If you’re a young entrepreneur, looking for the next gold rush, looking for an industry growing so relentlessly that even a dolphin could strike it rich despite not having any fingers, then I have one recommendation. The CBD oil industry.
Over the last 5 years, companies have piled into this medical marvel on all sides. Day by day, infomercials appear in magazines and pop up adverts assault your computer screens.
Bans on cannabis are falling like dominoes across the states of America, and as people loosen up, CBD oil is reaping the dividends too.
Entrepreneurs are placing their bets with this industry, and a minor suplot is acne. It’s only a tiny portion of the CBD oil industry, but because that industry is so huge, it’s a massive trend in the acne universe.
The more the hype builds, the more people buy CBD oil, and the more the hype builds. The industry is powering itself on excitement to create yet more excitement, in an all conquering tidalwave, but is CBD oil exactly that: pure hype? The answer is no.
CBD oil is not proven by any stretch of the imagination, but as a topical treatment, it looks fantastic for acne.
The basics – what is CBD oil?
The first thing to understand is that CBD oil is not active, drug-like cannabis.
You won’t see brighter colours, music won’t sound more massive, and you won’t become more open minded against your will. CBD oil is still restricted because some lawmakers flinch away like a frightened hamster the second they hear the word cannabis, which is a crazy overreaction, because unlike weed, CBD oil lacks the active THC compound.
Its concentrations are just 0.2-0.3%. “Cannabis” has dozens of subpspecies, and CBD oil is taken from the flowers and leaves of the hemp species of cannabis grown for industrial purposes, rather than marijuana. Cannabis is a scheduled 1 controlled substance in the US, but hemp is perfect for biofuel, textiles, and even antibacterial jungle clothing.
Marijuana, meanwhile, contains 15-20% THC in its leaves. As a supplement, CBD oil has no known overdose limit. Products have different formulas. Some extract CBD from hemp as a powder and mix it with olive oil or coconut oil to enhance absorption. There’s capsules which claim to last for 8 hours, tasty CBD gummy bears (who you’ll probably meet in your apartment two hours later), and special liquids which you can vape.
In the US, hemp-derived CBD is legal as long as its mindbending THC content is below 0.3%. That’s at the federal level, as some states still prohibit it.
The UK has the exact same 0.3% limit. It’s different to cannabis oil, which contains THC and is still strictly illegal.
To sell CBD oil, UK suppliers need a special medical license. It’s estimated that 250,000 British people use CBD oil regularly or experiment with it. The most popular uses are mental, like for depression and anxiety. However, some give it to their children for epilepsy while older people take a couple of drops under the tongue for Parkinson’s disease. There’s an epic narrative of the noble common people trying to improve their health while a cold and oppressive government snatches it away from them.
Also, remember that CBD oil is different to hemp seed oil, the pure fat of the hemp seed, and a popular moisturiser.
The endocannabinoid system…
The power of CBD oil lies with cannabidiol, one of an estimated 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant (including THC).
It started in 1988, when Nobel prize winner Dr Raphael Mechoulam found that THC bound with a certain receptor in the rat brain. He wondered why these receptors existed – why would they be ready and waiting for a random leaf growing natively in central Asia? He hypothesised that the body must manufacture its own cannabinoids, including in humans.
He was right, as in 1990, the endocannabinoid anandamide was discovered. Its name derived from sankrit for “pure bliss” as it created a natural high just like THC in cannabis. By 1995, cannabis-obsessed scientists had discovered cannabinoid receptors from head to toe, in the blood vessels, heart and immune system. The main ones are CB1 and CB2 receptors, which both have different roles.
For example, immune system white blood cells are covered with CB2 receptors, which the endocannabinoid system stimulates to prevent uncontrolled inflammation. CB1 receptors are densely concentrated in the gut, where stimulating them decreases digestive enzyme release. The most obvious is mood-enhancing CB1 brain receptors.
The important point, is that cannabinoids found outside of our body fit these receptors like a glove too.
This is the key to marijuana’s success, the exact reason it makes you wacky, why simply lying on the sofa feels like you’re trapped in a Las Vegas pinball machine. It’s an infinitely more powerful version of the natural cannabinoids circulating our own body.
External cannabinoids include THC, and the milder cannabidiol. Black pepper contains the beta-caryophyllene alkaloid which simulates CB2 receptors. The herbal remedy echinacea contains alkylamides, while dark chocolate is packed with anandamide itself.
…and where CBD oil comes in
So how does acne enter the equation? Quite simply because your sebaceous glands are dotted with cannabinoid receptors too. The same sebaceous glands that pump out oil (sebum), clog your pores and allows the vicious acne bacteria propionibacterium acnes to expand their colonies in the new, oxygen deprived environment.
