CBD is taking the beauty market by storm, but when it comes to this holistic yet debatable ingredient, many questions remain unanswered. Hence, being extra careful when making a CBD purchase is critically important.
Now that we live in the age of online shopping—with CBD lip balms just a few clicks away—hoarding cosmetics and beauty products has never been easier. Just log in to your socials, and you can find your favourite celebrities and beauty influencers flooding all over your news feeds to give you a glimpse of the latest holy grails to try out. Because beauty shopping is a gender-free hobby that none of us can resist, it can be tempting to add just anything and everything to our carts and overindulge ourselves even with things that we don’t actually need.
A gentle reminder: buying any beauty products online impulsively and unthinkingly can have a greater likelihood of resulting in major disappointments and a burying ground for hardly used products. The CBD beauty industry has an uncontainable explosion as the market floods with new skincare products almost on a daily basis. Thousands of brands from across the world are launching new products, and with their enticing packages and alluring claims, it’s hard to unsee what we want to believe in, so we don’t only fantasise about these items but actually need them, too.
As the online world keeps revolving and feeding our eyes with tons of cosmetic choices, selecting the best CBD products that work for us becomes an arduous task. We’re not saying that the Internet is a bad place to shop, but if you plan to get your hands on the latest shade of eyeshadow at a great deal, it doesn’t hurt to be a pro shopper by paying attention to red flags. Here are essential things to remember when shopping for CBD cosmetics online.
Only shop from trusted online stores
The Internet is a massive place to go shopping. It gives us consumers the power to choose from a wide range of cosmetic products, but with great power comes great responsibility. An expert shopper is responsible for what they buy. Since the Internet is filled with trusted and not-so-trusted stores, your ultimate goal is to avoid being scammed out of your hard-earned money.
While there are tons of exciting CBD skincare products out there, don’t forget that CBD is still brand new and still unregulated by the FDA. Despite many significant developments going on in the CBD industry, brands are still yet to be under strict regulation when it comes to how they are labelled and distributed.
The best way to shop safely and confidently is to stay away from anything that seems suspicious or too good to be true. Some sites and third-party sellers that offer CBD skincare products at unbelievably low prices for no valid reason are a perfect example. More often than not, customers will find their products quite different from what they originally used. The worst-case scenario is when there comes no option to get your money back.
To avoid such inconvenience, make sure that you are purchasing from a trusted site by checking its contact details, physical address, and a customer service hotline or chat box that you can call to ask for advice or extra information regarding the product. Always review the return policy as there will be instances that the product might get damaged during the course of shipping or a wrong item might be sent to you. Most importantly, choose CBD products that come with a certificate of analysis (COA) to ensure their quality, authenticity and place of origin. Without a third-party lab report, the label can say just any false claims, so be vigilant and always ask for a COA.
Know your local CBD laws
Any CBD products that are derived from industrial hemp and contain 0.2% THC or less can be legally sold in many parts of Europe. However, the contrasting CBD laws between one state and another causes the legality of CBD itself to remain in a bit of a grey area. To make sure you’re not breaking any laws by ordering CBD products online, be sure to confirm with your local authorities the current status of CBD legality within your locale.
Review the ingredients
Shopping for cosmetics can be a tricky task, especially if you have sensitive skin or you’re suffering from any skin condition. Fortunately, legit CBD stores provide customers with COA for further verification of the ingredients. How do you know if these components are safe for your skin? Easy. Just copy the ingredients list from the description and then paste it into an ingredient analyser site or app to ensure the safety of your skin from any health risks and allergic reactions. Also, it’s worth noting that CBD topicals won’t cause any disturbing psychotropic effects, such as the infamous “high”.
However, natural ingredients won’t always guarantee better results. You still need to check the ingredient list to spot allergens in their content. Since organic beauty products are often preservative-free, they tend to have a short shelf life once opened. That being said, it might not be worth it to go for all-natural unless you plan to use up the product pretty soon.
Check customer reviews
Reading customer reviews is a no-brainer, especially if you haven’t tried CBD products before. This is a great way to get an idea of what you want to achieve and decide which CBD beauty product would match your needs.
Stop buying cosmetic products in larger sizes
If you’re only trying a new serum for the first time, it’s not advisable to go all out for the largest size. Because what if you won’t like it? The chances are that it will only go unused, which means you’ll likely pay extra for nothing. As much as possible, avoid purchasing cosmetic kits unless you have already tried all the items in the package, and the verdict was worth another try.
