The Body Shop’s hemp line will fix all of your stubborn dry spots
The Body Shop is officially celebrating 20 years of their iconic, cult-favorite Hemp range – I had never tried any of their hemp products, or any hemp products, actually, and thought I would go ahead and test out their whole line.
Hemp is known as being super beneficial when used within skincare routines, so I wanted to see what all the hype was about from the OG hemp brands. The Body Shop’s hemp line includes a foot protector, face protector, hand cream, body cream, a body mitt, and a lip protector.
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And no, you can’t get high off of hemp, nor will your body feel tingly like it might with a CBD product.
“You’d have to smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole to get high on hemp,” Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.
Even though hemp and marijuana are sourced from the same plant, specific varieties grown for their fibers and seeds are extremely low in THC, the chemical compound that will actually get you high. The variety that The Body Shop uses only contains small, trace amounts of THC.
Hemp is, like I said, a popular ingredient in beauty products now. It’s 2018. But, back when The Body Shop first introduced hemp into it’s products, they pretty much set the trend for using hemp, being one of the first brands across the world to reap the benefits of the oil.
Since legalization is finally coming around, people are finally getting into The Body Shop’s pro-hemp attitude.
Actually, in 1998, police completely raided one of The Body Shop’s stores in France because of their usage of hemp. But, activist and founder, Anita Roddick, was determined to share with the world the benefits of hemp oil. Anita and The Body Shop helped revolutionize the use of hemp oil in skincare, and it’s a damn good thing they did.
Each product is enriched with community trade hemp seed oil that is sustainably sourced from a secret supplier in France. There are 300 farmers that cultivate, cold-press, and refine the hemp seed oil in a way that’s also beneficial to the environment.
Hemp is known as a “miracle crop,” because it helps regenerate land and it naturally cleans soil without needing artificial fertilizers. Hemp also provides a habitat for local wildlife and can also be used to create sustainable building materials. Hemp is also four times more effective at capturing CO2 than trees.
So, you can take care of yourself with hemp via your skin and via the environment.
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As for the skin benefits, aka, the most important part of this article, hemp oil is basically magic. For starters, I didn’t really know what hemp oil was even supposed to do. The Body Shop, thankfully, sent me plenty of information on the benefits of hemp and what exactly the products were meant to help with.
“Hemp seed oil is made up of 80% essential fatty acids (EFAs), including omegas 3, 6, and 9, and its balance of EFAs make it perfect for intensely moisturizing dry skin. Plant oils work with your sebum (the skin’s own oil) and natural moisturizing factor (NMF) to enhance the skin’s barrier function,” says Jennifer Hirsch, Beauty Botanist for The Body Shop.
“This reduces trans-epidermal water loss, which means skin is better hydrated. Hemp acts like an armor that seals in moisture and defends your skin against the elements,” Jennifer adds.
Jennifer couldn’t have been more right. I used every single hemp product from The Body Shop, so basically, my body was a hemp oil canvas.
Also, let me first disclaim that putting these products all over my body had me feeling like I was in a hemp oil cocoon. This hemp oil shit is no joke!!!!! This stuff is thick, and you can immediately feel the moisture penetrating your skin.
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The next day, I could still feel the moisture. Usually, the morning after I apply product, it’s completely worn off, but The Body Shop products were still working on my skin 9 hours later.
And then another 9 hours.
That next night, I was still feeling as soft as a baby’s bottom. This moisture did not leave my body for about 36 hours – even after a shower. That’s insane to me.
If you have dryness in any specific areas, or if you’re just looking to feel more moisturized as spring rolls around, definitely try out this collection. You will be hard pressed to find anything wrong with this hemp line, and it could potentially change your entire body care routine.
Photos courtesy of The Body Shop
