Lip Love: How CBD Keeps Lips Healthy and Happy
Our lips need a lot of attention. As anyone who has gotten too much sun or been exposed to blustery winter wind can attest, delicate lip skin is prone to drying out, swelling, cracking, irritation and even pain.
When our lips are unhappy, it’s hard to think of anything else except lending them some relief. Just in time for the height of summer sun, we’re diving into all the ways CBD keeps lips healthy and happy—so you can focus on having fun and keep lips looking and feeling beautiful.
CBD puts a pause on lip pain
Chapped, dry, blistered, scorched: However you’re experiencing lip pain, chances are, you’re having a hard time brushing it aside. Our lip skin is particularly delicate, and because it doesn’t contain any sebaceous —or oil—glands, once lips become dry or irritated, soothing and moisturizing relief from an external source is often necessary to help them heal. The good news?
CBD may be just the thing to put a pause on lip pain.
As recognized by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , “The skin possesses a robust capacity to synthesize and respond to cannabinoids.” Cannabinoids such as hemp-derived cannabidiol—or CBD—work within our body’s existing endocannabinoid system to help bring the body back to balance and to a more comfortable state. Our skin responds notably well to CBD, and our delicate lips are no exception. In the same article by Michael J. Caterina, NIH adds.
“Although beyond the scope of this Review, it is also worth noting that endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids can modulate pain and itch through their actions in the spinal cord and brain.” In short, if you are experiencing lip
pain due to overexposure to the elements, taking CBD or applying it topically may signal to your brain to ease off the pain alarm.
“One of my favorite hacks for lip pain or inflammation in the summer months is to chill CBD lip balm and CBD tincture in the refrigerator,” suggests Sarah Mirsini, founder of MASK CBD Skincare.
“When I come in from the sun, I drop a few drops of tincture under my tongue to keep pain from possible sunburn to a minimum, then gently apply the MASK Skincare organic lip balm to my lips. The cool products feel amazing on contact, and the CBD works both internally and externally to ensure my lips stay moisturized and pain."
Inflamed and irritated lips? Just add CBD
Even with the best intentions to apply SPF regularly, the dreaded heat from sunburn can be an all too common occurrence for those of us who love to be outdoors in the summer. Luckily, CBD may help reduce the irritation and inflammation of sunburn on thin lip skin.
“Cannabinoids exert anti-inflammatory effects in skin, through both their actions on keratinocyte cytokine production and their modulation of immune cells,” notes the NIH.
Keratinocytes are an integral part of the skin’s outer layer, and, according to the Journal of Clinical Investigation, are “crucial or maintaining the integrity of this barrier. Beyond serving as a physical barrier component, keratinocytes actively participate in maintaining tissue homeostasis, shaping, amplifying, and regulating immune responses in skin.”
Using cannabinoids, including CBD, may help lip skin function at its best, reducing inflammation and helping to maintain its healthy barrier.
Rejuvenate and restore lips
As if the relief from pain and inflammation in lip skin from full spectrum CBD isn’t enough of a reason to reach for it during summer (and all year long, really!), there is reason to believe that CBD may also help rejuvenate and help speed healing of lip skin that’s damaged and painful.
According to a single study published by the NIH entitled, “ Therapeutic Potential of Cannabidiol (CBD) for Skin Health and Disorders ,” CBD was shown to help quicken the healing of damaged skin.
“Three patients suffering from Epidermolysis bullosa (a rare skin disorder characterized by pain and blistering) had faster wound healing, less blistering and amelioration of pain with self- reported topical use of cannabidiol.”
If you get too much sun this summer, reach for hemp-derived CBD to help soothe your delicate lips. Not only will CBD help relieve topical irritation, but CBD may just help soothe mental or emotional irritation you’re feeling, too. How’s that for a win-win?