In 2014, a fantastic study showed that cannabidiol, the main ingredient of CBD oil, can decrease sebum production in human skin cells.
It didn’t mention which receptor it stimulated – CB1 or CB2 – but the effects were profound. In total, CBD upregulated 80 genes and downregulated a further 72 genes.
Firstly, the differentiation of seboyctes decreased, the quantity of individual oil-producing cells – the main gene involved was MKI67. Secondly, the amount of sebum synthesised from individual cells dropped substantially. The two genes identified here were NRIP1 and ARHGAP9.
The result is a double whammy for enemies of oily skin. Less oil pumping cells and less oil produced from them.
All three genes involved are very obscure players indeed. In today’s study, ARHGAP9 was increased. This gene inhibits the ERk pathway, which is tightly linked to sebaceous gland activity. Increasing ARHGAP9 can also decrease the spread of bladder cancer and breast cancer (study); it’s no stretch that it could stop sebocytes (oil-producing cells) from multiplying.
Meanwhile, NRIP1 was decreased; it’s a gene closely connected to lipid (fat) metabolism, and it seems that sebum is one example. It even helps to create body fat full stop. More interestingly, NRP1 also increases the sensitivity of androgen receptors, as well as estrogen, so it could even shield your skin from hormones.
At its root, cannabidiol altered all three genes through a higher gene called TRPV4. The scientists used HC-067047, a substance that toally blocked TRPV4 activity, and this caused all of cannabidiol’s benefits to disappear too. It was already confirmed back in 2012 that increasing TRPV4 puts the breaks on sebum production, two years earlier (study). What’s great is that a rat study also concluded that cannabidiol affects the TRPV4 gene, as did more minor cannabis cannabinoids like cannabichromene (CBC) or cannabidivarin (CBDV). We have a solid link.
All these players are so obscure that cannabidiol is still very mysterious. When you type them in, half of the results relate to this study, but CBD oil’s raw power cannot be denied.
Part 2 – inflammation
We’re not done yet though. The second great result of the study was lowering inflammation.
Compared to a placebo, cannabidiol strongly lowered three classic immune system chemicals: TNF-a, interleukin-1beta and interleukin-6. All are necessary for life in controlled amounts, but all are linked to acne in high amounts, across various studies.
This time, the properties were completely independent of the TRPV4 gene. CBD had another acne-clearing trick up its sleeves.
The end result was that cannabidiol inhibited NF-kappaB, a master molecule of inflammation that orchestrates numerous smaller ones, like the director of a buzzing construction site. Blocking NF-kappaB is also behind cannabidiol’s anti-inflammatory powers in places like the spinal cord, so it’s a solid link.
The question was how, and behind this, cannabidiol decreased NF-kappaB by increasing a gene called TRIB3. This gene is a known NF-kappaB inhibitor, so it fits like a jigsaw puzzle. For example, in mice, an inactive TRIB3 gene caused their fat tissue to fire out far more white blood cells (study).
Behind TRIB3 though, cannabidiol increased a gene called cAMP. But it still wasn’t over: behind cAMP lay the A2A receptor. Weirdly, this is the main receptor for adesonine, the drowsiness hormone that forces you to go to sleep as it builds up in the brain. It’s the same receptor that coffee blocks. The chain of inflammation was immensely complex.
Like with sebum, they used a chemical A2A blocker, and this totally wiped out cannabidiol’s anti-inflammatory benefits.
You don’t understand it, I don’t understand it, and the scientists confessed to barely understanding it, but the final chain of anti-inflammation was concluded to be: a2a > cAMP > TRIB3 > NFkappaB.
Somehow, the cannabidiol of CBD oil triggers all this. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter much – we only care whether our red and angry pimples calm down in the mirror.
A nice bonus was that the production of an antimicrobial peptide called LL-37 cathelicidin was increased. The sebum reduction could starve the p.acnes of its home, and this peptide could take care of the stragglers. Yes, it sounds cruel, but they made the choice to give us acne.
The scientists concluded that cannabidiol had a “trinity of cellular anti-acne actions“. Mark my words – it’s inevitable that this phrase will pop up in dozens of CBD/acne articles over the next couple of years.
CBD studies on real people
Which brings us to the final showdown. We can talk about obscure receptors and proteins all we want, but such endlessly complex interactions commonly amount to nothing in real living acne patients, because they’re so unpredictable.
This 2015 study implies the opposite. Seduced by the offer of free cannabis, 11 Asian men were instead ordered to apply a cream consisting of 3% cannabis extract, who were aged 20-35.
The cannabis seeds were purchased in a crowded marketplace in Islamabad, Pakistan. They divided their faces in two: a placebo half and a cannabis half, and rubbed the cream in twice daily.
