CBD Product Reviewer
Trish Elkins
Female | 35-44
Sleep
Trish believes that the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing CBD Balm works to provide temporary pain relief on stiff muscles and joints. In her case, it helped her body relax so she could sleep better.
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Products Reviewed
WEEK 1
Part 1
I have a movement disorder that causes severe pain, rigidity, and spasticity. I am always in severe pain. It never goes away and becomes unbearable at times. I started to experience symptoms in late 2018. Since then I have been to countless doctors, done a drug trial at UCSF, and have tried many methods to manage my symptoms and get better sleep. I’m a retired RN, so I’ve seen firsthand what narcotics do to people. However, I’ve also seen what chronic pain does to people, so I’m open to trying things. I don’t like taking narcotics because they do not help my pain much and they have bad side effects like nausea, uneasiness, constipation, and dependence. Narcotics make my balance and mobility worse as well. Muscle relaxers and sedatives make me too tired during the day even if I take them at night. I wake up with a hangover feeling and it takes me a really long time to wake up. They also make me feel weak and worsen my mobility. Meditation sometimes helps me to relax and sleep a tiny bit better. My sleep is deeply affected by the pain I experience from constantly contracted muscles. I lie awake in bed sometimes all night. I’m always exhausted. I’m trying CBD balm on my left arm, which is so far my most affected limb. It is completely contracted. I’m hoping to get some pain relief and relaxation to sleep better. The product I’m using is Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm. It’s in a 2 oz. jar and is 200mg.
Part 2
Just at first look, I like the ingredients. There is nothing listed that I’m not familiar with. It’s all natural ingredients that I feel comfortable putting on my skin. Many different oils like grapeseed, cinnamon leaf, coconut, peppermint, lemongrass, juniper leaf, rosemary, lavender, citronella, cypress, chamomile, and many more. It also has beeswax and cocoa butter as the second and third ingredients. Coupled with the oils, it seems like it could be a nice moisturizer and will provide a protective barrier that allows the CBD to really sleep in. The smell is menthol and eucalyptus with a hint of aromatic essential oils. It is a soothing and pleasant smell. The feel of the product is silky. It’s solid but melts easily when it hits your skin. It goes on well and a little goes far. The coverage of the balm is great. It’s lighter than a jelly and does not feel sticky. I only needed a little bit to cover my left trapezius muscle, left deltoid, and all the way down my arm to my fingers. My entire left upper extremity is painful, but I focused on my left shoulder, wrist, fingers, and joints which are rigid and stiff and where I experience the most intense pain. This is the pain that keeps me up, makes me unable to relax, and unable to sleep. It has a subtle cooling effect on my skin and it feels good. I put it on shortly before getting into bed and it does not stain my sheets.
Part 3
I was careful not to draw conclusions as to how the CBD balm made me feel until after the first week. Despite being exhausted, it takes me a while to fall asleep the first night, but I feel pleasantly calm and relaxed after I settle in. I also had a cold, which was helped by the smell of the menthol. I can not say that I slept much better the first night, as I woke up continuously throughout the night. However, I felt a nice sense of calm in the morning. I’m my usual amount of exhausted and sleep deprived the next day still. My husband, who I have to take into account because I share a bed with him, says the smell is pleasant as well and is not at all bothered by it. The rest of the week I did my nightly ritual where the last step was always applying the CBD balm before bed. It provides a nice cooling, analgesic effect on my skin that compliments my nighttime meditation. I listen to a meditation app at night with headphones. By the end of the week, I am falling asleep before the meditation is over, which usually does not happen. I do not stay asleep any of the nights the first week, however, my wake ups are shorter and I fall back asleep quicker. The pain is present, but I have an overall more relaxed feeling. I notice towards the end of the week I feel more rested and less anxious.
$49.99
WEEK 2
Part 1
I have been using the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing balm with CBD for over one week now. I am noticing that although it does not help all of my pain, it definitely helps my joints to feel less stiff and irritated. Usually when I wake up after sleeping and start opening and closing my hand, it is almost intolerable. I feel like the tin man without any oil. With the CBD balm, it is definitely easier to move my hand and open and close it. It does not help with my grasp, (it is difficult to grab objects and let go of them due to my movement disorder), but just to ease the pain feels like a life changer. I also did not expect it to improve mobility….that would be a stretch. When I am sleeping, I often do not know what to do with my left hand. No matter how I lay, it always ends up in some sort of mangled position. Even though I still wake up with my left arm and hand contorted, it just hurts less, especially in my hand. I have been enduring this pain for so long; just to find something that helps the pain is incredible. It works better than any other pain cream, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (aspirin, ibuprofen), acetaminophen, or even narcotic that I have tried. After a week of using this CBD balm, I can say that it definitely helps me sleep better by managing my pain, thus allowing me to rest.
