You might be skeptical of anything calling itself an aphrodisiac, and with good cause. Many pills and potions that claim to get a woman’s motor running are bogus — or bogus and toxic.

However, humans have been using natural botanicals to enhance their sexual pleasure for a very long time. Early herbalists & medicine women may not have known why their plant magic worked, only that it did — and nowadays there’s more and more cutting-edge science to validate that ancient wisdom.

When used topically on the skin or systemically by mouth, some plant-based aphrodisiacs — like cinnamon and ginger — work because they create a warming sensation, similar to how a person’s body feels when she’s in the mood. This warming response happens when the body pumps increasing amounts of oxygen-rich blood to a woman’s pleasurable nether regions.

Others plant aphrodisiacs — like the South Pacific’s revered root, Kava Kava — are effective because of their anti-anxiety, antispasmodic, and analgesic properties (nothing can derail a good time in bed like stress, tension, aches, and pains).

And, of course, there’s also the mother of all herbal aphrodisiacs — beloved by the Tantrics and hippies, feared and demonized by “the Man,” and currently enjoying a long-overdue renaissance — cannabis sativa.

Weed works. If you’re an enthusiastic consumer, you already know that it makes people horny as heck (and eventually hungry, and sleepy). But how?

THC & CBD (the two most famous active ingredients in cannabis) perform a sultry tango with the body’s native endocannabinoid system — a network of neurotransmitters & corresponding receptors that’s essential to regulating mood, limiting pain and inflammation, and managing stress...among many other things. The human body even produces chemicals — like anandamide, named after the Sanskrit word for bliss — that are close chemical relatives of the mood-altering molecules in marijuana. In fact, we’re starting to learn that many herbs work by stimulating the same system: maca root, chocolate, echinacea, and Kava Kava all influence the same system that cannabis does — albeit in unique ways.

All this sounds great for sexytime, alone or with a partner… unless you don’t particularly enjoy getting high, which is true for a lot of people. But you don’t need to get your mind rocked to rock your body, or your partner’s.

It turns out that the uniquely permeable tissues of a woman’s intimate anatomy are very good at absorbing aphrodisiac substances — including friendly cannabinoids. When these ingredients are applied topically, you can enjoy all those warm-fuzzy-melty-relaxed vibes while staying mentally present for your lover and yourself.

You may have heard the buzz about a “weed lube” with THC that wildly enhances female pleasure. The first-ever of these infamous products was Foria Pleasure. Thousands of women have reported achieving remarkable results from putting cannabis’ most notorious active ingredient right where it counts.

However, until legalization catches on more broadly, Pleasure is only available in California and Colorado, but — inspired by widespread interest from women who wanted to feel the sexy herbal magic for themselves — Foria went back to the drawing board and created Awaken — a natural arousal oil that combines CBD with synergistic botanicals, available in all 50 states and worldwide.

Made with the most pristine ingredients — including a big dose of plant-based aphrodisiac oomph from Kava Kava, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and aromatic vanilla & cacao is naturally fragrant liquid coconut oil — Awaken is no pale imitation of Pleasure.

Foria’s growing community reports that Awaken is extremely effective at relieving the pain & tension that sometimes get in the way of a good time in bed — CBD’s analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties are well-known — but Awaken’s effects on arousal, pleasure and climax are still the main attraction.

Want to give it a try? Foria is offering a 15% discount to Urban Wellness readers. Click here to shop, and enter the code URBAN15 at checkout. If you have a story about using Awaken on your journey with pain, pleasure and everything in between, feel free to chat with Foria via Instagram or Facebook.

CBD is Being Used As an Aphrodisiac. Here's What We Know.