CBD Buying Guide
What to consider when buying CBD
You've done your research and decided that it's time to give CBD a try.
It can be difficult to know what the best CBD products are for you. Once you are ready to look at products, there are still many factors to consider before purchasing your first CBD product. They include: the type of product, CBD oil percentage, dosage requirement, extraction method used, brand and above all, your needs.
Product Types
Nowadays CBD comes in numerous types of shapes, sizes and forms. The good thing about this is that you have a variety of choices in how you take CBD. The three most common types are:
- Tinctures
Tinctures, also know as drops are by far the most popular CBD products consumed today. Tinctures trump all other types of CBD products when it comes to dosage precision. As all tinctures come with a precise dropper, one can easily increase or decrease the serving size by the drop.
Our tinctures come in variety of CBD concentrations, ranging from 2,5% to 18% CBD oil percentage, depending on your dosage needs.
Tincture is the fastest absorption method. It is absorbed sublingually (under the tongue), which means that it acts faster than most other forms of CBD products.
- Capsules
Capsules, also known as CBD Tablets or CBD Pills are quickly gaining popularity. As capsules are odourless and tasteless, it makes them the perfect choice for anyone who doesn’t like that hemp taste.
- Extract
Extract, also known as CBD Paste is the most popular choice for those looking for the purest and strongest CBD products out there. Extracts are the ones with the highest CBD concentration.
CBD Concentration
While hemp oil has beneficial properties of its own, when buying CBD products you should really look specifically for the quantity of CBD that is present in a particular product.
Usually the CBD content is declared as a percentage of the total volume, but it can also be shown as the total mg of CBD.
The CBD concentration in Tinctures and Capsules are usually between 3% – 20%, while the Extracts are typically at 20% or above.
The best choice for you depends on you and your required dosage.
Dosage
No exact dosage of CBD has been established yet. We recommend starting of with 3-5mg taking daily for a week. If you don’t feel any benefit after that, double the dose and repeat for another week until you find your required dose.
Also worth mentioning is that CBD has maximum efficiency when used consistently, much like a daily multivitamin supplement. This effect is due to the fact that it takes a while for your body to adjust to the chemical compounds found in CBD. As there are no psychoactive or dangerous components present in our CBD, you can safely increase your serving size to find the optimal concentration for you. And don’t worry about taking too much CBD. It is impossible to overdose on CBD or to ‘take too much’.
- If you need 1mg - 20mg CBD per day go for a low strength Tinctures or Capsules.
- If you need 20mg - 100mg CBD per day go for a high strength Tinctures or Capsules.
- If you need more than 100mg of CBD per day go for an Extract.
Dosage Example:
Extraction Methods
To extract Cannabidiol (CBD), one must start with CBD-rich plant material. There are many ways to extract oil from the cannabis plant, each has its pros and cons.
CBD oil is extracted using the following methods:
- Co2 Extraction
The super critical CO² method is considered the most scientific method and is also among the cleanest techniques of extraction. It uses carbon dioxide under high pressure and extremely low temperatures to extract the CBD in its purest form. CBD oil extracted in this way has a cleaner taste, but is also the most expensive method. The advantage of this technique is that the end product is the purest form of CBD oil which is highly potent and free of chlorophyll.
- Ethanol
High grade grain alcohol can be used to create high quality hemp oil appropriate for vape pen cartridges and other CBD products. But this extraction method destroys the plant waxes, which may have health benefits that are favoured by some product-makers.
- Olive Oil
This method of how to make CBD oil is growing in popularity. The method involves extraction using a carrier oil. Olive oil is most commonly used in this process. The rise in popularity of this method is due to the added benefits of the nutrients in the oil used and the fact that it is safe and free of unwanted residues.
CBD Purity
This might be the most important point to consider when choosing the right CBD product for you and your family.
CBD is derived from industrial hemp – stalk, leaf and seeds. Farming methods vary widely, and regulations differ from country to country.
For a safe product for you and your family, chose a CBD product that has been derived from Non-GMO organic hemp, grown without the use of pesticide, herbicide or chemical fertilizer.
CBD Legality
Cannabidiol (CBD) is not considered a controlled substance in the UK, and is therefore 100% legal.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical responsible for causing the marijuana high, and is illegal.
Hemp contains no, or very little THC, the psychoactive chemical. Marijuana on the other hand contains high levels of the psychoactive chemical. This single difference is what the lawmakers relies on to distinguish between hemp and marijuana – Read more about CBD Legal Status here.
The UK has set the maximum THC content of hemp at 0.2%. Therefore, any Hemp oil with higher THC than 0.2% is considered medical marijuana instead, and is therefore illegal under current UK law.
Brand
The best advice here is to always buy from a brand you trust. As CBD is still an unregulated industry, as a customer you should demand complete transparency.
We recommend that you always ask for a cannobinoid analysis lab report with all purchases. This will guarantee the CBD concentration, and will also show any impurities such as pesticide, herbicide, heavy metals, mould, chemical fertiliser or any other unwanted contaminants.
The next best thing would be to read reviews of other people's experience of the company and its products, so you can ensure you're buying the best CBD products for you specific needs. Doing this can give you extra information that the company won't necessary provide, and can help you make a better choice.
Of course, a recommendation from a friend weights more and can be trusted more than any sales arguments written on a website.
Hopefully this guide has given you some of the information you're looking for. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us, the team at Herts Hemp is always available to help you with all things CBD.