Photo courtesy of White Pine Pictures.
Did you know that toxic contaminants are routinely found in skincare products, even some that are labeled green, natural, clean, or organic? Decades of scientific research studies linking cosmetics to carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, irritants and allergens have been kept out of the public eye.
That’s changing. An eye-opening new documentary, Toxic Beauty, is now available on Amazon and Apple TV. Toronto Star reporter Christine Sismondo says of the film, “Powerful, alarming, and will almost certainly send at least a few people straight to their bathrooms to dump the contents of their makeup bags.” Go watch it. It will blow your mind.
Last year, the Personal Care Products Council — the lobbyist that represents the $250 billion global cosmetics industry — crushed California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, a bill that would have banned 20 toxic ingredients from cosmetics, including asbestos, formaldehyde, mercury, phthalates, and various parabens.
That’s right: it’s perfectly legal for companies to include these ingredients in your skincare and cosmetics, even in crunchy granola California. For reference, the European Union bans more than 1,300 such ingredients.
In light of this, where can we find skincare products that are actually safe to put on our skin?
This might raise some eyebrows, but if you want access to the cleanest, greenest — and most effective — skincare possible, your best bet is to get it from a licensed cannabis dispensary.
Wait…what?
It may sound strange, but there are four very good reasons for this.
Cannabis skincare products sold at dispensaries are the cleanest, most thoroughly tested products you can get. Cannabis regulations in California require all products to be carefully vetted and independently lab tested, so there’s a rigorous process involved before they ever hit store shelves.
Specifically, each of our products is tested for:
Fewer than a handful of clean beauty brands on the market today do this; Green Bee Botanicals is one of them.
The complete test results, called COAs (certificates of analysis) must be provided on the packaging before the products are approved to sell. We proudly display ours on every product page on our website. If a brand posts their COAs, make sure to read them to see what they actually test for.
To the surprise of many, California’s cannabis testing regulations are much stricter than the testing required for organic food. Cannabis products sold in dispensaries — whether skincare, topicals, edibles, or flower — are:
Conversely, only about 5% of organic food crops are tested in the U.S., only once a year, and the tolerance level for contaminants is higher.
Additionally, unlike most skincare brands, Green Bee Botanicals never uses any of the harmful ingredients common in mainstream cosmetics, including parabens, phthalates, petroleum, sulfates, polyethylene glycols (PEGs), formaldehyde and hundreds more.
Hemp-based products are not held to the same standards as cannabis, and are not required to be tested. This includes any of the CBD skincare products sold direct-to-consumer, online, at Sephora, Goop, Byrdie (whom we love), etc., and especially Amazon, which is like shopping out of a dubious CBD grab bag.
A recent report from the Clean Label Project revealed that most of the hemp-derived CBD products it tested are incorrectly labeled, many are contaminated with lead and pesticides, and some even contain no CBD at all. (!)
The select few hemp skincare brands that do test their products either publish test-result averages or test only for a few things; virtually none publicly disclose full test results.
Who knew the cleanest possible skincare products would come from your local cannabis dispensary?
And for the record, when Green Bee Botanicals adds hemp CBD skincare to our lineup (coming soon!), we will test those products as rigorously as we test our cannabis skincare products so they will be just as safe.
Another important reason it’s a good idea to get your cannabis skincare products at a dispensary is that you have access to products that contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is incredible for your skin, especially in harmony with CBD (cannabidiol).
Your skin contains endocannabinoid receptors that cannabinoids such as CBD, THC, and CBG bind with. CBD alone is fantastic for your skin, but it’s a full-on powerhouse when combined with THC. These powerful cannabinoids work together to balance your skin so it’s the healthiest it can be. And, right now, the only way to get that THC goodness is from a dispensary.
Green Bee Botanicals makes skincare and wellness remedies made from plants, one of the most amazing of which is cannabis. We methodically and thoughtfully combine organic, natural, pure ingredients based on botanical science and research to ensure our products are both clean and effective.
Our founder and former analytical chemist Bridget May formulates the cleanest, greenest skincare products infused with the healing power of full-spectrum cannabis. Our serums, eye cream, and body oil are made with nourishing essential oils, botanicals, plants, and flowers.
All of our products adhere to the strict California cannabis testing regulations, are independently tested by third-party labs, and pass these tests before going on to be sold in dispensaries.
Green Bee products are available for pickup and delivery, only from California dispensaries.
Click here to find a dispensary or delivery service near you.
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With unimaginable luck and gratitude, we’re writing to say we’re BACK, BAYBEEE! We’re saying goodbye to state-regulated cannabis and going all-in with phytocannabinoids
Synopsis of the 3-minute, 49-second video clip from “What is the Endocannabinoid System?” aired on PBS by NOVA, the most-watched prime time science series on American television.
Did you know the human body has an endocannabinoid system? And that it helps regulate and balance virtually every other system, function and organ of the body, including your skin?
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