Lotions and topical oils containing cannabidiol (CBD) are widely available online.  The big question is what can they help with, and how do you use them?

Topical CBD lotions and oils may provide relief from the following conditions:

• Joint pain/Arthritis
• Acne
• Canker sores
• Stiff neck
• Sunburn

Because CBD is fat soluble it is able to absorb into skin cells and have an effect.  Topical application of CBD is the least efficient way of getting CBD into your system and yet it is an effective treatment for many people who deal with the above conditions.

I’ll try and dig a little deeper into each of these conditions and discuss any research that has been published around each of these conditions.  It is pretty incredible to me that CBD can be effective at treating these conditions through the skin.

Can CBD really absorb through the skin

Many medications can be absorbed through the skin.  Administration of medication through the skin is called transdermal administration.  It is often used for birth control, anti-nausea, blood pressure control, ADHD, and anti-depressants to name just a few.  You may even be aware of the nicotine patch that slowly releases nicotine through the skin and into the system to help people stop smoking.

Topical, or transdermal, administration has been used for decades.  It is not suitable for all medications and it may not be a very efficient way of administering a medication.  But it is appropriate for some situations and topical CBD application may be helpful to you.

Absorption rate

Most chemicals and medications do not absorb well through the skin.  Luckily our skin is a pretty strong barrier to foreign substances getting into our body.  This is a good thing.  CBD, however, is fat soluble which helps it get through the layers of skin and into the body where it can have a beneficial impact.  It’s hard to say how what percentage of CBD you apply to your skin will actually get absorbed into your body.  It’s going to be slightly different for people depending on their type of skin.  But it’s going to be low regardless of who you are.

There is something you can do to increase the absorption rate however.  The best thing you can do to increase absorption of CBD through your skin is to take a hot shower or bath right before applying the CBD product to your body.  Hot showers and baths help to open up pores in the skin which are routes of entry for CBD.  If topical CBD is something you want to try, you should probably consider applying it after you get out of the bath or shower.  This will give CBD the best chance of getting through your skin and where it needs to be to do its job.

How fast will topical CBD work

Many people report very fast pain relief from topical CBD.  But the rate of relief is going to differ by person based on skin type, type of ailment, and overall response to CBD.  If you don’t get any relief after the first application of CBD, keep applying it for several days.  You may find that the greatest benefit comes after sustained use over several days.  So don’t get discouraged after the first application.

Joint Pain/Arthritis

Of all the possible reasons a person might rub CBD on their skin, joint pain relief is probably the most common.  And there’s a reason for that… CBD has been shown to be effective at providing relief from joint pain.  Not only have tons of people shared how they achieved through CBD but there have actually been some preliminary studies to back these claims up.  One of those studies looked at how CBD worked on rats with arthritis.

In the study, they applied various amounts of CBD to rats that had arthritis in their knee.  Researchers were able to evaluate these rats for joint swelling, pain, and inflammation.  All of these symptoms are common in people with arthritis.  The results of the study showed that rats who had significant amounts of CBD rubbed on their knee faired much better than the rats who had very little or no CBD applied to their knee.

The researchers concluded that applying topical CBD to arthritic joints has therapeutic potential for relieving inflammation and pain related to arthritis.  And perhaps most importantly, they also stated they did not notice any negative side effects in the rats who received CBD in their research.

It is hard to determine from this study how much CBD needs to be applied to a joint on a human body in order to provide relief.  My recommendation would be to purchase a high-quality hemp-derived CBD lotion or topical product with high levels of CBD.  Then try rubbing it on one of your achy joints.  See if it provides you with relief.  If it doesn’t, try rubbing more on the next time.  You should eventually find a level that provides you with some relief.

Acne

There is a lot that goes into what causes people to develop acne.  But it’s totally normal.  Millions of people worldwide suffer from severe acne.  Particularly between the ages of 12 – 25.  While it’s not uncommon, it’s also no fun.  There has been tons of research into curing acne but there has yet to be a treatment that’s both effective in stopping the three main causes of acne as well as have a favorable side effect profile.

Hemp-derived CBD may help fill this gap.  As mentioned above, there are three things that are known to cause acne.  The first of these is an overproduction of sebum.  Sebum is an oily substance that certain cells, called sebocytes, release.  The second thing is an overproduction of sebocytes.  This means you get too many sebum “factories” producing oil on your face.  And the third thing that leads to acne is inflammation.

