Hemp: a plain-language guide

Hemp and cannabis are the same botanical species. The separation between them is legal and agricultural rather than botanical: in the European Union, varieties grown as hemp must be on the approved list and stay below the THC threshold set in law.

Because the plant has been grown for fibre, seed and oil for a very long time, 'hemp' in a shop usually points to one of several quite different materials.

• —Fibre — the stalk, used in textiles, paper and building materials.
• —Seed — pressed into a culinary and cosmetic oil.
• —Aerial parts — leaves and flowers, the source of plant extracts.

Two hemp materials turn up most often on cosmetic ingredient lists. Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil is the cold-pressed oil of the seed: a light carrier oil with no cannabinoid content of note. Cannabis Sativa Extract is made from the aerial parts and is a different material entirely.

A product can contain either, both, or neither while still using the word hemp on the front of the pack. The ingredient list is the reliable place to check.

Marketing language around hemp moves quickly and is not always precise. A short vocabulary goes a long way: seed oil is not extract, extract is not isolate, and 'hemp-derived' on its own tells you very little about which part of the plant was used.