If you’re like most people, then the health of your skin is super important to you. The health of your skin can determine how dry it is, if it appears thick or thin, wrinkles, sagginess, blemishes, and more.
In short, your skin is the top determining factor in how old you look.
Thankfully, in our modern day and age, we understand what harms the skin and what makes it healthier. And today we want to talk to you about two major powerhouses when it comes to skin health and why you should take them together!
The duo is CBD and collagen. But what makes them so great together? Before we get into that, let’s take a look at them separately…
What is collagen?
Collagen makes up 30% of the protein in the human body, making it the most prevalent protein in your body. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about its importance.
Collagen is so prevalent because it’s a structural protein. It’s easiest to think of collagen as the glue that holds everything together because it kind of is! This includes within your skin.
The good news is that your body naturally produces collagen. The bad news is that this production starts to slow down after the age of 25, with both the amount and quality of collagen diminishing. Factors such as stress, pollution, processed foods, cigarettes, alcohol, and even menopause can severely diminish collagen levels as well.
This is why boosting and maintaining levels with a highly absorbable collagen, like our sister company’s Complete Collagen Plus, is super important.
In short, collagen is literally what keeps your skin together and the only reason we get wrinkles, saggy skin, and start to look older with each year is due to our collagen lowering in both quality and numbers.
As such, it can offer you many benefits simply through supporting the structure of your body…
The benefits of collagen
✅ Improves skin health – As mentioned, collagen is the structure of your skin. It strengthens your skin, hydrates it, and allows it to have elasticity. Several studies have shown that collagen supplements can help slow the aging of your skin by reducing wrinkles and dryness. For example, one review of 26 studies found that 1-12 grams of collagen over 4-12 weeks led to clear improvements in skin elasticity and hydration. [1]
✅ Supports joint health – It’s not just your skin that’s made up of collagen, but pretty much all tissue in your body – including your joints. If your body doesn’t have enough collagen, then the cartilage in your joints can wear away. This is why studies have found that taking collagen leads to significant improvements in joint stiffness and pain. [2, 3]
✅ Prevents bone loss – Your bones are also mostly collagen. As your collagen depletes, so does your bone mass. This is why research shows that collagen supplements can help prevent bone breakdown. One study even showed a 7% increase in bone density after just one year of regular collagen consumption. [4, 5]
✅ Boosts muscle mass – You guessed it – collagen is also an important component of your muscles. This is why research shows that those who take collagen while working out gain more muscle than those who don’t. [6]
✅ Promotes heart health – The tissues making up your arteries and blood vessels are also made up of collagen. Without enough collagen, these passages may become less elastic and flexible, causing arteries to narrow and putting the heart at risk. As such, collagen supplementation has been linked to significant reductions in artery stiffness. [7]
What is CBD?
CBD – short for cannabidiol – is one of the best understood and most studied cannabinoids in the cannabis sativa plant. With its legalization in 2018, even more studies have come out on this incredible compound.
Before we get into those benefits and how CBD specifically helps the skin, it’s important to know that CBD cannot get you “high” or alter your thinking at all. That’s THC, another prevalent cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. And unless specifically stated, most CBD supplements do not have more than 0.3% THC – levels far too low to have any affect on your body.
