Is more hemp coming to your cosmetics? – Episode 169

Valerie George (0:00)

Hi, I'm Valerie, and you're listening to The Beauty Brains.

Hi, and welcome to The Beauty Brains, a show where real scientists answer your beauty questions and give you an insider's look at the beauty product industry. This is episode number 169 I'm your host, Valerie George, and with me today is Perry Romanowski. Hi, Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:29)

Hello, Valerie.

Valerie George (0:30)

Good to have you on with me. On today's episode, we're going to be answering your beauty questions about legalization of hemp in the United States, EWG and Procter & Gamble partnering together to revamp herbal essences, answering if brow regrowth serum really does work, and is petroleum jelly really bad for the skin?

Before we get into that, let's see how things are going with our co-host. Perry, how's it going, Perry?

Perry Romanowski (0:56)

It's all right. It's a little snowy here in Chicago and cold. I don't love that because it really does make my skin nice and dry, which I don't like that.

Valerie George (1:05)

Do you get itchy dry skin on your shins?

Perry Romanowski (1:09)

No, not really, just mostly on my hands. Is that a problem that you have a bunch?

Valerie George (1:15)

Just when the weather does get dry, I was going to say it's also cold here in California, but I feel really bad because I feel like it's not the same. But it is chilly for us thin-blooded people.

But my shins get incredibly dry, and it feels so good to scratch them.

Perry Romanowski (1:32)

Well, you'd think as a cosmetic chemist and formulator and person who has access to a lot of skin lotions that I would use them, but I usually forget.

Valerie George (1:44)

Well, or it's like a doctor who smokes. They know it's not good, but oh well.

Perry Romanowski (1:49)

Actually, I'm not against using hand lotion, and I would use it. It just isn't in my routine. I forget. I'm very adaptable. Good.

Valerie George (2:01)

Well, I hope that your hands stay moisturized as you juggle in the cold winter, and winter equinoxes happen, so spring is on the way.

Perry Romanowski (2:11)

I'm looking forward to spring. You know what else I'm looking forward to?

Some of our beauty science stories.

Valerie George (2:17)

Me too. We have a couple of good ones. So hemp, you may have heard all over the news that hemp is now legal in the United States.

Perry Romanowski (2:28)

So wait, wait. So I can go just go get pot right now and smoke?

Valerie George (2:33)

No, the headlines are blown a little out of proportion. The US. Congress just passed a bill that legalizes the growth of industrial hemp in the United States. The bill was introduced by Representative James Comer in Kentucky to amend a previous bill that had been passed, the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to provide for state and tribal regulation of hemp production.

So, what is hemp? Because you just asked, can I go out and get some pot right now? Do you know the difference between hemp and marijuana?

Perry Romanowski (3:08)

No, I don't really. I mean, I guess all I know is like hemp is like you make ropes out of hemp, but somehow it's related to marijuana. I really don't know. I haven't looked into the subject that much.

Valerie George (3:17)

Well, funny story. We had a sales vendor come into our lab and speak with us a little bit about this hemp-derived product that they were offering, and all of us chemists were sort of looking around nervously, and one of us just meekly put our hands up and said, I'm sorry, what's the difference between hemp and marijuana?

And everyone was super relieved that someone asked the question, because people do get confused by it. So hemp is actually a term used for any part of the cannabis sativa plant that's primarily grown as an agricultural crop. So it's mostly used for its seeds and fiber. But it also has protein and oil as sort of artifacts from the harvesting of it that can be used in cosmetics or other uses. And we see hemp clothing, the fibers used for that. So it also has a component that is nowadays seen everywhere called CBD.

Perry Romanowski (4:15)

Yeah, that's terribly popular. In fact, I was looking on Google Trends, and the search volume for CBD oil is just huge. It's just huge lately.

Valerie George (4:25)

Yes, CBD is short for Cannabidiol, which is a multi-ring structured system that's being studied for its anti-inflammatory properties when it's applied topically to skin or ingested. So I don't think it'll do anything on hair.