Your Skin Produces Marijuana-Like Substance

:D


Your Skin Produces Marijuana-Like Substance

By Robin Nixon, Special to LiveScience.com
posted: 11 July 2008 12:02 pm ET



Marijuana-like substances made by the skin are necessary for a healthy complexion, a new study concludes.
Back up. We've got pot growing out of our skin?
Essentially, yes. The skin has joined the growing club of organs that is known to produce "endocannabinoids" â?? the body's own reefer. The biggest producer of endogenous pot is the brain.
Significantly, the new study pins down long-suspected connections between brain and skin and between stress and zits.
Your thinking skin
In the skin, explained lead researcher Tamás BÃ*ró of the University of Debrecen, Hungary, these compounds help the sebaceous glands protect us from harsh outer elements, such as the drying effects of wind and sun. Cannabinoids are thought to have a similar role in the leaves of the marijuana plant.
Among its protective functions, "endo-pot" stimulates oil production and tells hair follicles to stop producing hair. Whether this explains the plethora of pimples and receding hairlines at Grateful Dead concerts (or those of former band members) has not yet been determined.
The research, funded mostly by the Hungarian and German governments, will be detailed in the October 2008 issue of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.
Why is a psycho-stimulant working outside the brain?
Dermatologists have long suggested that mental states affect the skin, having observed flare-ups of acne, psoriasis, hair loss and other conditions that coincide with stress. Now, they are finding that the skin responds to, and produces, compounds called neuropeptides previously thought to exist exclusively in the brain. This is said to prove the brain-skin connection by nailing down the mechanism.
"It is working in both directions," said Andrzej Slominski, a researcher at the University of Tennessee who was not involved with the endocannabinoids study but does research on the skin's neuroendocrine system.
Brain-skin connection
Neuropeptides â?? such as serotonin, melatonin, cortisol and, possibly endocannabinoids â?? are made by the skin in response to environmental stressors or rewards such as thorns, humidity, sunshine or a refreshing breeze. These compounds can then spur the brain to alter behavior, Slominski explained.
Conversely, psychological stress sends signals from the brain to the skin.
The discoveries are giving credence to old wives' tales that connect skin condition with mental state. Yes, perhaps exam period did give you that pimple.
Because the skin is less complex than the brain, it knows only a few names for stress, said Slominski.
Therefore, the skin may respond to emotional distress as if the body is under physical attack. Protective lubricants are increased (resulting in oily skin) and less critical functions (like growing hair) may be halted.
Even though the skin is the simpler organ, as primates evolved our skin likely learned to deal with stress before the brain did, said Slominski. The skin, the body's largest organ, is continuously exposed to a stressful environment, he pointed out. Of all organs, it had the most pressing evolutionary need to develop protective responses.
Later, the skin's stress responses were adopted and perfected by the brain, he said, which explains why the same compounds have similar effects in each organ.
Natural high?
While these discoveries may lead to breakthrough topical treatments, such as the use of endocannabinoids to treat chronically dry and itchy skin, the research may also inspire the pursuit of relaxation in the name of a glowing complexion and a full head of hair.
What about the endo-pot already on our skin? Can it get us high?
"Theoretically, yes," said BÃ*ró. But, while our skin is constantly pumping out its own type of hash, even if you chewed your arm to bits, he continued, there isn't enough to have a psychological effect.

Just imagine when cannabis gets legalized. *Goes to dermatologist* I have acne what should i do! SMOKE POT *kid and parents* MOMMMM DADDDDDD I'm so embarrased I'm never going to school again until my acne goes away!Here son have some pot.

This bit is interesting:
"
Therefore, the skin may respond to emotional distress as if the body is under physical attack. Protective lubricants are increased (resulting in oily skin) and less critical functions (like growing hair) may be halted."

That explains an increase in oiliness of the skin after a heavy workout- and I'm not talking about the sweating; I find that my normally very dry skin becomes far more healthy when I exercise or do heavy manual labor frequently. I also have found that since becoming a daily smoker, I have had far less of a problem with a dry scalp. I assumed it was simply that I tend to drink lots of water when I smoke, and the exercise bit was just exposure to more sunshine.
This is really neat stuff; thanks for the link and I am printing it out for my boyfriend, who gets fairly severe psoriasis only under times of extreme stress at work. I've been setting him up with anti-inflammatory herb for a back problem; maybe it will help his skin too!

