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There are few more common fears in life than ageing. A handful of are able to embrace ageing with grace, but the truth is most of us are desperately trying to cling on to our youth – both in terms of our appearance and our actions.

Unfortunately for us, when it comes to visible signs of ageing, these will start to kick in around the age of 30. It’s all downhill from there!

Many of us will spend thousands and thousands of pounds trying to find the next anti-aging miracle cream. The anti-aging industry of course retain a number of highly effective, often very expensive, products. However, most of these are made from a variety of chemicals and preservatives.

The nature of how these products work, i.e. only on a dermal level, means that they are not effective for everyone and some will experience different results to others. For others, the products may work but only for a short period of time.

For a long-lasting, holistic approach to combatting the signs of ageing, it is recommended to find a natural product, that will provide internal benefits as well as external ones. A healthy body is often reflected in the appearance of skin, hair and eyes.

We are, of course, talking about CBD. Firstly, let us ascertain exactly what CBD is.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, or CBD for short is one of over 100 different compounds that form the cannabis sativa plant. There are two main types of cannabis plants – hemp and marijuana – both of which contain CBD.

The confusion around CBD originates from years of disinformation as a result of misplaced cannabis prohibition across the globe. Consequently, many confuse CBD with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

THC is the dominant psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant. This is responsible for the ‘high’ typically depicted in popular culture. Think red eyes and insatiable appetites.

On the other hand, CBD is a non-psychoactive compound which means that it does not cognitively impair the user. Nonetheless, CBD retains a glut of health benefits and we are still to fully grasp the true range of its therapeutic potential.

Marijuana plants typically contain higher levels of THC than hemp plants. Consequently, the latter is preferred for CBD manufacturing within the industry.

There is now a dazzling array of CBD products that are available. These range from dermal CBD patches, to CBD vapes and a wide variety of topical CBD products, such as CBD moisturiser and CBD cream.

How does CBD work?

We actually have a number of internal cannabinoids that already exist within our bodies and CBD from plants closely resemble this.

During the 1980s, while investigating how CBD works, researchers unintentionally discovered the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system serves to maintain homeostasis. Essentially, it regulates a variety of bodily responses, including sleep regulation, temperature, appetite, perception of pain and mood.

While the endocannabinoid system is capable of producing its own endocannabinoids, there is a limit to which it is able to work. This limit is often reached when illness or stressors overwhelm the endocannabinoid system. Step forward CBD.

When consumed – either topically or internally – CBD revs up our endocannabinoid system and helps to produce more endocannabinoids that serve to redress the balance within our bodily functions.

The fact that endocannabinoids naturally occur within our body means that there are little to no side effects when it comes to taking CBD. There are few more natural products available than CBD when it comes to fighting the signs of aging. 

Let us now move on to assess the various causes of aging and how CBD can aid management of these. 

What happens when we age?

The easiest way to grasp exactly how the ageing process works is to split the contributing factors into two distinct groups – internal and external factors of ageing.

You may be shocked to read that the internal ageing process can actually begin at the age of 20! External factors and the frequency of exposure to these dictate the timing and speed of cosmetic ageing. Let us break these two groups down and examine both in more detail.

External Factors

We will begin by looking into external factors, given we have far more control over these. There are a number of key external factors that contribute to the aging process, although far more do exist than covered in this article (you’ll be pleased to know!). 

• Gravity – causes drooping around the eye area and saggy earlobes
• Obesity – This stretches the skin, hair and nails and reduces the sheen.
• Daily facial movements – Stop laughing!
• Smoking – this interrupts the natural blood flow to the skin.
• Sun – UV rays break down the elastin in our skin.

Internal Factors

There are a number of biological processes that contribute to the degradation of our skin’s appearance are manifested in the loss of elastin, collagen and oil in our skin.

• Elastin – This provides elasticity to our skin and as we age, a reduction in production means our skin becomes more saggy.
• Collagen – This is also a protein that maintains the tautness of our skin. As we age, we produce less collagen and as a result our skin thins.
• Oil – Our skin is filled with oil glands that maintain both hydration and a youthful glow to our skin in our younger years. As the years pass by, our glands product less and less oil and our skin becomes drier.
• Loss of fat – The degradation of fat in our face is one of the driving factors of an increasingly skeletal facial appearance in later years.
• Bone loss – As we pass 50, our skin slackens as we naturally lose bone in and around our face.

What are the anti-aging benefits of CBD?

Now that the doom and gloom is out of the way, let us move on to discuss some more positive solutions! There are a number of ways in which CBD can help you delay the process of ageing somewhat.

