Beauty bible

Cannabinoid oil has been found to improve sleep and skin

Lisa Armstrong samples cannabinoid oil

CAN I SAY upfront I was never a spliff head. Anything that makes you eat more and depletes those little grey cells? Not for me, thanks.

But when I looked more knackered than usual, my yoga teacher suggested I try The Tonic by The Tonic Tribe (£5£124.99, thetonictribe.com). How could anything called The Tonic not be just that? I was still interested even after I discovered it consisted of CBD oil (aka cannabinoid oil, a compound derived from the cannabis plant), blended with coconut oil.

CBD has been widely lauded for its anti-inflammatory effect on joints. Then there’s the highly publicised case this summer of Charlotte Caldwell, who had the cannabinoid oil she’d brought in from Canada for her epileptic 13-yearlife’s old son Billy confiscated by police at Heathrow. But all this seemed beyond my remit. I hadn’t clocked that CBD oil is also meant to be good for sleep and – as more studies are showing – the skin.

So now my daughters delight in saying, ‘Mum’s become a stoner.’ She hasn’t, but she is rather partial to The Tonic’s CBD, which comes both as a topical serum and as an ingestible spray you apply under the tongue. There are three strengths: two per cent, eight per cent and 15. I opted for the middle one and the first couple of times I used it, I wouldn’t claim I was on the way to being stoned, but there was definitely a hit of something.

I was also very happy for the rest of what was fashion month. This is not normal. It could have been psychosomatic. CBD is supposed not to contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the stuff that creates a cannabis high. If you look on the internet however, there are claims that some oils do have traces.

Under British law, purveyors of CBD cannot make any health claims for their products and generally sell it as a food supplement. Suffice to say, The Tonic definitely took the edge off some of more vexatious moments for me.

What was really good was the sleep. I can’t claim the full nine hours every night, but on a good run I manage seven, more or less undisturbed, which leaves me feeling refreshed and, here’s the novel thing, calm.

After discovering The Tonic Tribe, I was introduced to Green Goddess’s version in capsule form (£39.99, greengoddesswellness.com), which uses a specific CBD blend found to be beneficial to mood. It is also blended with coconut oil, which helps absorption. Coincidentally, Green Goddess calls it The Tonic, too.

‘When ingested, CBD binds to cell receptors that affect sleep, appetite, pain, inflammation and mood regulation,’ explains Angelina Nizzardi, founder of Green Goddess (who takes it three times a day). As for its effects on the skin: ‘CBD works by regulating the skin’s oil production,’ she says.

Research from The Journal of Clinical Investigation (2014) found CBD normalises excessive and abnormal lipid production, decreases the proliferation of sebaceous glands, and exerts anti -inflammatory actions that can help reduce the symptoms of eczema.

This seems a powerful force. And if it turns out to be a placebo? I’ll take it.