In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2014, investigators were able to evaluate the impact of CBD on human skin cells.  Their findings were very promising.  They found that CBD was able to reduce the amount of sebum these cells produced.  CBD also blocked the development of additional sebocytes (the factories on our face that produce oil.)  And CBD reduced the amount of inflammation in these facial cells.

This study showed that CBD may provide the “trifecta” of benefits that can lead to reduced acne.  What isn’t clear from the research is how much CBD is needed to produce beneficial results.  It’s going to take some trial and error in a step-wise manner.  Start with a low amount of CBD and then slowly increase it over time until you find what works.  As always, check with your dermatologist (if you have one) before starting to use CBD on your face.  And start with a small area to make sure you won’t have any bad reaction to it.

If you find CBD to be helpful in treating your acne please leave a comment below.

Canker Soars

Some people might question this as being “topical” since it goes in your mouth.  But if you suffer from canker soars, I think it’s worth your time to read this section.  This one isn’t really based on any hardcore research.  It’s really based off of my own experience.  I have read on various chat forums that some people have found relief from canker sore pain by applying CBD oil to them.  I suffer from regular canker soars so I figured I should try it out.

I get canker soars pretty regularly.  Just about anytime I bite my lip or the inside of my cheek I can plan on getting a canker sore.  They are highly painful and annoying.  Just last week I had a pretty painful soar on the inside of my upper lip.  It provided easy access for putting CBD oil on it.  So I put some CBD oil on a q-tip and dabbed it on my soar.  It kind of hurt when I first touched it.  I tried to get as much of the oil on the soar as possible.  I also held my lip out for about a minute to let the oil sit on the soar as long as possible.

What I realized is in a few minutes, the pain from my soar was pretty much gone.  The pain relief lasted for about an hour.  This is longer than other over-the-counter treatments I’ve tried.  Typically those last for 10 – 30 minutes and then the pain returns.  The CBD oil I used lasted much longer.  I applied the CBD multiple times throughout the day for a couple of days.  After just a few days the soar started to go away pretty quickly.

I’m not sure if I can contribute the fast recovery to the CBD oil but it did seem to go away pretty quickly.  I’ll certainly have more canker soars soon and I’ll be using CBD oil on them.  If they continue to go away faster with the CBD oil, I’ll be sure to update this section.

Stiff Neck

This is a tough call.  I’ve read lots of people who claim they get great relief from stiff necks and sore muscles in general by rubbing CBD on it.  In fact, there is a fast growing number of high-end day spas who are starting to offer CBD oil body massages.  The reviews are off the charts.

Given these reviews as well as the well-documented pain and inflammation benefits of CBD, I think it’s fair to say that CBD may be a helpful treatment for a stiff neck.  It’s at least worth trying.

My recommendation is to use a CBD oil in a roll-on dispenser (here’s a link to a roll-on CBD product I’d recommend.)  This will give you better control over the oil itself.  It can be hard to pour oil on your hand and then get it evenly on your neck.  I would also suggest using a sub-lingual (under the tongue) CBD product that will absorb quickly into your system.  This may actually get more CBD to your sore neck than a topical application.  It’s kind of a tough call on which will be most effective.  Leave me a comment below if you have a strong opinion.

Sunburn

Obviously, the best thing to do is to not get a sunburn in the first place.  If you’re going out in the sun, apply a quality sunscreen and reapply as directed throughout your time in the sun.

But if it’s too late and you’ve already been burned, CBD may provide you some relief.  The two things you notice the most with a burn is pain and inflammation.  As mentioned above, CBD is well documented to reduce both of these symptoms.  So naturally, applying CBD to burned skin should provide some definite relief.  In addition, most CBD products contain a good balance of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids which are essential to healthy skin.

I haven’t personally tried this so I can’t speak from experience.  Aloe vera is my typical go to.  But here is a link to a product that contains CBD in aloe vera.  I’m going to be buying some of this and will update this blog post the next time I get a sunburn.  The few reviews they have on their product page sound promising.

Start Small

Whenever starting a new skin product, including CBD products, it is always a good idea to start off with a small spot.  Make sure you’re not going to break out in a rash or some other negative reaction.  Once you know how you’re going to respond to the topical CBD product then go ahead and use it on a larger area.

Related Questions

Will topical CBD show up on a drug test? It is extremely unlikely that you would test positive for THC using a topical hemp-derived CBD product.  Hemp-derived CBD products have less than 0.3% THC and their absorption rate through the skin is very low.  This would never provide enough THC into your system to test positive on a routine drug test.