Rebel Reef is a local company formed in October 2017 that took a good thing and made it better and then used that better thing to make a different good thing better. You following me? Let’s back up.
Jenna Fontaine is a board certified massage therapist and herbalist with 20 years of experience who owns Urban Bliss Holistic Boutique in Pawtucket’s Hope Artiste Village. Her massages are one of those good things mentioned before. The other good thing is her Super Salve, which she makes and sells under the Rebel Reef name. That good thing was made better when Fontaine incorporated hemp-based CBD into her salve. She now uses that salve to give her clients CBD-infused massages.
Hemp-based CBD is a natural complement to massage therapy. “There are CBD receptors in the skin, so when the Super Salve is applied to the skin, it knows what to do with it,” Fontaine says. And what it does with it is direct it toward the muscles, where it has a sedating effect. “That sedating effect allows the massage therapist to go deeper into the tissue with less pain.”
Fontaine stresses that CBD is not the same thing as THC. “CBD does not cross the blood/brain barrier. It provides the health benefits of THC with none of the risks or worry of, for example, not passing a drug test at work.”
Fontaine drew on her knowledge as an herbalist to round out her Super Salve. One of the ingredients is arnica. “Most pain is caused by inflammation, and arnica reduces inflammation.” Also included in the salve is comfrey, which has an interesting history. “It was used in WWI on soldiers who had open-wound bone breaks. Comfrey helps heal bones and ligaments, and is wonderful in the therapy room.” Also included is a blend of six ancient Chinese oils. “These oils act on the circulatory system to help push debris from an injury.”
The Super Salve isn’t Rebel Reef’s only product. It also offers Bomb Butter, which Fontaine says is excellent for eczema, and CBD-enhanced bath salts. Also in the works are Magic Melts, which are CBD-infused soy-based candles that can be used as massage oil as they melt, and tinctures that combine CBD with other herbs to enhance their effects. Fontaine is also planning to introduce a line of pet care products and a tattoo aftercare balm.
According to Fontaine, these products are wonderful in the hands of a professional massage therapist, but also can be used at home by anyone who wants to be innovative and use cannabis in a healthy way. Simply opening the tin can be enough to get you on the path to relaxation. “All you have to do is smell the products and your neck relaxes.”