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CBD Skincare? Is that a Thing?

Why CBD Skincare Products Safe and Effective

By Rachael Weiss~ Publisher Union County Macaroni Kid July 31, 2022

While finishing up a facial at TBH Skincare Spa in Indian Trail, I noticed an entire line of products I had never seen at another local skin spa: Soul Addict CBD. Now, you've probably seen us offer these up as part of our giveaways, but it dawned on me - I didn't really know much about why these products were special. 

Soul Addict offered exclusively in the Charlotte area at TBH Skincare Spa, is a conscious cannabinoid (CBD) brand and organic hemp farm that Laura White launched- in what she calls her ‘spirit city’ of New Orleans- in early 2017. Shortly after, she decided to make the move back to her roots here in NC to begin farming hemp flowers for her CBD line under the 2018 Pilot Program, now overseen by the USDA. Soul Addict was one of the first majority woman-owned hemp farms here in the state. Her line includes a small, but thoughtful, collection of both CBD elixirs meant to be taken as a tincture, CBD smokeables for more immediate relief and a cult-worthy CBD-infused Manuka Honey mask, which is what caught my eye at TBH. 

So, when I wanted to understand the impact of CBD in skincare, and why the Soul Addict brand is so popular at TBH Skincare, I went straight to the source, Laura White. She initially started her brand out of dealing with her own struggles with anxiety and depression, using CBD to help navigate both during her last few years of working for tech startups. 



As a strong advocate on social media for destigmatizing mental health by unapologetically being yourself and the need to decriminalize cannabis, her brand shares the kind of authenticity that allows their customers to truly feel a part of a bigger picture, pushing the rhetoric to normalize and destigmatize both. Soul Addict also grows their own hemp for their line, making them quite different from most trendy CBD brands, the decision of which has ultimately built them an even more loyal customer base local to NC and beyond.

Farming hemp wasn’t a totally new feat for White, though. Growing up on a small farm that her father started in the early 90s close to Morganton, NC, she always felt, in her words, “a weird pull that I’d eventually launch a conscious agriculturally-focused brand”- but opted after college to work at startups. She mainly worked in social media and brand development. She also spent some time acquiring her esthetician license, which is where Tiffany Huber, owner of TBH Skincare, first met. 

During her time working for other brands, though, her journey led her to more natural approaches to managing her anxiety. She described practicing ayurveda, one of the oldest medical systems in the world hailing from India, which greatly connects the understanding of our body’s gut-brain-connection, paired with her love of cannabis-as-medicine (CBD comes from Cannabis, both hemp and high-THC strains) as “game-changing” when it comes to feeling better. It was that internal nudge where she realized that  actually working towards the need to reframe cannabis-as-medicine for people struggling with mental health, pain and autoimmune disorders, that ultimately led her to discover CBD-from-hemp (legal across all 50 states) and launching her own brand early in the industry.

Her knowledge of holistic wellness-via-ayurveda and obtaining her esthetician license in 2012, she knew topical CBD was a no-brainer-start to show people the power of CBD in a form that wasn’t as ‘scary’. “I have been within the cannabis industry formally for over 6 years now, but daily I still see people afraid to utilize CBD because of mainstream stigma, which is such a shame because it’s based on zero percent fact”, said Laura, on a bright day I spoke to her over the phone. “I was creating another edible in our CBD line at the time in early 2018 and realized the manuka honey I was using would make an insanely transformative beauty product for all skin types. It dawned on me that I had made my first big product totally by accident.” Her CBD Honey Mama Manuka Masks is a beloved product across spas and Soul Addict fans alike- getting her first launches in big box retailers like Neiman Marcus and Urban Outfitters in the brands infancy pre-pandemic. When you scroll through their reviews, it becomes instantly apparent that this product is a game-changer. 

She was formulating her own edibles when she realized her manuka honey could be used in skincare and the rest is history! 

I am sure my questions were similar to yours - since I'd never heard of CBD in skincare - and honestly didn't know much about CBD other than what I'd heard on the news. But the most common misconception I learned is that topical CBD can "get you high" or that you can "test positive for THC with topical CBD." Laura was quick to dispel those myths and went on to tell me some of the benefits of topical CBD:

  • CBD is a natural anti-inflammatory molecule, both when taken internally and topically
  • CBD can work for acne-prone skin and can help calm active, irritated skin types
  • CBD is legal across all 50 states when it’s coming from the hemp plant, which is a part of the overall cannabis species. Both hemp and high-THC plants are both a part of the cannabis species
  • Things like ‘CBD’ and ‘THC’ can only come from female cannabis plants, so the ‘healing’ aspects of the plant’s flowers are not the same as the hemp used to produce raw materials for things like tires and rope- a common misconception
  • The ‘entourage effect’ is what it’s called when all cannabinoids work together
  • The legal amount of THC (.3% or less here in North Carolina) cannot get you ‘high’, when taken topically or internally, and can actually increase CBD effectiveness than simply using CBD alone, both internally and topically 
  • While CBD cannot get you ‘high’, the Soul Addict line is considered a ‘full-spectrum CBD product’, meaning the small, legal amounts of THC is found in their line
  • many cannabis-advocates believe CBD lines that include THC are thought to work better than simply CBD alone, but as CBD websites are required to state by law, none of these claims are approved by the FDA

A fun fact she also shared is that cannabinoids can be found in breast milk - which of course led me to ask the big question: Are Topical CBD Products safe for your Kids?

This, Laura says, is up to parental discretion. Since only trace amounts of THC are present in full-spectrum CBD products like Soul Addict, there's diminimus risk for kids and lots of benefits. Take, for example, eczema or acne. While there has yet to be any significant research, anecdotally, children with eczema flare ups have benefitted from topical CBD. It calms the skin and allows for the other control methods (gut health, etc.) to take effect. Similarly with acne; when skin is irritated to begin with, it is often hard to calm it down - and when we add even harsher stressors to the skin, it often becomes even more irritated. 

As a personal anecdote, my teen daughter, an exchange student from Spain, experienced some diet-related acne when she got settled in Charlotte. Tiffany Huber, from TBH Skincare, suggested she use the Soul Addict Manuka Honey Mask and the results we saw were significant and quick. That said, it wasn't until she was able to fully cut dairy from her diet (changing her gut health) that we saw the most dramatic results. 

Curious about how topical CBD Products might benefit you or looking to introduce them into your skincare routine? Call Tiffany at TBH Skincare Spa in Indian Trail a call and see if they are right for you. You can set up a 1:1 skin consultation before she even touches your beautiful face!  




TBH Skincare Spa is located at 307 Indian Trail Road South, Indian Trail and you can always call them at (704) 962 – 5676 or visit them on Facebook or Instagram.