12 weeks later, nobody experienced any side effects. No itching, no rashes, no dryness, no nothing. Nobody smoked so much that they stumbled in on the global clown conference 2020. This ties in with even the CBD oil skeptics, who admit that it’s extraordinarily safe when applied to the skin. Unlike tea tree oil or olive oil, I’ve never seen a single report of side effects.
Anyway, erthyma (swelling) also plummeted, falling to 523.45 from 501.00 on the placebo half but 412.09 to 364.00 on the cannabis sector. The cream had high antioxidant activity, as measured by the classic DPHH scale for free radical deactivation.
Finally, we have oiliness. The average sebum production in the placebo sector fell from 73.88 to 62.77, but the cannabis dwarfed this with a fall from 74.09 to 46.00.
In short, the cannabis cream did exactly what we wanted it to.
The main flaw is the tiny amount of participants. 11,000 would be superior. Also, it wasn’t hemp, so the fantastic results could have been from THC as much as CBD, but it matches exactly what the science above says.
The CBD oil train seems to be gathering pace. In 2018, some cannabis scientists informed the world that they were testing 23 acne patients aged 18-65. They were using a synthetic, lab-borne version of CBD oil for 12 weeks. So far, there had been no side effects and “activity in acne has been observed“, which is vague but promising.
However, the best part is that they then progressed to a full-scale, double blind clinical trial involving 368 people. It’s unpublished, but this link reveals that the experiment ended on September 5th 2019.
Soon we may know the truth, and the future of clear skin may arrive. The clock is ticking. There may be 368 people with astonishingly glowing skin walking the streets of New York at this very moment, with 9 months exclusive knowledge of the ultimate secret for acne before the scientists spoil the party and tell the whole world.
Of course, the other possibility is that it’s the moment when CBD oil goes down the drain. We will find out soon enough…
Why does weed cause acne?
The stereotype of a stoner in the media tends to be greasy, unshaven and not exactly the recipient of the glowing skin of the year award. They tend to spend all day lying on their sofa and bowling. Even they don’t know how they magically enough have money to do this 24/7 – they just shrug and say it comes with the territory.
The fact is, it’s not a complete stereotype. We discussed here how cannabis actually keeps the immune system in check, and how the fears that it will increase your testosterone and cause oily skin are overblown. Nevertheless, I’ve seen tons of internet reports confessing to furious breakouts occasionally, despite saying how much they love their weed.
So what’s the deal? The fact is that different cannabinoids behave extremely differently in the body.
For example, the endocannabinoid anandamide is known as the bliss chemical. It turned out anandamide actually creates the godlike “runner’s high” instead of endorphins.
However, alongside another endocannabinoid called 2-Arachidonoylglycerol, anandamide stimulates CB2 receptors in the sebaceous glands. These in turn activate PPAR, the same protein which the last-resort acne drug accutane down regulates.
You know what means? Anandamide and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol can increase oily skin.
Meanwhile, both cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) decrease sebum like cannabidiol. So does tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), which sounds similar to THC but is actually a closely related chemical analog. All three are from the cannabis plant. There’s a great split down the cannabinoid family, and it’s not known which side THC falls on.
The interesting thing is that despite being the psychoactive chemical that makes weed weed, there are no studies yet on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Maybe scientists are too scared to touch it. We have no idea whether it stimulates the PPAR receptors like anandamide or joins CBD oil with its endless gene twisting games.
Some stoners have dismissed CBD oil based on their own breakout experiences, but the lack of THC might make it a very different animal for acne.
The verdict
At first glance, CBD oil hardly has a treasure trove of evidence for oily skin. In terms of raw data, it has no more than turmeric or neem leaves.
However, my instinct is that CBD oil could be a fantastic remedy for oily skin. We know about the anandamide connection to oily skin. We know so much about CB receptors. Its manipulation of genes is mysterious but looks extremely interesting. We all know how powerful cannabis is – just ask stoned Sam lying in the corner – and this seems to be spilling into clear skin. Then there’s the studies themselves.
Overall, the potential of CBD oil and cannabidiol for acne looks massive, particularly oily skin. It would supplement your classic oily skin strategies like vitamin A and eating less carbohydrates. Like vitamin B3, CBD oil has a completely different oily skin mechanism to those two, so you’re at no risk of maxing out. Vitamin A stimulates retinoid X receptors (RXR). Niacin attaches to HCA2 (formerly niacin receptor 1) receptors and downregulates the sebaceous glands.
Cannabidiol does God knows what, but does something independent. Likewise, it has nothing to do with androgen receptors, which DHT and testosterone stimulate to create commit their oily skin crimes.
Believe the hype: CBD oil is one of the most interesting natural acne remedies around.
Thanks for reading!