By Ana Reisdorf
You are excited to try out a CBD Balm or CBD Rub to help soothe the muscle soreness you have been experiencing after some tough workouts. But, when your product arrives it is either completely liquid (and a bit messy) or seems to have melted in transit, then re-solidified.
The fact that it melted might make you think that it is spoiled or may not be quite as effective. But when it comes to natural skin products like our CBD balms and rubs, being exposed to temperature extremes during transit doesn’t impact the product’s effectiveness.
The Challenge of Shipping Natural Products
Many commercial skincare products are designed to have a long shelf life and withstand extreme changes in temperature. In order to prevent melting or other product alterations caused by heat or cold, companies add potentially harmful additives such as phthalates, cocamide DEA, or petroleum-based waxes. Although these ingredients do protect the product from changes in temperature, they also pose a risk to your health.
Melting does not impact the quality of the product nor change the healing properties of the CBD it contains.
Our natural Zebra CBD balm and rub are free of synthetic stabilizers and waxes that could prevent melting or freezing at extreme temperatures. While the product is in our hands, we keep it at room temperature, but once it’s sent out we have little control over the environment.
The second ingredient listed on our CBD balm label is coconut oil. If you have ever used coconut oil, you probably know that it softens or even liquifies at warmer temperatures. The only way to prevent softening of the coconut oil in our balm would be to add potentially harmful stabilizers.
Other natural ingredients in our balm include beeswax and shea butter, which are also designed to soften as soon as they are applied to the skin. This allows them to penetrate the skin and deliver moisture along with our hemp oil to soothe sore muscles. Without the ability to melt, the product would not be able to penetrate the skin.
What to Do If Your CBD Balm Is ‘MOA’
If your product is “Melted on Arrival” or looks like it melted and then re-solidified, there is no need to worry. Melting does not impact the quality of the product nor change the healing properties of the CBD it contains.
To avoid melting, do not allow our products to sit on a hot porch in direct sunlight. If possible, as soon as your products are delivered, bring them inside.
Before opening the product, especially if it was delivered on a warm day, consider refrigerating it for 30 to 60 minutes. This will solidify any ingredients and prevent a potential mess when you open it. Once it is solid again, you can remove it from the fridge and store at room temperature.
What We’re Doing to Protect Our Products During Shipment
It may be disappointing to receive a product that is not the consistency you expected, but we can assure you that there is no cause for concern. At Zebra CBD, we believe it’s more important to provide a product with natural ingredients, even if that means it is more sensitive to temperature variations during shipping.
Most of our products will arrive without issues. However, once your package leaves our fulfillment center we have no control over temperature variations. That being said, we take the following steps to reduce the chances our products will melt during shipping:
- We are now packing any of our products subject to freezing or melting in boxes that allow more padding for better insulation.
- We wrap our products more susceptible to temperature variations in bubble wrap or another padding for an additional layer of insulation.
- We use glass or tin containers to help prevent leakage.
