LUCEO in Vogue!
LUCEO in Vogue's CBD feature
Confused about this whole CBD thing? Well, you're not alone. In fact, you're SO not alone that this theme is being in the January issue of VOGUE Scandinavia! LUCEO is being featured in a super interesting story on their site - so click, and see what our awesome co-founder Patricia has to say about it all.:)
"'Cannabeauty' is trending like never before and CBD are the three letters on everyone's lips... But the question is if Scandinavia is onboard or if a sober society is putting a stop to this new fashion. Here’s what you need to know about CBD and the heated debate up north
People have been using cannabis for medicine, rituals and for recreational purposes for thousands of years. Nowadays, the cannabis substance CBD is basically everywhere. We find it in candy, cocktails, clothing and in celebrities' backyards (throwback to 2019 when Kim Kardashian threw a CBD-themed baby shower for her fourth child). And now a new train parted the pot station. I am obviously talking about the hyped trend CBD beauty.
The acclaimed miracle CBD products are being marketed as calming, hydrating, anti-inflammatory and balancing. Although, as sexy as that may sound, cannabeauty has an involuntary stigma orbiting around it. As much as some like to get on a good high, people don't really feel like getting stoned by their morning beauty routine.
“We are working towards cracking the issue that is with lack of education about CBD”, says Jacob Heidrich, CEO & Founder of the CBD brand Herblabs Nordic. Despite what some may think, it has nothing to do with getting high. CBD seems to be triggering the old school, anti-drugs generation and they don’t seem to want it in the house.”
An elephant in the room that is adding weight to the stigmatized debate is that people have little or no knowledge of what the differences between CBD, marijuana and and cannabis are. Let’s have a look at it. Cannabis is a name of the flowering plants in the Cannabaceae family. Marijuana comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant and contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Of the over one hundred different cannabinoids compounds that build the cannabis plant, this is the one that is illegal in most countries. This is also the substance that a lot of people consider the good stuff - it is the part that gets you high. Unlike the THC that you find in marijuana, pure CBD is a non-psychoactive substance which, long story short, doesn't get you high. But this is also the part that a lot of other people consider the good stuff - it’s supposed to make your skin look and feel great.
The limit for THC in a legal CBD oil coming from industrial hemp is 0.2 per cent in most of Europe and 0.3 per cent in America. Although in the Nordic countries CBD is still a bit of a gray zone and legislation is complicated and hard to interpret. One example is Sweden, where if a product that contains CBD is to be dropped in the mouth, eaten or inhaled, it counts as a medicine because it affects various processes in the body. The product therefore needs to be approved by the Swedish Medicines Agency to be used and companies risk high finds if they violate the terms. This makes oils and supplements illegal, but a mouth spray product still falls into the legal category, since it could be considered just applied to the tongue area and not consumed. CBD that is not used for medical purposes, for example as a beauty ingredient, is legal in all EU countries following a decision by the European Court of Justice in 2020.
“Cannabis has been trending for a long time, especially now in skincare”, says Patricia Demir, co-founder of the CBD beauty brand Luceo. “But it is complicated and there is still a big controversy attached. I believe that part of it is created by the old conception. In reality CBD is like any other dietary supplement and is about providing the body with the right tools in order for it to feel as good as possible. Wellness and beauty industry is now trying to create a different premium vision of it, creating a serious Scandi-look by for example removing the sharp green colours and the leaf.”
But is CBD beauty just riding on a drug culture to sell products or is it actually as miraculous as they say? After all, CBD is an expensive component to extract and prices tend to be set higher than on average beauty products. ‘Weedwashing’ is a common problem in the industry, where companies falsely try to capitalise on the cannabeauty-wave. The product gets marketed with CBD, although containing none or small doses, in order to sell more and charge high. According to Demir this is a problem for serious producers, when customers get false promises and miss out on real effects, which later results in a bad reputation of CBD. When buying a CBD product it is therefore important to look through the ingredients list to make sure that there’s actual CBD in the formula such as: CBD, hemp CBD, full-spectrum hemp extract, phytocannabinoid-rich hemp oil, and hemp extract oil.
“CBD has so many benefits and the science is hard to contradict”, explains Heidrich at Herblabs Nordic. “The challenge we are facing in Scandinavia is that the market is strictly regulated and since the products are not pharmaceutical, we are restricted from talking about the medical and health benefits. The stigma is hindering the market from growing, and right now I would say that Sweden is at the point where the UK was two years ago and way behind the pioneer America.”
The market around the world is growing like never before. Just look at the fact that Mike Tyson is selling a CBD infused water and that the #cbd hashtag is four times as common as #resist. Scandinavia is behind in terms of demand compared to the rest of the world, although the interest amongst Scandi-consumers seems to be increasing drastically as new lifestyle interests grow. According to Demir, the way we look at our everyday lives and our well-being has changed. People are constantly looking for new ways to feel as good as possible and health hacks such as screen detox, de-stress and meditation are constantly popping up.
“CBD will stay and expand, much due to the increased stress we are exposed to”, says Demir. “In particular now during the pandemic as our sales peaked. In the end, it is a hybrid between wellness and beauty that is working from the inside out. It’s a complete new take on skincare. Just like health-hacks such as magnesium supplements or chia seeds, I am convinced that we will soon be able to buy smoothies in coffee shops containing CBD. In the end it’s about health and beauty and that will always be trending”
By Emma Klingborg
January 25, 2022
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Read full article here!
