CBD Oil For Psoriasis: How to use, Dosage, Recommended CBD Products
Psoriasis is a non-contagious immune system disease. A lot of people don’t realize that it can be related to the immune system, but it’s the exact reason why CBD oil could be a partial solution to relieving the problems psoriasis can cause.
People are discovering that experimenting with the best CBD oil for psoriasis products is having a great effect on minimizing the severity of their condition.
Psoriasis occurs when T-cells attack skin cells at an abnormally accelerated rate. Skin usually takes around 30 days to regenerate, but psoriasis sufferers can have regeneration in as little as two days. The resulting build-up of dead skin is due to the fact that old skin cells cannot be shed as quickly as new ones are being produced.
So what are the treatment options for psoriasis? Is there actually any evidence scientifically around CBD and psoriasis, and how do you find the best CBD oil products for experimenting with your psoriasis?
Treatment Options For Psoriasis
Traditional treatment options for psoriasis are limited, and often quite intrusive. The other problem with psoriasis is that it can cause additional conditions, including serious things like psoriasis arthritis, pain, and inflammation, plus significant depression, which is an often underrated side-effect.
Genetics and environmental factors seem to cause the prevalence of psoriasis in some people, and unfortunately, conventional treatments for psoriasis are pretty limited, which is surprising in this modern age.
Firstly, you have topical creams and ointments, which can deal with mild psoriasis. These include retinoids and vitamin D replicators, which can alleviate minor, localized symptoms. People also use steroid creams, but these can have significant side-effects.
Another treatment is phototherapy. Exposure to certain types of light has been proven to slow down the regeneration of skin, helping to normalize it and minimize the build-up of dead skin cells. However, this is not easy for a lot of people to have done.
Also, prescription medication can target psoriasis, specifically the underlying physiological pathways. The problem is that these medications can be expensive, and they can have side-effects that outweigh the benefits. This is especially the case with biologics, which alter the immune system because this can increase the risk of infections.
All of these reasons are exactly why people are looking for other solutions to the pain and misery of psoriasis. THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis has long been known to positively impact the endocannabinoid system in our bodies, but more recently it’s been found that CBD, which doesn’t get you high, can also affect this system, potentially helping to deal with psoriasis.
What Is CBD Oil Exactly?
If you are going to source the best CBD oil for psoriasis, then you need to to understand exactly what CBD oil is.
People get confused because there are several different types of oil, extracted from two different plants of the same family:
- Cannabis oil, which is extracted from the cannabis plant. It contains high levels of CBD, but also high levels of THC, the psychoactive component that gets you high, and it is illegal in many places.
- Hemp oil, which is extracted from the hemp plant, a relative of the cannabis plant. It contains low levels of CBD and THC, plus low levels of most of the other cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. It’s good for the skin, but it doesn’t interact with the endocannabinoid system in our body. It’s also usually only extracted from the flowers, not the whole plant, further minimizing composition.
- CBD oil, which is also mostly extracted from certain types of the industrially-produced hemp plant. Occasionally, it can be extracted from cannabis plants, but only if they have low levels of THC. CBD oil is what you are looking for, and it should be full-spectrum, meaning extracted from the whole plant, and it should be cold-extracted, using something like CO2 extraction, to maintain its structural integrity.
CBD oil has the following general benefits:
- It’s a natural anti-inflammatory
- CBD oil contains omega 3 and 6 fatty acids
- It contains a wealth of vitamins and other ingredients
- It can interact with the CB receptors in the body
- it does not get you high in the way that THC does
How CBD Oil Could Help Treat Psoriasis
Within our bodies lays something called the endocannabinoid system. It helps to regulate key functions in the body, relating to things like appetite, pain, immunity, and mood.
Intriguingly, recent research has discovered that this system extends into the human skin, with cannabinoid receptors found within layers of skin. Anandamide has also been found within the skin, which is a CB receptor ligand. This has been linked to the body’s ability to inhibit epidermal cell variations, meaning basically, it can help to regulate skin growth.
Although this research is in its very initial stages, CBD definitely does interact with the endocannabinoid system, which means at the very least, it could help to regulate pain, and alleviate some of the symptoms of psoriasis.
It’s also an anti-inflammatory, which has obvious benefits. Plus, research also suggests that it is an immune modulator, which is intriguing, as psoriasis is linked to a poor immune response.
