by Stephanie Curtis

It’s wonderful to see the snow melting and warmer temperatures returning to many places. Regardless of where you may currently be located geographically, winter weather can bring all sorts of things our way, including dryness, redness and chapped lips. The explanation for such an annual phenomenon is actually quite simple: humidity in the air tends to be much lower in the winter time, causing more of our body’s water content to evaporate. If you’ve noticed your skin feeling a little dry or dehydrated, or your lips feeling more brittle than compared with the summer months, this could be a major reason why. So here comes the million-dollar question: how do we maintain glowing skin all winter long?

Cue in CBD and skincare.

These two elements may seem quite an unlikely pairing, but given the science, are actually becoming a major dynamic duo in the beauty and wellness space. CBD is making its way into not only medicine cabinets but beauty cabinets too. This is not without good reason. During winter months when our skin loses its moisture barrier, it weakens its ability to protect itself. It sounds scary, but not when you have access to CBD topicals intelligently formulated with moisturizing ingredients. 

The inconsistent temperatures of moving from the cold outdoors to heated indoors will have just about anyone’s skin acting up. We need a heavy duty super hero to save the day. The key to keeping up on your winter skin hydration? Care By Design’s 1:1 CBD:THC Pain Cream. On a side note; who would’ve thought that the pain cream could double as a really bomb moisturizer!?

Lucky for us, we were able to pick the brain of our Director of Scientific Affairs, Matt Elmes, and get all the juicy details on how and why we can keep our skin feeling silky, soft and beautiful throughout the dry winters using our CBD topical.

“Care By Design specifically formulates topicals with ingredients known as emollients. Emollients are substances that soften and moisturize the skin,” Elmes explains. “Ingredients such as coconut MCT, aloe vera, shea butter, soy lecithin and vitamin E are all emollients utilized by Care By Design’s premium quality topical formulations. Emollients generally work by fitting in the cracks of our stratum corneum [the top layer of our skin] to mix with the natural oils that our skin already produces. This is great for our skin as it leaves less room for the water molecules in our bodies to be able to 'wiggle by,’ so more water content is retained by our skin. Retaining more water causes the cells of our stratum corneum to physically plump up in size, resulting in making our skin feel silky soft with a beautiful vibrant appearance.”

In addition to featuring the standout ingredient of CBD, Care By Design made sure to be intentional with each ingredient in the topical cream. Each ingredient has a purpose. Can you say hello moisture? In addition to these fantastic emollient ingredients, Care By Design also formulates their topicals with a class of ingredients known as “dermal penetration enhancers.” This may sound fancy, but Elmes explains how cannabinoids, such as CBD and THC, are just small enough to be able to get by the stratum corneum. However, on their own, they do so very inefficiently and are more effective when combined with penetration enhancers. 

“Penetration enhancers, such as high-terpene essential oils, share some chemical properties of both our natural skin oils and also of the cannabinoids, which when mixed all together greatly assists the ability of CBD and THC to be able to bypass the stratum corneum to reach the underlying tissues where they will be most effective,” Elmes notes. “They sort of act like a shuttle to help transport the cannabinoids past the skin and into our bodies. Without any emollients or penetration enhancers most of the cannabinoid content would simply sit on top of our skin rather than get absorbed, and they won’t be doing much at all considering there aren’t any cannabinoid receptors expressed by our top layers of skin. Our penetration enhancing essential oils also provide another added bonus of smelling absolutely fantastic!”

While the science behind the efficacy of THC and CBD, in the form of skincare, may be complex to explain or understand, experimenting with different products and ratios is a great way to learn what works for your specific skin type and needs. On top of that, these products feel quite luxurious to incorporate into your routine. For example, Care by Design’s topical features a scent that is a light blend of orange and peppermint, making the ultimate experience both practical and heaven-sent.

So all in all, is CBD the secret to rejuvenated glowing skin? It may just be. Winter doesn’t have to mean dry, dull and unhappy skin so let’s keep our skin barriers happy. Whether you want to keep your skin hydrated overall or switch it up for the winter, give this plant an opportunity to be a part of your daily regimen. Don’t be afraid to add a little green to your routine.