Hello! I’m Christina, the product developer at The Beemine Lab. Today I’m going to tell you about my personal experience with my skin, honey, and CBD.
I have atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema), sometimes also known as atopic eczema, a skin affliction that, worldwide, affects 2-5% of adults and 10-20% of children. It’s a chronic condition that is characterized by dry, scaly, and irritated skin. The biggest problem with dermatitis is the itchiness it provokes, which in turn leaves one's skin dry, scaly and red. There are many kinds of dermatitis however few solutions to relieve its symptoms.
Dermatitis is extremely common however still much is unknown about why it affects people the way it does or how to cure it.
We know that it is an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy parts of your body when it shouldn’t. We know genetics and environmental triggers can factor in provoking atopic dermatitis. Environmental triggers can be especially involved in increasing inflammation and symptoms like itchiness and dryness.
I’ve always had atopic dermatitis, I get cold sores, I’m very sensitive and allergic to a bunch of things, and have had the weirdest cutaneous infections. My skin is like Murphy’s Law, whatever can happen will.
However atopic dermatitis has been the most constant affliction in my life. It’s not the end of the world and there are far more difficult afflictions to deal with in life, but it’s a daily problem and can get out of hand. Sometimes you don’t even want to go to work or see friends because you have a foul-looking flare-up. When I was 12 I was bullied for a full year because I had a scaly dry patch on my face.
Today I wanted to share my experience last summer with the CBD Hydrating Facial Cream, Hani+, and the CBD Oil Basic, which saved my week.
I was working on a project in the countryside and like most of the European countryside, it was full of ragweed (I’m allergic, who would have guessed!). So the ragweed, mosquitoes, and sun were all out for me. Even though I would put on sunscreen religiously, I was doing all sorts of physical work so I would just sweat it off and buuurn baby burn. My neck, arms, and hands were red, itchy, and raw. My skin had changed completely. It’s pretty normal for your skin to betray you when you aren’t in your habitual setting or following your normal routine. Just one week out of my routine and my skin was enemy #1.
Being a person who has had dermatitis her whole life, I’ve been to all sorts of dermatologists and they’ve always told me the same thing “Constantly apply cream, take lukewarm showers, less stress, and here take this cortisone cream.” The problem with cortisone or steroids is that they inhibit natural processes of our skin and immune system, and personally, for me, they don’t even work that well.
CBD was a natural alternative with no side effects (for me), which will regulate natural processes. Our skin is full of cannabinoid receptors and CBD can regulate the Endocannabinoid system, helping it regulate our skin. Many studies today have been researching dermatitis and the ECS and there are theories that dermatitis is influenced by an imbalance in the endocannabinoid system… fascinating!
There are a lot of factors to take into account, like sun, stress, and low immune defenses. This last one is especially important since we know that atopic dermatitis is directly linked to our immune system so we want to make sure our immune system is in tip-top shape, to avoid unnecessary problems.
One of the most important factors is consistency. It’s important to keep up with a routine and find that magical method for you. Each of us is different and no remedy is going to be some kind of miraculous all in one-i can fix everything. Listen to your skin, keep a journal, drink a lot of water, and seriously keep those stress levels down, stress kills!
For now here at Beemine we’re investigating all sorts of new ways to use cannabinoids, honey, and other bee-derivatives to create products to relieve daily problems, so I’ll keep you all updated.
Until next time!
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R&D Director at The Beemine Lab
Christina dedicates her time to research and development in the cannabis world. With experience in design, innovation and sustainability projects, she seeks to unite different entities in the cannabis world to help destigmatize the plant and make it more accessible to users.
