So I teamed up with Black Cat Organic Health to see if their CBD products were what I needed for all my aches and pains and anxieties and everything that has come with adulting.

Michelle gave me a quick consultation over the phone (Whatsapp, because who calls anymore) and we met up for her to hand over products we both hoped would be life-changing for me. Here is what happened.

Firstly, what is CDB oil? CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.  It’s gaining momentum in the health and wellness world, with some scientific studies confirming it may help treat a variety of ailments like chronic pain and anxiety.

And since I have chronic pain from osteoarthritis and live with depression and anxiety I thought, hey this might be what I need. It is also supposed to help with inflammation (my hands and wrists swell up a lot, many many tests and Drs bills later we are still not sure why) type 2 diabetes and topically helps with your skin so I was all in.

So which CBD products did I try?

Black Cat health oil (orally consumption)

Black Cat CBD skin care oil (pump action bottle)

Black Cat CBD detox clay

Black CBD and lemongrass glycerine soap.

Black Cat Tumeric and Cayenne capsules

What did I think?

Black Cat health oil (orally consumption)

–          This one is the serious one, the main unadulterated oil. I was instructed to have one mil a night which I did with a syringe. I don’t want to sound like I’m sucking up to black Cat Organics here, but there was a definite difference. Not like automatic, it’s not a magic potion, but, it felt like it was helping in a few short days. When I say help I’m referring to my insomnia and generalised anxiety. Soon I felt brave enough to cut my daily anxiety med doses in half (I’ve been off antidepressants since I was pregnant with Aidan but honestly I have not been able to get through a day without my anxiety meds, lately). I chatted about my anxiety before, but simply put; I get jittery, I have heart palpitations and am prone to panic attacks.  I must add that my extremely low iron also gives me palpitations so I’m used to feeling like I chased my red bull with an espresso. The oil definitely took the edge off, so much so that I gave some to my husband. His job as a homicide detective means he sees things, talks about things, and is privy to things that can make you rather tense. He could definitely see a difference in himself as well. It also seemed to help with my joint pain, BUT as I sort of stopped exercising, the pain management wasn’t enough. I need to exercise and take the oil as a team effort, is what I found. It’s worth noting that since it has a coconut oil base it does get solid in colder months.

Black Cat CBD skin care oil (pump action bottle)

–          Michelle was both amused and mortified to find that I sometimes use the oil as a make-up remover, but the thing is I don’t wear makeup often so it is not an everyday thing and it makes my skin feel so good afterward that I really don’t mind two pumps rubbed into my face and wiped off with a cotton cloth. In general, though I use it for my skin. My skin can be dry like insanely dry, like scales are only cute on mermaids, dry. And this is fast absorbing and scent free. It leaves me feeling moisturised without feeling oily and on my hair it has been such a Godsend. Winter usually leaves my hair very dry – guys why am I so dry, skin, hair, humour? I’ve used it on my hair especially and it’s non-greasy yet moisturising. I think it’s the coconut oil (which funny enough doesn’t gel with my hair when used alone). I also use it for massaging my poor arthritic body (that’s funny, not funny, because it makes me sound a million years old, but also I totally have a form of arthritis…so it’s not offensive when I say it, like how I can refer to the itty bitty titty committee because I’m definitely a member) I really like the oil but not for my hands for some reason. I still use a separate hand lotion.

Black CBD and lemongrass glycerine soap.

 So both Rob and I use this soap, he likes it more than I do, but that’s only because he likes bar soap more than I do. It is super effective in cleaning and odour elimination without having a strong scent itself. So basically you won’t smell sweaty, but you won’t smell excessively lemongrassy either. I like to use it for a warm shower at night and I feel like it helps with insomnia. Michelle never claimed it would but I feel like it does.

Black Cat CBD detox clay

–          This one is BAE, so Bae that my 34-year-old behind feels comfortable enough to say Bae. When I first saw the write-up for this on the Black Cat facebook page I had a bit of a laugh seriously how are they claiming that this one jar of grey clay was good to be used as a face mask, hair mask, full body detox, colon detox, wound recovery and so much more. I was like sure guys, sure… But lets put this to the test. So I thought let’s use it as a hair mask, you know just to see….MY CURLS WERE POPPIN! I recon it’s the Bentonite in it because natural hair websites seem to swear by it. So then I used it as a face mask and OMW this is where I really fell in love. My face has been oily lately (yes the rest of me is dry because my face stores all the oil) I also have big pores next to my nose and it annoys me. But using the clay. I kid you not! No jokes! my skin felt matte and the pores were diminished. The results were so good my GP asked me what my secret was. I’m back to being able to wear lipstick and pretending I put in the effort. I also used it as a uhm colon detox, I will spare you the details but I can say, it works, you get uhm cleaned out. But not like a super duper laxative effect, don’t worry. It just helps with bloating and general bleugh feeling after over indulging.

Black Cat Tumeric and Cayenne capsules

Okay I must be honest I have not been taking these three times a day like instructed. I’m so bad about taking things throughout the day. So I can’t really honestly tell you how if it has been a benefit or not…so keep an eye peeled in a week or so when I try again and let you know if it is anti-inflammatory as it is supposed to be