabis Lotion: What is it and How Does it Work?
Cannabis Lotion and Topicals: The Basics
Cannabalm isn’t all that different from other kinds of lotion in terms of how to apply it and what to expect. It can include products including balms, oils, or creams that you apply directly to your skin and are then absorbed. Most people use cannabalm as a localized treatment for pain and inflammation.
Some cannabis lotions come with additional ingredients including wintergreen and clove to further enhance their effects. Cannabalm only use CBD, which is the non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. THC isn’t included at all, so no, you can’t get high from the lotion. You can, however, receive the same medicinal applications you would expect from marijuana.
Cannabalm Uses: What is it Good For?
How Does it Work?
Lotions work by being absorbed through the skin – what’s known as a transdermal effect. The ingredients of cannabalm work by interacting with your body’s CB2 receptors. These receptors are found throughout your body and are activated by cannabalm’s key ingredient, CBD.
CB2 receptors are closer to the outside of your skin than your bloodstream. This means they’ll take up most of the ingredients of the lotion before it even gets near your bloodstream. Because of that, even cannabalms with THC in them won’t get you high unless there’s an extremely high concentration of it.
CB2 receptors are a good target for these lotions because they can help alter your body’s natural chemicals. We naturally produce what are known as endocannabinoids, which influence our experience of pain, inflammation, hunger, mood, and other issues. These chemicals establish and maintain our homeostasis. When CBD enters your system, it helps elevate your natural pain-relieving endocannabinoids, effectively making you feel less pain.
Additional receptors in your body are known as TrpV1 receptors. Their primary purpose is to regulate your body temperature, but they can be manipulated to help with pain relief. CBD causes them to be hyperactive and to put out a lot of heat, which desensitizes your pain receptors and makes them less sensitive.
What About the Science?
Science has already shown that cannabis has medicinal properties and can genuinely help people. That’s not up for debate, despite what many anti-marijuana advocates might claim. The science of marijuana lotion, however, hasn’t reached a definitive conclusion yet.
While the science hasn’t been finalized, it has been shown that cannabis lotion can offer beneficial effects. The extent of its usefulness is still up for debate, though. In terms of pain relief, this lotion generally works best when the source of the pain is near the surface of the skin. Anything deeper, and cannabalm offers limited results.
Cannabalm ingredients won’t penetrate very deep into your skin, yet many sources of chronic pain lie deeper within and around the muscle or bone. While this lotion won’t have any detrimental effects, it’s best use may be in addition to other treatments, rather than as a treatment by itself.
In theory, you can use cannabalm to target virtually anywhere on your body.
Is There an Easy Cannabalm Recipe?
If you’re interested in trying out cannabalm for yourself, there are plenty of recipes available online. One of our favorite cannabalm recipes is this easy solution. Fortunately, there are plenty of other recipes available online. Feel free to search around for one that’s easy for you and doesn’t require you to go out and buy extra ingredients.
