What is CBD and why is it so expensive?
CBD is one of the 100 chemical compounds found in the cannabis or marijuana plant. Rest assured, unlike its famous counterpart THC, CBD is not psychoactive. It comes in many forms, such as oils, creams and sprays, but here at Prose we opted to use CBD in powder form.
The CBD cultivation process
Until 2018, the manufacturing of CBD for non-research purposes, like hair care and beauty supplies, was illegal. However, with its commercial legalization, different states in the US have mandated different pricing systems for the production and licensing fees of CBD. These systems, combined with the expenses of the farming equipment, seeds and land required for cultivating CBD, add to its expensive bottom line.
CBD’s harvesting and extraction
CBD is one of the derivatives of the cannabis plant, but its extraction process requires a lot more than a green thumb. In addition to being labor-intensive, the CBD extraction process includes methods like liquid CO2 extraction to get a cannabis concentrate (which requires a machine that can cost up to $150,000), different steps of extractions with solvent followed by filtration. In the case of CBD powder, the waxy content and the THC needs to be removed in order to get pure CBD, so it’s a long, expensive process. It’s also important to note that for such an expensive and lengthy process, a large amount of hemp is required to extract a small amount of CBD. This extracted hemp then goes through a round of testing which, you guessed it, doesn’t come cheap. This testing is to confirm the purity and concentration of the extracted CBD and to check the THC levels, which should be very low. In CBD oils, THC content should be below 0.2% and in a CBD isolate/powder the amount of THC present should be 0%.
The concentration of CBD
You could hold two identically-sized vials of CBD in your hands, only to discover that their prices are anything but identical. This may set off a red flag, but the price all comes down to concentration. Higher concentrations of CBD mean higher, more expensive, prices. However, since most highly concentrated CBD oils come in at 3%, despite large amounts of the beauty ingredient being required to produce hair products etc., a suitable alternative is CBD powder. CBD powder, unlike CBD oil whose large amounts can weigh down or leave the hair greasy, allows for flexibility in CBD concentrations when manufacturing hair and beauty products. These factors, coupled with the fact that the demand for CBD far outweighs its supply, help explain why it is such an expensive beauty ingredient.
How does CBD powder benefit hair?
CBD powder is your hair’s answer to all the benefits of cannabidiol without its concentration limitations. Thanks to the flexibility CBD powder allows, hair care products can be manufactured to specifically optimize the performance of CBD. Which is great because this beauty ingredient has numerous benefits including soothing an itchy scalp.
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