The Benefits of Hemp Oil

April 18, 2016

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THUNDER BAY – LIVING – I am sure you have seen it: the big bottle of body lotion that has a giant hemp leaf on it. Even the 11 year old girl who came in with her mom for makeup noticed the “bad leaf”.

I have been using Hempz brand hand, foot and body creams for 10+ years. I have always liked their brand, never had any problems so I decided to bring it into my shop as well for use and sale. They also have more of a body line and a hair care line called “Hempz Couture”.

Once again it does fit into my smart, safe and sweet policy… which may surprise you if you don’t know much about hemp and think it might be dangerous to have but you’d be giving into the confusion that comes between hemp and marijuana.

I will start off with saying I not a huge pothead waving the leaf flag all over the place, I used to be but what 20 year old isn’t? I take prescribed synthetic canabanoids to help with my pain management and tourett’s syndrome and I do smoke occasionally. I am trying to not push my political or personal views here, so sorry if anyone takes it that way. What your choices and feelings towards it is your opinion. I just want to break down a few things.

Hempz creams are cruelty free, 100% vegan, paraben free* and gluten free.

*there are 2 products within the whole company ( a bronzer and a body butter) that do contain parabens according to ewg.org

So obviously one of the main components of Hempz is hemp seed oil. Its even their tag line “The Secret is in the Seed”.

Hemp Seeds are rich in Vitamins D, E, C, B1, B2, B3 and B6. They contain about 25% protein, 30% carbohydrates, 15% nutrients, 15% key minerals and 15% fiber. Hemp is one of the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), with a perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Linoleic Acids, and contains 9 Key Amino Acids.

In skin care Hemp oil is used as a moisturizer, and helps with moisture loss creating a barrier on your skin. Researcher J. Calloway found that symptoms of skin dryness and itching significantly improved in dermatitis sufferers after using hemp seed oil for 20 weeks.

Hempz also contains shea butter, gingseng, aloe, althea root, chamomilla oil, cucumber; which are all for soothing and calming action for your skin.

Sweet: 100% vegan by not testing on animals and not using any animal byproducts. It is also gluten free and as I said before it is paraben free*.

Smart: According to the hempz website and forbes.com, Industrial Hemp is one of Earth’s most renewable resources, able to produce a full harvest within 120 days without the need for fertilizers or pesticides. It is legal to grow in Canada and in 22 states. It can be enriched into soy, butter, tofu and many other foods to increase health benefits.

Though many of their products do contain fragrance and/or parfums, their sensitive skin line doesn’t. This is one of the reasons it does have medium-high rating on ewg.org. I also found that personally their sandalwood body scrub gave me a skin irritation from the sandalwood pieces being too rough for my personal liking.

But I will say the products with the fragrance in them, smell soo good! I have the coconut & watermelon, plum vanilla, vanilla and cashmere, honey and pineapple and pommergranete.

Safe: Now with the mentioned above, yes claiming to be paraben free, then having 2 products with parabens in them is a then not the truth; so a few minus points for them. I do believe that the body butter was a older version possibly before they made that claim but I would check labels still if you are concerned with that kind of thing. But still being mostly paraben free is good, and being gluten free is great for those with severe gluten allergies.

It is also THC FREE, which is why it is safe. This is where I do believe lots of confusion comes from.

So I will try in a non nerdy and simpler way explain the difference between Hemp and Marijuana.

Both come from the same plant: Cannabis Sativa L.

What separates them is industrial hemp(which is used in food and other products like Hempz) has 0.3% THC to begin with. Once they go through the manufacturing process and are washed and pressed, the final product or resin is free of any psychoactive compounds or tetrahydroconnabinol (THC).(ratical.com) Canadian content regulations for industrial hemp is THC content of under 0.3%.

Industrial hemp also has more Cannabidol (CBD). Which has show when there are higher amounts of CBD they counteract and reduce the levels of THC.

When you buy “weed” (from wherever/whomever depending on where you live) these cannabis plants are cultivated in a totally different way, with special growing situations which make the plant produce more THC and eugenics has helped produce varied strains with different psychoactive effects (getting a body buzz vs not being depressed).

Why having hemp oil in your products gives you a edge: CBD is a special type of Cannabanoid that has no psychoactive traits. Canadbanoids have special nerve receptors throughout your body that only accept cannabanoids chemical compounds (like CB1, CB2 and THC) and nothing else. Other nerve receptors can take in many different kinds of chemical compounds(sugars, salts, minerals, etc).

CB2 is a type of cannaibidol that is attached to your immune system, reducing redness, irritations, inflammations and pain. It has also shown to reduce excessive sebum production which is a root cause of acne.

So now you can see that hemp oil and similar by products are safe. You can’t get accidentally high from using too much cream or eating too much hemp enriched tofu* and you can’t smoke your hemp fabric shirt. Industrial hemp and manufacturing has not THC.

*unless you are buying from a dispensary but then its not hemp its hash oil.. but then again you’d know why you were in there.