On that note- If any of you have seen a link to a recipe for a cannabis-based skin balm, or have one that you use to make your own, please post it up in the methods section, because a lot of people have asked me for information on the skin calming effects of weed!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

This bit is interesting:
"
Therefore, the skin may respond to emotional distress as if the body is under physical attack. Protective lubricants are increased (resulting in oily skin) and less critical functions (like growing hair) may be halted."

That explains an increase in oiliness of the skin after a heavy workout- and I'm not talking about the sweating; I find that my normally very dry skin becomes far more healthy when I exercise or do heavy manual labor frequently. I also have found that since becoming a daily smoker, I have had far less of a problem with a dry scalp. I assumed it was simply that I tend to drink lots of water when I smoke, and the exercise bit was just exposure to more sunshine.
This is really neat stuff; thanks for the link and I am printing it out for my boyfriend, who gets fairly severe psoriasis only under times of extreme stress at work. I've been setting him up with anti-inflammatory herb for a back problem; maybe it will help his skin too!

On that note- If any of you have seen a link to a recipe for a cannabis-based skin balm, or have one that you use to make your own, please post it up in the methods section, because a lot of people have asked me for information on the skin calming effects of weed!

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I don't have a recipe but if you want I'll start working on one. I'm fairly good with creating transdermal creams. Unfortunatley for the balm to have a decent effect you will probably need a penetrator like DMSO or perhaps something less harsh on the skin (DMSO in too strong a dose is a very strong skin irritant.. usually you only want about 1-2% of DMSO in your product).

To give you an idea, part of the process will probably involve what's needed in order to make Green Dragon (alcohol extraction method). The second half will be making a transdermal cream, then you simply combine the two until it disolves.

Typically transdermals will have to be shaken after each use as there is often seperation between the cream and whatever you're adding to it. Use of cannabis seeds in the lotion might be able to act as an emulsifier to help keep everything together.

I'll see what I can come up with but it'll probably be a few weeks until I can get to it.

No doubt I can get some DMSO but is it really necessary for a topical anti-inflammatory not intended for recreational use?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

No doubt I can get some DMSO but is it really necessary for a topical anti-inflammatory not intended for recreational use?

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Well I just question it's ability to act as an anti-inflammatory without the use of some type of skin penetrator. Maybe not DMSO (which I believe you need a license for anyway) but you need some sort of transport.

Perhaps for psoriasis a topical ointment without a penetrator would be fine since the problem occurs on the surface. Sorry I got a little carried away after seeing your post and thinking what a great idea that it was for true medicinal purposes.

For subcutenous inflammation and muscular inflammation I believe you would want a skin penetrator. Probably due to the dryness of psoriasis it may be best to use an oil based topical which would change the original plans I had for the ointment (alcohol could possibly leave the skin dryer than before the application.. therefore oil would be better I would think since dry skin could further aggrevate his condition). My girlfriend also has psoriasis; I'll ask her about it and what she thinks would be good in a topical.

I think pursuing a DMSO or similar product in use of a transdermal would be good for muscular aches and pains. I will probably pursue this as well for other people here who may take cannabis for pain related issues.

I just so happen to have a bottle of my favorite turn-of-the century cure-all on my desk. Absorbine horse liniment ftw! It's labelled for sore muscles and arthritis.
Here's the ingredients, out of order and grouped according to type:

Menthol
Absinthum oil
Calendula
Echinacea
Wormwood
Thymol

Chloroxylenol Chloroxylenol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iodine
Potassium iodide
Food coloring

Acetone
Water

I'm going to assume acetone to be the major carrier. Certainly it works well; I would be tempted to use it as a model upon which to base a homebrewed skin treatment.

I think I've decided to go with geranium oil, olive oil and some vitamin E.

My biggest concern is the ability to extract the Cannabinoids in a high enough concentration in the oil (I've never mde canna-oil so I'm unsure of how strong of a concentration you can reach).

How much cannabis would be effective vs how much is a waste is hard to determine as it will be different on a person by person and strain vs strain basis.

I will probably utilize the crockpot canna-oil method or your adapt your butter washing method.... or use both. I want to ensure that the oil is clean of fertilizers and other things that could have negative impact on the skin.


Here are the ingredients I have so far for a lotion:

1 part distilled water

1 part Olive oil (both are good for dry skin, but I think olive oil may be a little too oily..)

