Which Ingredients Should You Watch Out For When Shopping For CBD Topical Creams?

It seems as though more people are adding CBD topicals to their routines, finding that these formulas perfectly target those tense muscles unlike anything else on the market. Today’s hemp industry offers all kinds of topical creams that are easy to apply to the skin, infusing localized areas of the body with cannabinoids. Naturally, if you’re buying a CBD topical cream, you wanna make sure that it contains enough cannabidiol (CBD) to actually introduce noticeable effects upon application. But, it’s just as important that you read the ingredients carefully before making a purchase, because you’d be surprised by how many CBD topicals out there contain additives that can do more harm than good.

Hemp manufacturers/companies are required to list their ingredients on their label, which means that you can easily figure out what’s in a product before purchasing it.

What are Some Must-Avoid Ingredients?
Now, there are certain ingredients that should be avoided at all costs? How come? Well, because they’re not contributing to the quality or effectiveness of the product, and worse, because they can be harmful to our skin. So, let’s go over the most common ingredients that should be completely avoided when shopping for a CBD cream.

#1: Artificial Preservatives
A lot of skincare products use preservatives so that the formula as well as the fragrance lasts for as long as possible. But, not all preservatives are created equally, and some are actually quite harmful, especially when used in the long term. Certain preservatives can not only irritate the skin but cause internal issues because of how they absorb into the bloodstream through the skin tissue. Two of the worst offenders are benzoates and parabens, which can lead to itchiness and irritation, as well as problems with the endocrine system and nervous system.

#2: Alcohols
When you apply a cream to the body, you don’t expect it to dry out the skin – quite the opposite, in fact. But, surprisingly, some of the most common additives in skincare products are drying in the long run, and that’s especially true of alcohols. Alcohol doesn’t belong in a CBD cream, period, and if you have sensitive skin, it can be pretty problematic.

#3: Animal Derivatives (If You’re Vegan)
You would think that topical creams are naturally vegan, but the reality is that there are some sneaky non-vegan ingredients that can make their way into these types of products. An example is lanolin, which is excreted from animals that produce wool, along with beeswax and gelatin. Now, if you’re not a vegan, you may not care that there are animal derivatives in your topicals, but if you are, pay close attention then, and even look up any ingredients that you simply don’t recognize.

#4: Artificial Fragrance
Fragrance is a tricky one, because companies do not need to disclose whether their fragrance is artificial or natural, labeling it simply as “fragrance”. However, most companies will specify if they use natural fragrances, and usually list each natural fragrance ingredient on the label. Artificial fragrances are problematic because they are often very irritating to the skin, with the large majority of them being derived from petroleum. Not only that, but companies that use artificial fragrances don’t need to publicly share what the fragrances are made up of, meaning that you really have no idea what it is that you’re applying to your body.

#5: Glycols
Glycols are commonly found in skincare, with propylene glycol being the most common by far. This additive plays a role in achieving the ideal consistency for the product, but at a cost. Glycol is an alcohol derivative that is known to be quite irritating to the skin, leading to potential problems like redness, itching and dryness, and besides that, a lot of people are allergic to the ingredient without even knowing it. Essentially, it’s not necessary in a cream, so best to just avoid it.

#6: Cheap Fillers
A lot of companies use filler ingredients to cut down on costs, basically adding a bunch of cheap additives that serve no purpose other than “filling out” the formula so that they can use less of the more expensive ingredients. Naturally, you want to avoid a product that’s loaded with fillers, since you don’t want a product that is lacking in quality ingredients, nor do you want a product that contains a ton of ingredients that are unfamiliar to you.

#7: Allergens
If you happen to have a skin allergy, be extra careful while looking over the ingredients list. A person can be allergic to any ingredient out there, including essential oils found in a CBD cream, along with different plant oils that are incorporated.

Avoid These Ingredients for Gentle, Clean, and Effective CBD Topicals

Overall, a CBD topical cream should contain as few artificial ingredients as possible, instead relying on clean, plant-derived oils, plant butters and extracts to achieve the desired consistency, scent, and effectiveness. So, skip the synthetics and go with a CBD cream that lets mother nature do all of the hard work. In fact, Nectar Wellness Supercharged™ CBD Cream is an effective topical-based solution infused with top-quality ingredients and broad spectrum hemp extract to ease tension and soreness fast.