Part 2
I have to be completely honest- I typically have not been the biggest fan of CBD products. Before trying the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing balm with CBD, I had only tried CBD oil. I do not know much about CBD, so I was probably trying the wrong type of CBD oil or dosing incorrectly. It seemed to have the opposite effect on me than other people. Instead of relaxing me, it would cause whole body restlessness. I would describe it as akathisia- just the feeling that I had to move. It may have been just a random adverse reaction to it. It may have been that my body did not process it the same because of my movement disorder. It could have been that it was interacting with other meds I take for my movement disorder. The point is, it did anything but help me sleep. It would keep me awake, tossing and turning. However, this particular formulation helps me to relax and sleep calmly. By helping my pain, it helps me to quiet my mind of racing thoughts and anxieties about my future with this disorder. Normally when I wake up in the middle of the night in tons of pain, I sort of start to panic like, “this is only going to get worse!’ My illness is a progressive one, so my mind goes to the worst place sometimes. When I wake up in less pain, my mind does not go there as much and I am able to fall back asleep better.
Part 3
I have been using the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing CBD balm for two weeks now. I still have not tired of the smell or feel of the balm. The menthol and camphor cause such a nice, cooling sensation on my aching, sore muscles and joints. My movement disorder causes dystonia, so my muscles contract involuntarily and uncontrollably. It feels like I have been lifting weights all day, even if I am just sitting there at rest. Dystonia also causes some involuntary twisting in my spine, shoulder, arm, wrist, and fingers. In my case, it is mostly on the left side. I had no idea how bad chronic pain could be and how disruptive it could be in all aspects of my life. It disrupts not only my sleep, but also affects my mood, my attitude, my relationships, and my general outlook on life. Having this CBD balm available to provide even the slightest relief allows me to escape those negative feelings that gnaw at me for a little while. I am truly impressed and pleasantly surprised at how this CBD balm lessens my pain and allows me to relax and sleep. Nothing can take away the grim prognosis that awaits me and the worry that comes with that, but I had no relief with any of my symptoms before trying this balm. There was no escaping any part of this illness. I am feeling very grateful for this product and grateful that I was open to trying the CBD balm.
$49.99
WEEK 3
Part 1
I have been using Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD for three weeks now. I have experienced a slight escape from the pain which does allow me to sleep better. The type of pain that I experience is constant and relentless. I want to be sure that I am clear that all pain relief I experience from the CBD balm is a temporary reduction in pain and there is definitely not a lasting effect. I often wake up in the middle of the night in pain and reapply some of the CBD balm to help me fall back asleep. I suffer from dystonia, which causes an involuntary constant contraction of my muscles. The contraction causes my shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, and fingers, as well as parts of my spine to twist into abnormal positioning and posturing. Thus, I have a twisting and shearing type of pain. Parts of my body feel like they are being twisted by an invisible force beyond the point that is natural. When I do stretches and physical therapy designed to combat the physical manifestation of this disease and try to move in the opposing direction of the twisting, it is also extremely painful. Therefore, I have pain at rest and in motion. Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD helps to cool that pain and provide a temporary reduction, in order for me to sleep better.
Part 2
I have started to use Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD sometimes in the morning and during the day. My husband and I recently went on a fairly long road trip. It was about 7 hours in the car there and 7 hours back. I can not drive, so I am speaking from the standpoint of a passenger. I used the CBD balm before the drive each way and it helped me to not be as stiff as I normally would be when we stop to stretch periodically. I use a pillow to prop my arm while in the car, just as I do when I sleep. Keeping my arm propped up for so long causes pain in and of itself. Keeping in mind that I am never not in pain, when that pillow gets pulled out from under my arm after it has been there a while, my arm will just drop as I am not able to hold it up myself. When my arm drops, the pain is sometimes so bad that it takes my breath away. When we would make pit stops, the CBD balm helped to cool and soothe the pain I experience when my arm drops. I was grateful that the CBD balm is easy to transport and travels well. It helped my pain and therefore my sleep while sleeping in a foreign place. I have difficulty sleeping in hotels in general, but adding the pain and discomfort on top of that makes things very hard. I feel like I was able to enjoy my time away from home and with my husband thanks in part to the use of the CBD balm.