Using CBD For Scalp Psoriasis
It’s not just psoriasis on the body that people are finding relief from CBD oil. People are using CBD for scalp psoriasis successfully as well.
Because CBD oil is anti-inflammatory, it can also help to lessen inflammation and infection of the hair follicles, which can help to retain stronger hair growth and a healthier overall scalp.
Many people use special shampoos for scalp psoriasis, so don’t be afraid of experimenting with CBD oil. At worst, it won’t help much, but because of how it interacts in the body, it can have similar effects to specialized shampoos, plus potentially so much more.
You might also be surprised to know that a lot of the new creams and shampoos out there that are specifically designed for psoriasis, now contains CBD oil anyway. So it pays to do some research, and check ingredients.
One of the problems with scalp psoriasis is applying anything to it satisfactorily, especially if you have lots of hair. One great trick to get around this is to put CBD oil into your standard specialist shampoo. That way, you know you are getting a strong dose of CBD oil, in addition to the normal relieving effects.
Studies About CBD For Psoriasis
Well, actually, the great news is that yes, scientific studies do back up the claims around using CBD oil for psoriasis.
It’s actually been known for quite a number of years that CBD oil can act in a strong anti-inflammatory manner. A study from 2009 confirms that:
“It is becoming increasingly clear that cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands play a crucial role in the regulation of the immune system. Exogenous cannabinoids have been shown to suppress T-cell-mediated immune responses by primarily inducing apoptosis and suppressing inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Such observations indicate that targeting cannabinoid receptor-ligand interactions may constitute a novel window of opportunity to treat inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.”
That’s brilliant because it’s clear evidence that cannabinoids, things like THC and CBD, do interact with the immune system, and could help to regulate autoimmune disorders, as well as practically dealing with the inflammatory responses they cause.
As far back as 2007, scientists were concluding that CBD could have a role in helping to deal specifically with psoriasis, by slowing the growth rate of cells in the outer layers of the skin:
“Our results show that cannabinoids inhibit keratinocyte proliferation, and therefore support a potential role for cannabinoids in the treatment of psoriasis.”
Now obviously, I’ve only picked a couple of studies out here, but there are well over a hundred convincing professional studies now which have reached the same conclusions. CBD interacts with the CB1 and 2 receptors in the body, which can help to inhibit new skin cell growth, while also dealing with the body’s inflammatory response.
Even as a layman, the conclusion has to be that it’s worth experimenting with CBD oil. CBD oil is extremely well tolerated, and there is not one single study which is found that you can overdose on it. In fact, some people have taken several thousand milligrams of CBD every day, for months on end, during clinical trials, and had no observable ill effects at all.
This can make CBD oil perfect for the elderly, and children to experiment with, if conventional treatments aren’t working, or if you would like to see if CBD oil could be a less invasive way of minimizing the day the effects of psoriasis.
How To Use CBD Hemp Oil For Psoriasis
Now the thing is with finding the best CBD oil for psoriasis, is that everybody’s needs are different. Because psoriasis can be caused by different mechanisms, genetic, dietary, and environmental, it’s tough to tailor things specifically. But there’s nothing wrong with experimenting, because of the low chance of any negative side-effects using CBD oil.
I would personally suggest that you hit your psoriasis from both ends, internally and externally. You can get a range of CBD oil products, which can help you achieve this:
- CBD oil dropper bottles (tinctures)
- CBD capsules
- CBD softgels and gummies (edibles)
- CBD topical sprays and creams
You could simply just get a dropper bottle of CBD and put a couple of drops under your tongue (depending on the strength of the CBD oil) each day. That would allow CBD oil to interact with the CB receptors in your body, with the internal benefits we have already described.
But, better than that, you can also use topical sprays and creams, that are infused with high concentrations of CBD, to hit your psoriasis from the outside, moisturizing it, and reducing inflammation, plus also hitting those parts of the endocannabinoid system that we now know lay within the skin layers more readily.
In terms of dosage, it’s impossible to say. But you will be looking for the strongest CBD oil you can get, and then look to experiment, by using the minimum amount necessary.
I would personally say from my experience, a daily under the tongue dose of 10 mg, plus applications of a strong topical CBD cream can deliver good results.
However, always keep the dose low, and if you have any liver problems, then it’s advisable to speak to a doctor before taking CBD oil or use a very elevated dose, as some recent research has found that in some people, CBD can elevate levels of potential liver toxicity.
