Nuggz
Welcome to the CannaZone
A lot of folks these days are making medical marijuana topicals for pain relief. Usually these are made either as a salve (beeswax plus cannabis infused oil) or as a cream or lotion that includes a mix of cannabis infused oil, emulsifying wax and distilled water among other ingredients.
But to make things simple, a lot of people are also buying an over-the-counter lotion or cream and simply adding cannabis infused oils to it which is probably the easiest way to go about it.
Because over-the-counter lotions will always contain a mix of both water and oil based ingredients, you can very easily tweak your medical marijuana cream or lotion and make it more effective by adding one other ingredient, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane). It is a safe and natural form of sulfur which has earned a substantial reputation in its own right as a topical pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Almost every pain relief cream or lotion on the market today contains MSM.
I have used MSM extensively in lotions and creams, hair products, and taken it internally as a reliable detoxifier that can clean out your liver and entire system of any harmful things lurking in hidden and unseen places.
http://theshawnstevensonmodel.com/7-benefits-of-msm-the-miracle-supplement/
While MSMs benefits are widely known, the one thing people seldom mention or maybe don't even know about is the fact that MSM is an outstanding delivery system. It works much like DMSO does without the telltale garlic smell that usually identifies DMSO users. When you add MSM to a medical marijuana cream or lotion, it will help the cannabinoids and THC penetrate past your skin layers and allow it to penetrate deep into the muscle tissue below.
MSM is easy to add to over-the counter lotions and creams along with your cannabis infused oil. As a general rule, MSM should make up about 12% of your total ingredients. To know how much to add, you'll need to add the number of ounces of the lotion or cream you are using to the number of ounces of cannabis oil you will be adding and multiply that total by .12 to determine how much MSM you will need.
MSM easily dissolves in hot water. Make sure you use distilled water rather than tap water. I like to put the MSM in a separate container, nuke another small container of water and then slowly add just enough hot water to the MSM powder to dissolve it completely while stirring constantly.
Once it's dissolved, you can add the MSM and your cannabis infused oil to the over-the- counter cream or lotion and blend it well. Using a stick blender is about the easiest way to do this.
I think it's a good idea to start out choosing a fairly thick over-the-counter cream, because by the time you add your cannabis infused oil and MSM, thinner lotions can become fairly runny. If that happens, you can thicken a lotion or cream up again by adding a wee bit of melted emulsifying wax, or a food grade thickening agent like guar gum powder which you can find on Amazon.
I buy my MSM powder from Swanson Vitamins here:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/lifetime-vitamins-pure-msm-powder-16-oz-pwdr
As a word of caution, any over-the-counter lotion or cream is required by law to contain a preservative and a number of cosmetic manufacturers still use paraben based preservatives in spite of the fact that parabens have been linked to cancer. If you would like to start off with a cream or lotion that contains no harmful ingredients and uses a safe preservative try looking on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/ If you do a search there on "Paraben Free Hand Cream" you will likely find a number of safe and natural hand creams to use as the base for your medical marijuana topical cream.
On the other hand, you could always take the plunge and learn to make your own creams and lotions from scratch. You'll find lots of DIY videos on that subject on YouTube.
But to make things simple, a lot of people are also buying an over-the-counter lotion or cream and simply adding cannabis infused oils to it which is probably the easiest way to go about it.
Because over-the-counter lotions will always contain a mix of both water and oil based ingredients, you can very easily tweak your medical marijuana cream or lotion and make it more effective by adding one other ingredient, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane). It is a safe and natural form of sulfur which has earned a substantial reputation in its own right as a topical pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Almost every pain relief cream or lotion on the market today contains MSM.
I have used MSM extensively in lotions and creams, hair products, and taken it internally as a reliable detoxifier that can clean out your liver and entire system of any harmful things lurking in hidden and unseen places.
http://theshawnstevensonmodel.com/7-benefits-of-msm-the-miracle-supplement/
While MSMs benefits are widely known, the one thing people seldom mention or maybe don't even know about is the fact that MSM is an outstanding delivery system. It works much like DMSO does without the telltale garlic smell that usually identifies DMSO users. When you add MSM to a medical marijuana cream or lotion, it will help the cannabinoids and THC penetrate past your skin layers and allow it to penetrate deep into the muscle tissue below.
MSM is easy to add to over-the counter lotions and creams along with your cannabis infused oil. As a general rule, MSM should make up about 12% of your total ingredients. To know how much to add, you'll need to add the number of ounces of the lotion or cream you are using to the number of ounces of cannabis oil you will be adding and multiply that total by .12 to determine how much MSM you will need.
MSM easily dissolves in hot water. Make sure you use distilled water rather than tap water. I like to put the MSM in a separate container, nuke another small container of water and then slowly add just enough hot water to the MSM powder to dissolve it completely while stirring constantly.
Once it's dissolved, you can add the MSM and your cannabis infused oil to the over-the- counter cream or lotion and blend it well. Using a stick blender is about the easiest way to do this.
I think it's a good idea to start out choosing a fairly thick over-the-counter cream, because by the time you add your cannabis infused oil and MSM, thinner lotions can become fairly runny. If that happens, you can thicken a lotion or cream up again by adding a wee bit of melted emulsifying wax, or a food grade thickening agent like guar gum powder which you can find on Amazon.
I buy my MSM powder from Swanson Vitamins here:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/lifetime-vitamins-pure-msm-powder-16-oz-pwdr
As a word of caution, any over-the-counter lotion or cream is required by law to contain a preservative and a number of cosmetic manufacturers still use paraben based preservatives in spite of the fact that parabens have been linked to cancer. If you would like to start off with a cream or lotion that contains no harmful ingredients and uses a safe preservative try looking on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/ If you do a search there on "Paraben Free Hand Cream" you will likely find a number of safe and natural hand creams to use as the base for your medical marijuana topical cream.
On the other hand, you could always take the plunge and learn to make your own creams and lotions from scratch. You'll find lots of DIY videos on that subject on YouTube.
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