Cannabis being used in makeup products is on the rise

With cannabis becoming legalised in Canada and US state Oklahoma voting to legalise medicinal marijuana recently, there has been much discussion about the health benefits of the plant.

Further to its use as an ingredient used to treat various health conditions, cannabis has also recently been having quite a moment within the beauty industry.

CBD, the non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the marijuana plant, has been used by several brands in products including mascaras and moisturisers.

As long as products only contain trace amounts of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the key compound in cannabis which causes users to experience being high, then they can legally be sold to consumers.

According to Brightfield Group, a company that specialises in cannabis and CBD market research, CBD is the “next hot, functional beauty ingredient”, that may have a similar impact on the beauty industry as shea butter and aloe.

Furthermore, due to the increased interest in cannabis for medicinal, recreational and cosmetic use, the CBD industry is expected to reach an estimated value of $22bn (£16bn) by 2022.

In September this year, French beauty label Sephora launched its first cannabis-infused cosmetics brand called “High Beauty”.

The line launched with two products: “High Expectations”, a cannabis facial oil, and “High Five”, a cannabis facial moisturiser.

Melissa Jochim, founder of High Beauty, explained that there’s been a shift in attitude in the way in which people perceive marijuana, as it’s now viewed by many as a wellness product as opposed to simply a recreational drug.

“It just hasn’t been mainstream until people started seeing it as a lifestyle ingredient, or one for wellbeing,” she said, according to Civilized.

Estée Lauder’s Origins brand also became one of the first mainstream beauty companies to release cannabis-infused products earlier this year.

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On the company’s website, it states that all ingredients used to manufacture the certified products in the range are 100 per cent natural, and that it only uses “the highest grade, locally grown cannabis and marijuana.”

WHIO-TV, a news station in Ohio, undertook an investigation into beauty products being sold in America that contain CBD.

The team discovered that many of the products come with assurances that CBD has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, with the ability to help people improve the condition of their skin, smooth their wrinkles and thicken their eyelashes.

“These topical products, they’re not going to make you high or anything like that. They don’t have the psychoactive components in them,” Dr Gregory Samano, a family doctor based in Florida told the news station.

“I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to show a lot of progress as time goes on.”