1 tablespoon of lecithin (this will help keep the entire mixture emulsified. Oddly enough you can find this in eggs, but you'd probably want to go to the store and find pure lecithin).

few drops of geranium oil

And some vitamin E.. Oil capsules would be best because you can just undo them, but you could also get regular pills.. crush them and throw them into the olive oil during your cannabis extraction.

Basically after you've made your canna oil (use the olive oil for this) you will want to throw it all in a blender and set it to whip.. Let it run for about 5 minutes until it gets fluffy and lotion like.

This is a chemical free version of a transdermal I've made in the past for other medicinal herbs. I added geranium oil to this because it properties seemed good for someone who may have dry skin... you may also want to look into Myrrh oil; I don't know much about it but I've read on other boards that it is good at putting moisture back into the skin. I personally have no experience with it.


From here you can manipulate the lotion the way you see fit. This is just a basic foundation for a topical lotion.

You can make the lotion thicker/thinner by adding/removing water

I'm going to try that this weekend. I have some olive oil extraction in the fridge that has been sitting there with plant matter still in it too long to consider safe for consumption. Maybe I will tell my BF that I am preggers just to get his stress level up enough to get a flareup and be my guinea pig HAHAHHA (just kidding, that would be truly evil)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

Menthol

Chloroxylenol Chloroxylenol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acetone


I'm going to assume acetone to be the major carrier. Certainly it works well; I would be tempted to use it as a model upon which to base a homebrewed skin treatment.

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I would be concerned about these 3 ingredients when creating a topical suited to treat psoriasis. All three of these can be dry/irritate the skin, especially to those who may already be prone to skin problems.

However I wouldn't hesitate to use these items for my own needs or the needs of others who are not suffering from dry skin(except maybe the acetone, depending on how concentrated it was in the lotion/topical).

All the other ingredients look fine... for some reason I still feel that a very small amount of skin penetrator would be better in the chem free recipe I posted. I may be overly concerned that we are only treating the surface inflammation but not going deep enough into the skin to actually reduce inflammation beneath the surface of the outbreak.

Any thoughts miss Stinky stink? :hippy:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

I'm going to try that this weekend. I have some olive oil extraction in the fridge that has been sitting there with plant matter still in it too long to consider safe for consumption. Maybe I will tell my BF that I am preggers just to get his stress level up enough to get a flareup and be my guinea pig HAHAHHA (just kidding, that would be truly evil)

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oh man.. that would be insta-stress for me. I think my hair would just all fall out and not all the propecia in the world could save me. lol

lol!
I agree 100% that the acetone in that recipe is no good. I've successfully used Absorbine to treat contact dermatitis (poison ivy specifically) but in that case you NEED a drying agent.
I'm thinking your recipe, with lanolin added, would be somewhere to start? Let me consult with another geek, one moment while I retrieve him! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

lol!
I agree 100% that the acetone in that recipe is no good. I've successfully used Absorbine to treat contact dermatitis (poison ivy specifically) but in that case you NEED a drying agent.
I'm thinking your recipe, with lanolin added, would be somewhere to start? Let me consult with another geek, one moment while I retrieve him! :D

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ahh... are you planning on making a stick or something similar to like a chap stick in consistency?

If you go the lanolin route you may need to cut back on the olive oil or add more lanolin than you originally anticipate. This mostly stem from my concerns of the waxy/greasy/fatty properties of lanolin to be able to hold a liquid oil in it's pours.

However this may not even be an issue with the lecithin. Play with the amounts and let me know what you come up with. I've never used lanolin in any of my topicals.

Also let me know what our fellow geek in arms has to say. I'm curious what someone elses thoughts are on this as well.

:stoned:

That's a thought. A beeswax-lanolin base would be outstanding. The wheels are turning... smoke is coming out my ears... lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

That's a thought. A beeswax-lanolin base would be outstanding. The wheels are turning... smoke is coming out my ears... lol

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Just be sure to melt them both and then add them to the rest of the stuff being concoted. You'll probably want to melt the beeswax and lanolin in water.. actually just a very hot water bath in a mason jar would work nicely. You don't risk changing the properties or breaking down the products by heating them up too quickly.

If your intention is to make a chapstick type product I would suggest using less water.. Maybe 1/4 cup instead of half.. maybe even a little less.

I've never made it this way but in my head it seems like it would work.

Good luck with the experiments to make a suitable canna-cream