Is your skin itching? If so, you’re probably feeling pretty irritated right now, no pun intended. Itching skin isn’t necessarily painful, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to experience. There are various treatments for itchy skin, but today we will be talking about one that looks uniquely promising, which is CBD.
When most of us hear CBD, we think of something that is most commonly used for stress and internal issues. However, CBD is so more than that. Why? Because it supports the body’s endocannabinoid system. This system has receptors located everywhere throughout the body, including the skin. Where and how the CBD is administered largely determines what part of the body it affects. What these receptors do is utilize cannabinoids like cannabidiol to regulate bodily functions and processes, including the general health of the skin.
What Usually Causes Itchy Skin?
Itching can result from a number of factors. Let’s examine the most common factors to help you figure out what’s causing the problem. By identifying the main reasons why itching occurs in the first place, it will also help you better understand the unique effects that CBD may provide.
Irritation
A general term that involves multiple symptoms, including redness, tenderness, flaking and, of course, itching. Any of these symptoms can occur if irritation is occurring. Many things can cause irritation, including abrasion, exposure to harsh chemicals and more.
An Inflammatory Condition or Infection
Various skin conditions can cause itching as one symptom, including inflammatory conditions like eczema and psoriasis, as well as infections that can be either bacterial or fungal in nature.
An Allergic Reaction
Allergic reactions of the skin often manifest themselves in the form of itching. If you’re allergic to a particular plant, for instance, and you apply it to your skin, itching will likely be the first symptom that you experience.
Dryness
If our skin is very dry, it will likely itch due to irritation. If you are not moisturizing your skin regularly, you are likely to experience itching caused by dryness eventually.
Lack of Critical Nutrients
Our skin needs nutrients that we consume through foods. Otherwise, the skin cannot maintain its own health. Itching is one sign that the skin is in need of certain critical nutrients through our diet.
Sensitivity
Some of us are born with naturally sensitive skin, which means that it easily gets irritated when exposed to a wide variety of ingredients and environmental factors. If your skin is naturally sensitive, your skin may itch frequently even though you’re not applying anything to it that’s considered “bad.”
An Underlying Condition
There are some underlying conditions that can cause the skin to itch, including certain neurological and nervous system disorders.
Certain Medications
There are some medications, both topical and oral, that can cause the skin to itch as a side effect.
A Reaction to a Bug Bite, an Injury, or a Poisonous Substance
Trauma to the skin can cause itching, especially bug bites, scrapes, and cuts, and expose to poisonous substances like poison ivy.
CBD and Itchy Skin: How Might Hemp Help?
Well, like we said, the skin has cannabinoid receptors that regulate functions of the skin, including irritation levels, moisture production, inflammation levels and its ability to heal infections. Therefore, you can naturally see why CBD might be able to help with itching, by addressing many of the underlying issues that cause this symptom.
In fact, a few studies have shown that CBD may help itching due to its naturally soothing nature which can calm both inflammation and irritation. Therefore, using CBD specifically for itching may absolutely be worth trying.
How Can CBD Used for Itchy Skin?
Now, let’s discuss how to properly use CBD specifically for itchy skin.
First and foremost, you should go with a topical. This is a product that is applied directly to the skin, where itching is occurring. It maintains a concentrated dose within the area of application for more effectiveness and more direct bioavailability.
CBD topicals come in a range of milligram strengths, which reflect the concentration of cannabidiol within the product’s formula. Higher milligram strengths are suitable for people with more severe itching, so choose your strength according to your symptoms.
We do recommend that if you’re going to use topical CBD for itching, use it at least once per day, with twice per day being ideal. This allows the affected area to maintain a consistent amount of cannabinoids that can continue working as you go about your day.
Also, make sure to read the list of ingredients on a topical’s formula prior to purchasing it. If allergic or sensitive to a particular ingredient, you’ll want to avoid it in that said topical product. Otherwise, it can make itching become much worse instead of better.
Itching Skin is Certainly Annoying, But There are Ways to Treat It
It’s looking more and more likely that CBD can be one of them. If you’re going to try to relieve itching with CBD, make sure to follow the guide so that you can truly tackle the problem in the most efficient way to reap the full usefulness of hemp.