The benefits of CBD
CBD has many proven benefits through years of rigorous research. These include…
✅ Improves sleep – A large case series from 2019 found that CBD use improved sleep in participants by nearly 67% after just one month! When we’re stressed, our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol. Dubbed “the stress hormone,” cortisol can negatively impact sleeping patterns. But according to research, CBD can help regulate cortisol levels, helping us to relax. [8, 9]
✅ Supports joint health and eases pain – CBD can lower aches and discomfort within the joints by helping manage inflammation. Research has shown that CBD reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory cells in the body, all while increasing the levels and effectiveness of crucial immune cells. CBD has also been found to target the areas of the joints suffering from chronic inflammation in those with rheumatoid arthritis, providing relief. And if all of that wasn’t enough, CBD can also help strengthen the tissue of the joints. An analysis of CBD joint studies concluded that there is sufficient evidence that CBD may be able to both reduce cartilage degradation and facilitate cartilage repair. [10, 11, 12]
✅ Protects and supports brain cells – Ongoing research is showing that CBD may have neuroprotective properties, specifically against cognitive decline and certain conditions and disorders of the brain. One of the main factors in cognitive decline has to do with oxidative stress and inflammation. These cause damage to neurons, inhibiting proper brain function. Thankfully, CBD has been shown to offer protective effects in the brain by reducing these factors while also helping to repair and replace neurons, supporting cognition. [13, 14, 15]
✅ Relieves anxiety and depression – CBD helps increase levels of what’s been dubbed the “bliss molecule” – a neurotransmitter called anandamide. Researchers believe that a deficiency in endocannabinoids, such as anandamide, can lead to depression, migraines, and other conditions of the brain and nervous system. [16, 17]
✅ Relieves menstrual pain – A recent review of studies that looked into CBD as an aid for PMS showed that the compound could be helpful in providing relief to many of the symptoms involved with the syndrome. Another study from 2015 found that CBD may help provide menstrual cramp relief due to its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. [18, 19]
✅ Boosts immunity – CBD can help boost the immune system and protect against infection. Research has shown that the compound helps regulate the immune system for a more robust and targeted response. [20]
✅ Increases hair growth – Certain cannabinoid receptors have been found to be key players in hair follicle growth. CBD has also been shown to help the hair properly cycle through its growth phases and it may help regulate hormones which are often involved in hair loss conditions. [21, 22]
But what about CBD and the skin?
When it comes to the skin, CBD offers incredible effects. Most skin issues stem from oxidative stress and inflammation. These are two areas where CBD offers invaluable support, eliminating unnecessary inflammation and destroying the free radicals that cause oxidative stress.
As such, CBD offers plenty of benefits within the skin: [23]
✅ Clears up acne – One of the most common skin disorders in the world, acne affects people of all ages. It’s caused by increased sebum (natural skin oil) production, along with inflammation of the gland which produces this oil. But research has shown that topical CBD can help regulate sebum production, all while reducing inflammation!
✅ Skin tumors – Tumors of the skin are the most common malignancies in humans. As such, combating them has been an extensive area of research. Thankfully, CBD has been shown to be an effective treatment for these. Research shows CBD can kill skin tumor cells and prevent them from populating.
✅ Heals wounds – Considering CBD interacts with mechanisms in your body that regulate the protein structures of your skin, along with skin inflammation, it’s no surprise that CBD can help cuts and scrapes heal at a faster rate. By stimulating certain immune cells and fibrous proteins within the skin, CBD helps wounds heal more efficiently.
✅ Alleviates rashes and psoriasis – Skin conditions that result in a rash of itchy, scaly patches are the result of inflammation and an unbalanced immune system. Thankfully, through various mechanisms, CBD has been shown to help rebalance immunity. For example, two studies in psoriasis patients – one from 2019 and another from 2020 – showed that topical CBD improved skin hydration and elasticity all while reducing inflammation, itching, and burning. [24, 25]
✅ Reduces itchiness – Many skin conditions can cause itchiness. But once again, CBD comes to the rescue! One study had participants experiencing itchiness apply a CBD cream to the itchy area every day for three weeks. At the end of the study, 52% of them reported significantly reduced itchiness, while 38% of them stated that the itchiness was completelygone.
Even if you’re not experiencing skin issues, CBD can help prevent them from ever happening.
CBD interacts with receptors within the skin that directly affect skin homeostasis and barrier function – two critical factors that determine skin health. [26]
So not only is CBD the answer to any skin woes, it’s also the ultimate skin protector.
But why should you be taking it with collagen?
Collagen + CBD
As mentioned, collagen plays a crucial role in protecting and maintaining your skin structure and strength, which are both impacted by the aging process. Increased intake of the protein has also been found to reduce the visible signs of aging within the skin, including fine lines and wrinkles. [27, 28]
And as I discussed, CBD is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory within the skin. This protects your skin from the signs of aging by stopping collagen from breaking down. This means that the collagen within your body can last longer. [29]
But that’s not all.
CBD also strengthens your collagen by enhancing collagen’s ability to link together, creating firmer bonds (meaning firmer skin). [30]
Collagen for your skin
If you’re taking CBD and you want healthier skin, then you’re in luck…
Because the CBD you’re already taking is going to make your collagen that much stronger!
The problem with most collagen supplements is that the body just can’t fully absorb them, leaving you with only some (or sometimes none) of the crucial amino acids that make up the collagen protein.
EverBella has solved that problem by infusing collagen with a micelle liposomal formula for FULL absorption. This means you can quickly and effectively restore your collagen levels for real change.
