Do CBD beauty and skin care products actually work?

CBD is one of the chemical compounds in marijuana and hemp, but it won't get you stoned. It might, however, whip your skin into shape.

In the past couple of years, CBD has gone from a little-known acronym to the "it" ingredient found in everything from coffee to beer to pet products.

And now, CBD is showing up in the beauty aisle.

Moisturisers, serums and oils boasting CBD as a powerhouse ingredient are everywhere, including at big beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta. But do they actually work any better than our ordinary skin care products?

Do CBD skin care products actually work?

Actually, they might. CBD, or cannabidiol, a chemical component found in marijuana and hemp, has some big benefits.

According to dermatologist Patricia Farris; "We know it's a strong antioxidant — stronger than vitamin C and vitamin E, more like a botanical antioxidant, so that's always helpful because it protects collagen and stops DNA damage and protects from sun damage," said Dr. Farris, who recently spoke about CBD at the American Academy of Dermatology's annual meeting. "It also can act as an anti-inflammatory for people with rosacea, eczema or acne."

While there are some studies backing up CBD as an anti-inflammatory, there's still an overall lack of research surrounding it, largely due to the legal murkiness surrounding the ingredient. Though hemp was recently legalized, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve CBD itself, with the exception of one prescription drug mean to treat epilepsy. And while the FDA doesn't approve beauty products, all that means there simply aren't enough studies on CBD to know, for example, how much of it manufacturers need to put into a product for it to be effective.

CBD — which, unlike THC, another compound found in the marijuana plant, does not have any psychoactive properties — has come to be known as a wellness cure-all. Suddenly it seems like it's hard to find anything CBD can't claim to do. Pet owners can buy CBD supplements to soothe anxiety-prone cats and dogs, breweries are infusing beers with CBD, and gummies made with CBD boast the power to cure insomnia and other ailments.

Celebrities are getting in on the action, too. Whoopi Goldberg helped create Whoopi & Maya, a line of cannabis products that claim to ease period pain. Martha Stewart is creating a line of CBD products for pets. And Gwyneth Paltrow has promoted CBD-spiked cocktails on her lifestyle website, Goop.

It's probably only a matter of time until big drugstore brands start to get in on the craze, too. But in the meantime, there are plenty of CBD skin care products out there, and more are launching every day. So if you're curious about CBD and looking for something to help with redness and inflammation, it may be worth a try.