Lowen’s Skincare finds its “True North” for Hemp Seed Oil

True North Cannabis is a large-scale hemp farm located just outside of Calgary, and Lowen’s Skincare’s newest source for locally grown, harvested and pressed hemp seed oil.

Lowen’s founder Chad Zelensky met Shayne Hamilton, founder of True North Cannabis this past summer at Community Natural Foods’ Country Market, where they both had “friends of Community” booths.  “I had been sourcing our cold pressed hemp seed oil out of the province so when the opportunity to connect with a local producer and fellow REAP Calgary member presented, it made a lot of sense,” says Chad.

You see, Lowen’s uses unrefined, cold pressed hemp oil in our Shampoo in Betta! – Vegan Conditioning Shampoo, Vegan Sea Salt Scrub, You Sure Clean Up Nice! – Face and Body Wash, Get Buff! Exfoliating Cleanser, the Dave’s Not Here Man lip balm and in our The Old Crow tattoo aftercare balm. Hemp oil is loaded with Omega 3, 6, and 9 essential fatty acids, which improve skin elasticity and makes for shinier hair (Shayne uses the oil to condition his dogs’ fur and skin). It also contains lots of nutrients, including iron, zinc, and Vitamin E plus the oil itself is very sturdy and has a long shelf life.

I like using hemp because it is such an effective, multifaceted carrier oil.  Many skincare products choose a refined (see inert) carrier oil as it lends to a uniform product that they can then dye and scent to suit their needs.  This is not what Lowen’s is about.  We want our hemp seed oil unrefined so that it retains all of those key essential nutrients listed above – this lends to why our products are so effective.  Plus the fact that the oil is an emerald green is pretty cool and reflects the fresh and unprocessed nature of the this oil

As this is only Shayne’s second year in the hemp farming business, he’s excited to develop collaborative relationships with other local businesses within the community. “Business is about building bridges between like-minded people, and working together to create things.”

“There’s no way I could put a skincare product out there the way that Lowen’s can. To see my product in that is incredible.”

While True North Cannabis’ exports hemp oil and hemp hearts, Shayne is greatly anticipating the legalization of marijuana so that he can move ahead with his main goal in the field – developing low-cost cannabidiol (CBD) for medicinal purposes…

“We need this in our world,” Shayne says.