CBD Topicals: Do They Actually Work?
What We Know About CBD Applied to the Skin.
By Avery Martz | Updated August 2026
From the CBD and Athletics Wiki
The Short Answer
Yes, topical relief products work. In fact, they have been used for so long that it is difficult to imagine medicine without them.
Nearly two thousand years ago, the Greek physician Dioscorides compiled De Materia Medica, one of the first formal texts on pharmacology. The book described hundreds of medicinal preparations, including remedies applied directly to the skin. It remained a foundational reference in medicine for more than 1,500 years.
Athletes have used topicals since Roman times. Menthol, camphor, capsaicin, herbal liniments, and medicated salves have been staples of sports medicine for millennia and continue to be used to this day. Walk through the locker room of almost any athletic facility and you are likely to catch the familiar smell of products like Tiger Balm, Bengay, Biofreeze, or Icy Hot.
CBD topicals are simply the newest addition to a very old idea. The real question is how topicals work, what they can realistically do, and what ingredients make them effective.
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Topicals Are Nothing New
Long before modern pharmaceuticals, people used preparations made from plants, oils, minerals, and herbs to provide temporary relief from discomfort.
The basic concept is so simple that it is often overlooked by the modern biohacker types: Apply active ingredients directly where you want them to work.
Some ingredients create a heating sensation. Others create cooling, numbing, or soothing effects. Some may influence local tissues in ways researchers are still working to understand.
While modern medicine has given us some of the greatest advancements in human history (antibiotics, advanced imaging, and modern trauma care) that does not mean every traditional remedy was ineffective. Many survived for centuries precisely because people found them useful and passed the knowledge of their preparation down for generations.
CBD topicals fit into this long tradition.
Learn More →
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How Topicals Work
Unlike tinctures, capsules, or gummies, topical products are designed to work primarily at the site of application. When applied to the skin, ingredients interact with local tissues and sensory receptors rather than needing to circulate throughout the entire body.
A good topical generally has two jobs. First, it creates a sensation such as heating, cooling, or numbing that can provide immediate relief from discomfort.
Second, it delivers active ingredients directly to the area where they are intended to act. Menthol creates a cooling sensation. Clove bud oil creates warmth. Lidocaine creates numbness. These ingredients all work differently, but they share a common goal: helping people feel and move better now.
For athletes, that can be valuable when the underlying issue still needs to be addressed through proper training, physical therapy, or medical treatment.
Learn More →
- Pain Is Not Injury: Understanding Discomfort in Training (Publishing Soon)
What CBD Brings to the Table
CBD is one of several compounds that may be included in a modern topical formulation.
Researchers continue to investigate how cannabinoids interact with local tissues, inflammatory pathways, and receptors found throughout the body. While research continues to evolve, CBD has become increasingly popular among athletes, active adults, and people looking for alternatives to conventional topical products.
One reason may be that CBD serves a different role than many traditional topical ingredients.
A cooling ingredient like menthol primarily creates a sensation. A numbing ingredient like lidocaine primarily changes how discomfort is perceived. CBD is often included alongside these ingredients as part of a broader formulation intended to do more than simply create a temporary sensation.
Unlike menthol or lidocaine, CBD does not primarily produce an obvious cooling or numbing sensation. Many users nevertheless report benefits from CBD-containing topicals. Researchers continue to investigate whether and how locally applied cannabinoids contribute to those experiences, but the available evidence does not yet allow us to cleanly separate CBD's contribution from the rest of the formulation.
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Modern Medicine Still Uses Topicals
Topical medicine is not confined to folk remedies and sports creams.
Modern medicine routinely uses topical delivery systems for a wide variety of applications. Testosterone creams, estrogen patches, lidocaine preparations, diclofenac gel, nitroglycerin patches, and numerous prescription medications all rely on the skin as a delivery route.
What has changed is the sophistication of the technology used to deliver compounds across the skin.
Modern Pharmacology and Penetration Enhancers
Modern pharmaceutical formulations often use specialized ingredients designed to increase absorption through the skin. Some of these compounds, including penetration enhancers such as DMSO, can dramatically improve the movement of substances across the skin barrier.
These technologies have legitimate medical applications and can be extremely effective when used appropriately. However, they also increase the importance of manufacturing quality and contaminant control. A compound that helps move desired ingredients through the skin may also help move unwanted contaminants through the skin if quality control is poor.
For pharmaceutical manufacturers operating under strict quality standards, this may be an acceptable tradeoff. For general wellness products, we believe a more conservative approach often makes sense.
Our Approach to Topical Formulation
At Herbal Edge, we generally prefer formulations that rely on high-quality carrier oils, thoughtful ingredient selection, and skilled manufacturing rather than aggressive chemical penetration enhancers.
We also believe transparency matters.
Some companies hide ingredients behind proprietary blends or incomplete disclosures. We take the opposite approach. When we work with a manufacturer to develop a unique formulation, we want customers to know exactly what is in it.
The value of a great topical is rarely found in a secret ingredient. More often, it comes from the quality of the ingredients, the balance of the formulation, and the skill of the people making it.
A well-designed topical does not need to punish the skin to be effective.
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What to Expect From a CBD Topical
A CBD topical is not a miracle cure. People commonly use CBD topicals as part of their routines for temporary comfort, recovery, and the ordinary aches that come with training and everyday life. For athletes especially, even a modest improvement in comfort can be useful.
Recovery is rarely about one dramatic intervention. It is usually about finding small habitual advantages that make it easier to continue showing up, staying consistent, and doing the work.
CBD topicals are best viewed in that light: not as magic, but as one component of a broader recovery routine. Individual experiences vary, and research has not established that CBD topicals treat an underlying injury or medical condition.
Key Takeaways
What we know
Topical delivery can produce meaningful local effects, and ingredients such as menthol, lidocaine, and capsaicin have established topical uses.
What the evidence suggests
CBD may contribute to the effects people report from cannabinoid topicals, but finished products contain multiple ingredients that can influence the experience.
What we don't know
Current research does not clearly establish how much of the reported effect of a finished CBD topical can be attributed specifically to CBD.
What this doesn't establish
The evidence discussed here does not establish that any product sold by Herbal Edge diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents disease or injury.
About the Author
Before launching Herbal Edge, Avery Martz operated one of Idaho's largest CBD retailers, reviewing products, working with independent makers, and helping hundreds of people learn about CBD.