From professional athletes to hospice patients, a variety of people swear by Resonant Botanicals’ line of hemp oil extract-based products.

Founder Michael Yocco, a South Whidbey resident, draws on his biochemistry background to develop lotions and creams for pain relief, anxiety, sleep and skin irritation. Resonant Botanicals has been in operation for the past 11 years, with production currently occurring at a facility in Freeland.

“My grandmothers on both sides were herbalists, so I was influenced by them a lot and I’ve always had a love for herbal medicine,” Yocco said. “My mom was an RN, so I have a lot of medical background with her.”

Yocco’s mother was the inspiration for the first product he ever created. While on a visit, he noticed she cried throughout the night because of arthritis in her hips. She could no longer take ibuprofen or other related medications for pain because she had compromised kidneys, and the pills are metabolized by these organs.

“That kicked my biochemistry brain (into action),” Yocco said.

So he spent about six months developing a topical solution that would bypass the kidneys altogether. Over the years he has continued to make improvements to the remedies that target specific metabolic pathways.

His products contain hemp oil extract, a key component of which is cannabidiol, or CBD for short. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, found in marijuana, CBD alone is not psychoactive and does not produce a high, Yocco explained. In the U.S., CBD products are legal if derived from hemp and must contain no more than 0.3% of THC.

Some people report feeling calm from taking CBD, while others can benefit from pain relief. Taking it as a topical solution, rather than orally, ensures a better conversion rate, Yocco said, meaning it will be more effective.

Yocco has been in the industry long enough to witness the skepticism about CBD. Over the last five years, he reported it’s become more mainstream and accepted, but now skepticism is returning again, possibly because there are so many CBD-based products out on the market right now.

Federal legislation passed in 2018 relaxed restrictions on importing hemp and allowed U.S. farmers to grow it. As a result, the price of CBD dropped dramatically. Yocco recalled it going from 47 cents per milligram to around 0.3 cents per milligram.

Manufacturers are now putting more and more of it into products, but above a certain threshold, people won’t get much more benefit from taking it, he said.

According to a Seattle Times story from last month, Seattle ranks No. 2 out of 75 large metro areas for use of CBD.

Earlier this year, Yocco collaborated with a neuromuscular massage therapist who works with elite professional football athletes to create a new bestselling product, Royal Gold, which launched in July. It works best for muscle pain, inflammation and tension. Athletes in other sports, such as baseball and racing, have also used Resonant Botanicals’ products.

In addition, Yocco’s business has partnered for the past five years with Hospice of the Northwest, which has offered patients access to lotions that help manage their pain.

From high impact sports to the dying process, “to provide relief in those two critical situations and do it successfully, it’s very gratifying,” Yocco said.

Products vary in uses. Goodnight helps the user sleep, Comfort is for general mood lift and grief, Calm Day soothes anxiety, stress and panic. Neuro-Soothe is designated for relief of symptoms associated with neuropathy, fibromyalgia and dystonia.

Yocco developed Re-Zen, a massage oil, after going to Maui and interviewing scholars who studied lomi lomi massage, an ancient tradition in Hawaii. He created Alleviate for his daughter, who was suffering from eczema. It’s also good for other skin conditions like psoriasis or even itchy mosquito bites.

Because all manufacturing of the lotions and creams occurs on Whidbey, he has the flexibility to make changes to products within a short amount of time. Yocco and his small team produce around 10,000 units of product per month.

“The irony is, when we have a production run for a product, we get really sore,” he said with a laugh. “We use it right away.”

Besides hemp oil extract, some other ingredients include magnesium and plants such as arnica, lemon balm and kukui nut, among many others.

“It’s expensive, but I don’t really care about the cost of my ingredients because I get such good results,” Yocco said.

Though he has no storefront, Resonant Botanicals can be found at a few participating businesses on Whidbey, including Salinity Seafood in Bayview, the Beach House in Langley, chiropractors Dr. Rik Heinz and Dr. Eli Bentabou in Freeland, Greenbank Pantry and Deli and Seaside Spa & Salon in Oak Harbor. Yocco also has a regular booth at Pike Place Market in Seattle.

And much of sales occur directly online at the website, resonantbotanicals.com.

“People who’ve been with us, they trust us, they love our product, they tell their friends without hesitation and we’ve got a lot of organic growth that we’ve enjoyed just from word of mouth,” Yocco said.