Part 3
I was skeptical at first to try the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD. The CBD/ hemp products I tried in the past, particularly ingested oils, have made me feel uneasy and restless. Many people claim the soothing and relaxing benefits of these products. When I tried them for sleep at night, it was almost as if I had the opposite reaction than most people. They caused me to become extremely fidgety and restless; it was a very strange feeling like I was going to jump out of my skin. I was extremely disappointed and bummed that these previous CBD products that I tried resulted in such great benefits for other people, was causing an adverse reaction in me. All of my doctors, physical therapists, pain specialists, friends, and family had asked me if I had tried any CBD/ hemp products. They all had patient accounts or personal accounts of these products helping with relaxation, sleep, and pain. I am happy to say that I have not experienced any negative side effects from the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD. Sometimes the smell and the fact that it is an oil is a little bothersome. However, the smell is due to the ingredients like menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus that cause the beneficial soothing and cooling sensation. The oiliness of the product dissipates after only a short while, leaving a nice silky feel. The numerous and varied oils in the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing Balm with CBD cause my skin to be moisturized and feel soft.
$49.99
WEEK 4
Part 1
I have been using Honest Hemp Magic Soothing balm with CBD now for 4 weeks. I have chronic pain and immobility from a progressive neurological disorder. It soothes my joints and muscles and alleviates some of the pain associated with this disorder so that I am able to relax and sleep. I have started using the CBD balm during the day as well so that I feel slightly less stiff. I found it beneficial to use this week prior to a neurologic physical therapy appointment so that I could move slightly better and allow for slightly better manipulation throughout the appointment. The soothing CBD balm also helps me to move slightly better without as much pain for the individual exercises we do. I even used the CBD balm before a guided meditation practice that I do for pain and anxiety and overall well being. The CBD balm helped me to relax during the meditation and the soothing smell was pleasant to breathe in during the meditation. The CBD balm contributed somewhat to helping me get out of my head and get the most out of the meditation. I have found myself using the CBD balm in any instance where I would like to or it is important that I relax during that activity. I am not sure if it is mostly in my head, but I do feel that the CBD balm has been beneficial to most therapies that I do for my illness. It seems the activities that I get the most out of when I am more relaxed have been enriched with the use of the CBD balm.
Part 2
I was fairly worried and apprehensive to try another CBD or hemp product. The ones I had tried did not benefit like I thought they would. However, the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing CBD Balm has been fairly beneficial to me and my well being. Not only does it help me to relax with certain activities that I get more out of when I am calm and relaxed, but easing some of the pain I experience at night while sleeping so that I can actually get a better sleep, has been good for my overall health and well being. Not sleeping at night makes me irritable, less motivated, more depressed about my illness, and just unpleasant to be around. I have a better frame of mind and mood when I am able to sleep. Not sleeping also affects my physical well being. I am always facing difficulties with immobility, stiffness, muscle spasms, contractions, pain, balance, and coordination. When I do not sleep, these ailments become worse and intolerable. When I do not sleep, I am more prone to accidents like falling and stumbling. When I get a good night’s sleep, I also get along better with other people in my life. I feel that the CBD balm has helped me sleep and therefore improves other aspects of my life including my mood, physical wellbeing, and even interpersonal relationships.
Part 3
All things that I am able to do with my upper body are done with only my right arm. Using only one arm for everything really makes life difficult. A gnawing knot will develop beneath my right scapula that not only hurts, but makes it difficult to sit still, difficult to watch TV, and difficult to concentrate on much else. I have started using the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing CBD Balm for more than just the neuropathic pain caused by my progressive neurologic disorder. I have used it in my back to soothe this knot. It does not work as well for this knot or the indescribable neuropathic, twisting type of pain throughout my left side as it does on pain I feel in my joints on my left side. It helps with the pain when I bend my fingers, when I grasp something, when I make a fist, and when I try to extend my fingers. Mind you, I can not do any of these things well, but the CBD balm causes me to have less pain and stiffness in my joints overall. I rub the CBD balm on my temples or behind my ears when I have a headache. I put it on just about any muscle that I experience discomfort, like my calves after a long day. I find this CBD balm great for temporarily soothing aches and pains from my disorder. It helps me to relax in certain situations. The smell is pleasant and soothing. The texture of the CBD balm is silky and has a cooling sensation. The CBD balm acts as a barrier agent and moisturizer due to the many oils it contains. The ingredients are simply different oils with hemp extract. The product travels well and is easy to use just about anywhere. Overall, my experience with the Honest Hemp Magic Soothing CBD Balm has been a positive one. It is certainly soothing and also seems a little magical at times. I would recommend this CBD balm for temporary pain relief to assist in relaxation and sleeping better.
$49.99