There was a time, a few years ago, when CBD (the non-psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis) was everywhere everywhere. It was in leggings and lubricant and bed linens; laced cocktails and kombucha and...water. But perhaps nowhere was it more prevalent than in beauty routines. You could wash your hair (and your dog's) with the stuff, soak in a tub of CBD salts, or even slick your lashes and brows with mascara comprised of a marijuana-adjacent formula. Every step of skincare regiments had an option that included the in-demand ingredient. Then, just as quickly as it came, CBD seemed to burn out.
The downfall not due to one reason, but many. In 2018, the federal Farm Bill, an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs, officially differentiated hemp (cannabis derivatives with concentrations of THC that don’t surpass .3 percent) from marijuana—meaning CBD was no longer considered a Schedule I controlled substance. For brands who were CBD-curious, that was a green light. “The bill was a really major shift,” says Adam Friedman, M.D., professor and chair of dermatology at George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences. “It’s why everyone and their mother suddenly came out with CBD-heavy lotions and potions.”
