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When you’re living with pain, effective relief can be hard to come by. To add insult to injury, many of the options out there come with harmful side effects or other risks, like addiction.
Thankfully, there are natural, powerful alternatives available, like the hemp-derived substance cannabidiol (CBD). You’ve probably heard of CBD oil in edible form, and tinctures that you ingest under the tongue.
But CBD also comes in other varieties, such as creams, lotions, and other topical products. In this article, you’ll learn how CBD cream works and why so many have come to swear by this incredible product.
What Exactly is CBD?
If you’re new to the world of CBD, you’re probably wondering what it is. Simply put, CBD is a compound derived from the cannabis plant, most often hemp, though it can also be found in marijuana. In fact, CBD is one of the most dominant components in cannabis, alongside its relative, THC.
Though both THC and CBD belong to the same family – cannabinoids, along with over 100 others – they are very different from one another.
Most notably, THC is responsible for much of the mind-altering effects of marijuana, while CBD has no psychoactive properties. In other words, taking CBD won’t get you high.
How Does The Cream Work For Pain Relief?
CBD has many health benefits to offer, and the majority of these are the result of how CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system.
This is a network of receptors found throughout the body that help regulate different processes. In fact, the endocannabinoid system plays an important role in just about everything, from the nervous system to the immune system.
That’s why CBD and other cannabinoids have such a wide range of effects, an studies show they lower anxiety levels, improve sleep, and may decrease pain.
As part of the endocannabinoid system, the body creates neurotransmitters, called endocannabinoids, which are structurally similar to CBD and other cannabinoids.
CBD not only imitates these neurotransmitters, but it can also affect how the body absorbs endocannabinoids in the blood, like anandamide, which helps regulate pain perception.
Additionally, CBD has natural anti-inflammatory properties, which make it especially valuable in skin creams.
Not only that, but it has none of the risks or side effects associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), providing a safe and powerful way to lower inflammation levels and inflammatory pain.
What Sets CBD Cream Apart from Other CBD Products?
The most obvious difference between CBD cream (and other topicals) and other popular CBD products, like tinctures and gummies, is that CBD cream is absorbed through the skin – rather than the digestive system.
This is a key difference; CBD absorbed topically doesn’t enter the bloodstream, and instead interacts with endocannabinoid receptors in the skin.
One benefit of this difference is that, if your CBD cream contains THC (such as the case with full spectrum CBD products) no THC will enter your bloodstream, so you won’t experience psychoactive effects.
Since CBD cream is applied to the skin, it can provide targeted relief to sore muscles and joints. It’s a unique benefit to CBD topicals that has made CBD cream a go-to for the aches and pains.
It also offers fast action, since there’s no need to wait for the product to go through your digestive system – a process that can take as long as an hour if consuming edibles, like CBD gummies.
One downside to CBD cream is that you can’t easily control dosage, unless you measure out the product every time you use it.
For the most part, CBD topicals come in containers like any other skin cream, which means they don’t come with a measuring scoop.
This isn’t necessarily a big deal, but if you’d like to keep your CBD use consistent, you may want to be more precise with dosing.
Is CBD Cream Safe? And is it Legal?
Not to worry, CBD cream is perfectly safe, with few (if any) side effects, and no abuse potential. Most people experience no side effects from CBD, with the most commonly reported side effects being drowsiness, dry mouth, and upset stomach. It may affect how you metabolize other medications, so always talk to your doctor before trying CBD.
It’s worth noting that many of these effects may not apply to CBD cream, since the CBD in topicals won’t pass through the digestive system or enter the bloodstream.ev
Thanks to recent changes in legislation, hemp-derived CBD is fully legal, too, as long as it contains under 0.3% THC. So you can enjoy CBD cream and its powerful benefits without fussing over prescriptions or other issues.
How to Use CBD Cream
Using CBD cream is incredibly straightforward: simply apply the desired amount to wherever you need pain relief, and rub in as you would any other lotion or skincare product.
Keep in mind that many CBD creams contain menthol, tea tree oil, and other ingredients that can cause a cooling sensation. These ingredients can be harmful to sensitive areas and need to be kept away from the eyes, so always wash your hands after using CBD cream, or take care not to rub your eyes after use.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, CBD cream is a novel way to enjoy the potent, pain-relieving benefits of CBD while also moisturizing and softening your skin. Daily aches and pains, old injuries, and tough conditions like fibromyalgia are all no match for the powerful and targeted relief of a high–quality CBD cream.
Ready to try CBD cream for yourself? Check out Every Day Optimal’s new CBD Pain Cream, which contains 300mg of CBD blended with several other natural and nourishing ingredients such as arnica and copaiba.
Every Day Optimal’s wide range of CBD products are all created from organically-grown hemp in the USA, and all our products are third-party tested for strength and quality.