If you are considering adding cannabidiol oil as a supplement to your lifestyle, we have prepared a small article for you to outline how to shop for the best products. Hemp CBD oil is advertised for a variety of benefits, and to reap them, you should know how to find the ideal product for your needs.
Identify what exactly are you looking for in a product.
First, you should identify your needs, and set the expectations you have for taking hemp CBD oil.
Cannabidiol oil is much broader than people initially realize. There are different types, ranging from hemp seed oil, isolated CBD, full-spectrum and broad-spectrum, and a few others.
We will cover the specific benefits of these types, but in general, you can expect a variety of soothing and calming relief benefits.
Try to have a clear idea of why you’re consuming the oil. If your lifestyle or job requirements don’t allow you to have any traces of THC in your system, going with broad-spectrum will be the best choice.
Isolated CBD contains no traces of the many other cannabinoids found in full-spectrum hemp that may have a synergistic effect on the body. This is an option to see what effect CBD alone has on your body.
We covered spectrums, but hemp CBD varies in its form as well. Some oils are made into topicals, lotions, or creams – a perfect way to apply hemp CBD directly to the skin when treating skin conditions.
With all of this in mind, it’s essential to talk about the quality of the product you’re taking. Hemp CBD is an expanding market, and sadly, it attracts many shady brands.
A growing industry attracts snake oil sellers.
Following the famous US Farm Bill of 2018, the hemp CBD industry has experienced a boom. With industrial hemp now federally legalized, the availability of various hemp CBD brands has surfaced in most cities, and in online stores especially. As with any growing market, many deceitful sellers are promising more value than they could ever deliver, and sometimes even bringing harm to your health.
Many products on the market are dishonestly labeled, illegally grown and manufactured, and may contain components that have been proven harmful through laboratory tests.
Researching by yourself before buying and knowing how to identify a suitable product might seem daunting, but knowing a few key things will make it as simple as checking the expiration date when shopping for dairy products.
We want to offer you some tips to find the best products and avoid snake oil sellers. Below, using our experience in the industry, we outlined the crucial points you should know.
Let’s get started.
What constitutes quality hemp CBD oil?
First of all, let’s talk about what constitutes good, beneficial CBD and what’s contrary to that. It’s important to look at the THC content, the quality of growing, manufacturing, and lab testing the hemp, and the labels on the final products.
Safe, beneficial, and healthy products will always be:
- Properly Labeled
- Allergen and Toxin-free
- Domestically grown and manufactured under strict regulations
- Lab-tested for quality and safety
- Comes from a reputable brand with a clean history of customer care
Labeling
A product will be labeled according to its contents, and the law in the state and federal level.
If anything about the label feels off, waste no more time with it. All of the points we cover on this list should be present at the label in some form.
Also, you should look at the THC content of the product. THC is the hemp component that gives you the ‘high’ of cannabis. Many people choose taking hemp CBD oil precisely because of the low THC content – at or below 0.3 % according to the US Farm Bill. This means you will experience no psychoactive effects from the oil, but if you wish your system to remain fully THC-Free, go with a product that contains absolutely no THC. It will almost always be visibly labeled on the packaging.
Standards of growing and sourcing location
The growing standards of hemp play a pivotal role in the final quality. If hemp CBD products are grown with low-quality hemp, this usually means that many harmful chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides were used in the process. These can negatively impact your overall health.
Look for a label or a disclaimer about growing standards, as well as the sourcing location of the crop. An honest, trustworthy brand will have NOTHING to hide from you, and will proudly display information about the standards they follow, and the laws they abide by.
If no relevant information is indicated, we would recommend staying away from the product.
We put special emphasis on growing standards because hemp CBD is supposed to alleviate the stress and irritation of your body, not contribute to it. Many components of fertilizers and pesticides are not only toxins but are potentially carcinogenic.
Sourcing
Some sellers try to get away from regulations by sourcing their hemp from areas outside of North America, where crop growing laws differ from those in your region and are sometimes poorly enforced.
Hemp CBD companies in the US must abide by US laws, and notably the Farm Bill, meaning you can expect a much higher level of quality and law compliance when purchasing local products.
This extends to manufacturing, as well. While there aren’t too many regulations in place yet, as hemp CBD is a young industry, you can look for signs of unsafe manufacturing methods in products.
Manufacturing – Is the extraction performed safely?
Cheap products usually entail cheap oil extraction using alkane solvents. These solvents are dangerous to our health, so look out for carbohydrates like propane and butane solvents – the same gases that power your gas stoves.
The safest method is organic extraction using ethanol – essentially pure alcohol. It brings a good yield during extraction, and may currently be the best option on the market for companies while remaining safe for us. Supercritical CO2, or supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, is also an excellent method, but due to the costs involved, it’s less prevalent. The purity and quality are exceptional, though.
NOTE: When checking labels, or doing research on a company, make sure to remember the difference between carbohydrate extraction, and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.
The names are similar, but the quality difference is significant. Always go with products processed with ethanol or supercritical carbon dioxide extraction!
Check if there are any third-party laboratory tests
You should try to find any third-party lab testing related to the product. Currently, there is no concrete testing process for testing quality and CBD purity on the government level, but still, lab results can offer valuable insight into the quality. Testing will assure that there are no toxins or additives in the oil, and basically that the core components are as described on the label.
Also, when it comes to the flavoring and coloring of either edible products or topicals, the lab test will conclude whether it’s natural or artificial. Many artificial additives are harmful, allergenic, or outright toxic to humans. Some lab tests may be conducted on animals. This is not always a proper indicator for human safety. Also, as with any fact-checking, check for dates and the credibility of the information source!
Tikva is quality hemp CBD brand that list their third party testing results on their website. So you have confidence you are consuming a safe product.
A Few Concluding Words
With all of this in mind, let’s make a quick rundown of how to check if a product is worth trying out.
First, when you come across a product in a dispensary or online, check if the brand is established and trustworthy. A brand that has nothing to hide will display information about how they source and produce their products.
Check the label for information about contents, origin, and whether there are additives inside. You can search the brand online at the spot on your mobile device, or check whether there are some negative reviews or lab tests that reveal the brand is dishonest.
Finally, if the product leaves a good impression on you, try it out in a small dose and increase it incrementally to make sure it’s right for your body. Everyone is different, and just because a friend or colleague of yours uses a product and is beyond satisfied, that doesn’t mean it won’t sit right with you, your skin, or your belly.
We hope that the points we drew will help you find the perfect product for your well being. If you suffer from a condition that CBD can alleviate, we wish you a fast recovery!
Stay diligent with your research, and you will never go wrong.