I Tried Cannabis Seed Face Cream For a Week, Here’s My Before and After
As many of us could’ve expected, major consumer products brands are capitalizing on the green boom now that hemp is legal and consumers are more eager than ever to try it.
Think: Pepsi and Coca Cola, Kellogg’s, Heineken, and of course, major beauty brands.
As this hemp-centric trend blossoms, fan-favorite labels are bubbling over with exciting new products. Think: Kiehl’s and their new hemp seed facial oil (cannabis sativa seed, as the label declares), Josie Maran’s CBD Argan Oil, and one that I was particularly captivated by: Peter Thomas Roth’s Green Relief Therapeutic Sleep Cream.
For starters, we bow down to PTR products. As the reigning champion of to-die-for facial masks, we 100-percent stand by this brand for all things skincare. Plus, that mattifying primer? It’s like photoshop IRL.
Second disclaimer, it’s important to note that both PTR and Kiehl’s are advertising their products as cannabis, despite the fact that hemp seeds have been legal and used in a variety of products for decades. You can literally buy hemp seeds at Target. Like, Bob’s Red Mill packages them. They’re very, very common.
Hemp seed does not have CBD in it. Well, to be specific, it has potentially trace amounts. As one doctor put it, “hemp seed oil possesses a medically insignificant amount of THC and CBD.” CBD and hemp seed oil are not the same thing, but clever marketing would have you believe otherwise. Stay savvy, shoppers!
Back to this cream. The claim is that it reduces redness and inflammation, which technically CBD does, but there’s no CBD in the product itself; our guess is the colloidal oatmeal is doing the heavy lifting in that department. As for the hemp seed oil, it’s high in antioxidants, omega-3 and -6 fatty acids — all making it a powerful, non-comedogenic moisturizer. In case you remember that definition from middle school, it means it won’t clog your pores. All in all, the ingredients looked good and clean, and since we’re big Peter Thomas Roth fans to begin with, we went for it. A seven day experiment.
First impression: it’s VIBRANT. Like, a shamrock green upon first pump. This feels decidedly St. Patrick’s Day.
Second impression: weird smell. It’s nice that it’s not perfumed — that lends itself to better treatment for sensitive skin. However, the smell is weird. It smells clinical. Be forewarned.
Third impression: it feels so soft and light going on. Not heavy, not sticky.
Now let’s get down to results. Day one and day seven photos were taken around the same time of day in the same light to get as close to a controlled experiment as possible. No additional new products were introduced during this time frame and the routine was kept the same: an AM and PM cleanse with a light serum and moisturizer. PTR Green ReLeaf was used as the PM moisturizer, so only as an overnight cream.
The results were subtle, but I personally noticed a smoother, brighter, slightly less red complexion. Behold this makeup-free selfie comparison.
Was this a life-altering transformation? TBH, no, but I do love the product. It’s gentle, and uses beautiful ingredients to naturally contribute to a soothed, healthier complexion. My skin feels healthy and clear, I didn’t break out at all, and I have no woes to complain about. I added a completely new product into a stable skincare routine, and have no disruption to report — my pores welcomed this green cream with open enthusiasm.
Keep in mind, as mentioned, that the redness relief likely comes from the colloidal oatmeal and not the hemp seed oil. The hemp seed oil is akin to a coconut oil in that it provides a rich and lovely moisturizer for your face, but it’s non-comedogenic (unlike coconut oil), so it shouldn’t break you out.
This is definitely a cream I’ll keep in my rotation, particularly for the dryer winter months, and potentially to use after a sunburn as well. Next up: try a cannabis-extract product. I shall report back!