CBD is a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals

Oxidative stress is characterised as the imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals in the body. These free radicals also cause a variety of cellular damage throughout the body, including the breaking down of collagen skin tissue, which helps to maintain both the tautness and firmness of our skin.

We know from various studies that CBD is a powerful antioxidant, which helps to redress cellular balance by significantly slowing down collagen loss.

CBD can increase oil production

As previously mentioned in the article, our sebaceous glands responsible for oil secretion slow down production as we age. This causes our skin to become drier and the signs of ageing appear more clearly.

However, we know that endocannabinoids serve to maintain hormonal balance. CBD has also been shown to increase the production of oil in the sebaceous glands. This means that regular CBD usage is likely to delay the drying process of your skin.

CBD reduces stress and anxiety

We know that the steroid hormone cortisol and an increased production of this causes stress. Furthermore, a severe lack of cortisol can lead to autoimmune issues.

A study back from 1993 found that CBD helped to maintain the balance of cortisol within our body. This means that through regular use, CBD allows us to maintain our mood far more effectively, helping to reduce stress and anxiety which can lead to visible signs of aging in the facial area.

CBD improves skin elasticity

Skin elasticity is defined by the skin’s ability to return to its original form after being stretched. A lack of elasticity manifests in saggy, leathery looking skin. As we age, this is a natural process that occurs over time.

UV rays in particular have been posited as one of the main causes of a reduction in skin elasticity, although smoking, poor nutrition and air pollution also contribute.

However, research has shown that CBD has the potential to maintain skin elasticity. Although this particular study only assessed 20 subjects, the results were extremely promising and further research should shed more light on the topic. 

CBD Aids Sleep

Our body does its most rigorous regenerative work as we sleep and its importance to both our appearance and mood cannot be understated. A lack of sleep often leaves us with tired-looking skin and dark puffy eyes the following day.

Although we are still unsure exactly how CBD benefits sleep, plenty of research suggests that this is the case. We typically have high levels of cortisol during the daytime, however insomniacs have been found to have high levels of cortisol at night. As previously mentioned, we know that CBD helps to balance cortisol production.

Furthermore, a notable study published in 2019 assessed 25 subjects who were struggling with poor sleep. Each patient was given just a 25mg CBD capsule each day, which is an insignificant amount of CBD. Despite this, over 66% of the subjects reported better sleep in just one month of use. With regular usage over an extended period of time and at higher doses, there appears little doubt that CBD has huge potential in improving sleep quality. 

As we know, a good night’s rest can leave your skin looking younger and fresher the next day, as well as reducing the puffy, dark appearance of your eyes.

How to use CBD for anti-aging purposes

As we have now established, there are a number of ways in which CBD can slow down the process of aging. Of course, CBD alone is not enough to delay this process and it is strongly recommended to look at other external factors of aging that are within your control.

This means, avoiding smoking, which can lead to an increase in free radicals throughout the body, preventing blood from reaching the skin. Avoiding extended exposure to the sun is another sure-fire way to slow down the aging process. If this cannot be avoided, then it is crucial that high SPF sun protectors are used in order to minimise damage – particularly in the face and neck area. 

Keeping hydrated is another important step to take when it comes to fighting ageing. Water boosts the production of both elastin and collagen. It is recommended to drink at least 3 litres of water a day in order to maintain hydration.

Taking steps such as those above and then combining this with CBD will give you the best possible chance to delay the aging process. There are a number of ways in which CBD serves as a strong anti-aging aid that have been highlighted throughout the article.

The specific type of product that you opt for is also relevant. CBD can be consumed in myriad ways. For the best results, it would be wise to combine an internal CBD product, such as CBD oil or CBD capsules, with a topical CBD product such as CBD moisturiser or CBD cream that can be applied directly to the necessary areas.

Finally, it is also important to note that CBD should be used on a regular basis, across an extended period of time. Too many people give up on CBD after using it sporadically across a couple of weeks. To ensure the best results, you must regularly use your desired CBD products in a consistent fashion. Best results are often not realised until at least 8 weeks of regular usage.

Conclusion

While it would be great if we could all gracefully embrace the inevitability of father of time, this is simply not a viable option for many of us, who can feel like we are losing our identity.

In order to try and wrest back some control over the aging process, there are a number of anti-aging products available. However, if you are looking for an affordable and, more importantly, natural solution, then research highlighted in this article suggests CBD is a good bet.

Not only can CBD improve the appearance of your skin, but also helps to maintain regular bodily functions and helps us to feel much better internally as well.

Finally, the fact that humans have utilised plant proteins and phytonutrients for centuries add further credence to the CBD argument. What’s to lose?!

We always recommend speaking to your doctor or GP before trying CBD for the first time – particularly if you are on existing medication.