Recently, Cannabis has been having quite a moment within the beauty industry. CBD, the non-psychoactive chemical compound discover in the marijuana plant, has been used by several brands in products including mascaras and moisturizers.
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.
CBD is the “next hot, functional beauty ingredient”, that may have a similar impact on the beauty industry as shea butter and aloe, according to Brightfield Group, a company that specializes in cannabis and CBD market research.
Moreover, 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 moisturizer.
Melissa Jochim, founder of High Beauty, stated 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 informed, according to Civilized.
Also, Estée Lauder’s Origins brand became one of the first mainstream beauty companies to release cannabis-infused products earlier this year.
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 informed the news station.