CBD Oil For Psoriasis Reviews
If you’re looking to experiment with CBD oil for psoriasis, then reading CBD oil for psoriasis reviews can often be confusing, because there are such a myriad of new CBD retailers out there, with more appearing all the time.
But for me, a couple of places stick out, because I’ve successfully used them both on a number of occasions. But first, I just want to tell you what you should be looking for in CBD and psoriasis. A reputable retailer will only sell proper CBD oil, which will have the following characteristics and guarantees:
- It will be guaranteed full spectrum CBD oil
- It will have viewable documentation showing its composition
- The full spectrum CBD in milligrams should be large (up to 1500 mg per 2 fluid ounces)
- There should be a money back guarantee
- It should be sustainably sourced and organic
- The CBD oil should be from a stated origin
- You will want a guarantee it’s not blended
- For best purity, it should be extracted through cold-pressing or CO2 extraction
Now taking that all into account, I can hope you see why suddenly there are far fewer places to choose from, which is why I mentioned that I would tell you about a couple of reputable retailers, that always rate highly in CBD oil for psoriasis reviews.
If you’re looking for high-quality CBD tinctures, then these guys are a great place to start. You can get a 1 fluid ounce bottle that contains 1000 mg of pure CBD by volume, meaning just a couple of drops will be a complete dose. Even better, you can get it in peppermint and salted caramel flavors, because believe me, pure CBD on its own tastes awful.
They also sell topical salve. You get 400 mg of pure, full spectrum CBD in the 2 fluid ounce container. That’s really good, especially if you’re applying it a couple of times a day.
Another great starting point is these guys because they offer very cost-effective CBD oil products. They offer the full range as well, with every type of cream, edible, and oil, you could want.
In terms of a pure CBD oil tincture, a 2 fluid ounce bottle contains 1500 mg of pure CBD. They also do two balms, one is not very strong, with 50 mg per CBD in one ounce, but it is a perfect little product for on the move application. The other version is stronger, it contains 100mg of CBD.
Either of these companies will be a great starting point to find the best CBD oil for psoriasis. CBD psoriasis obviously has a positive interaction, but it may take time the effects to work, and for you to find the perfect combination of CBD oil products for your own psoriasis.
CBD For Psoriasis FAQ
How to use CBD oil for psoriasis?
Using CBD oil for psoriasis is really easy to do. It’s best to hit it from both sides, internally, and externally. A good quality topical cream, with a daily dose of pure CBD oil drops under the tongue, is the best way of making sure that locally, and throughout the body, that the endocannabinoid system is benefiting from the effects of how CBD stimulates the CB1 and CB2 receptors.
How many milligrams of CBD oil for psoriasis?
Nobody can tell you exactly how many milligrams of CBD oil you should take each day for psoriasis because there are so many factors which feed into that, things like how your psoriasis is caused, and where it is. But you can always start with a low dose, and work up. You should always take an internal dose of CBD oil, alongside an external cream, as this will help to maximize the benefits more rapidly. The golden rule has to be to take the minimum possible dose to witness benefits.
Where to buy CBD oil for psoriasis?
Because you are looking for high-quality CBD oil, that’s been extracted in the right way, usually, CO2 extraction to maximize retention of CBD and CBDa, backed up by quality guarantees, there are actually that many places to buy genuine, full spectrum CBD oil products. A couple of names to consider though are AllpurCBD.com, and PlusCBDoil.com, both of whom sell a great range of CBD oil products, that come in a range of strengths and options.
What strength CBD oil for psoriasis?
There is no set strength CBD oil required for psoriasis. In fact, the only guideline is to get the best quality CBD oil you can, which means pure, full-spectrum CBD oil, that is a good value for money. Start with a lower dose, internally and externally, and work your way up until you start to see results. It’s all about experimentation, and dosage and strength are secondary to results.
How long does it take the CBD oil to work on psoriasis?
It’s impossible to tell you how long CBD oil will take to work on psoriasis. It’s different for everyone, and you might only see minimal results, or you might see a transformation. But a lot of that will depend on the dose and the amount of time you take the CBD oil. It will also depend on whether you are taking internally, applying it externally, or both. The key thing is to just try it, stick it out for at least a couple of months, and see what happens.
