When you’re getting familiar with different CBD products, it’s hard to determine which one is best for you.
There are several product categories, including CBD tincture oils, vapes, edibles, and topicals, but there are more options embedded within each category.
For example, do you prefer full spectrum, broad spectrum, or CBD isolate?
If you have no idea, it’s okay!
Let’s explore each of these subject areas so you can determine which products are best suited for your lifestyle.
But first, let’s define CBD for those of you just starting with CBD.
What’s CBD All About?
You’ve heard all about the cannabis plant, but if you’re like the rest of us, you still have some lingering questions.
One of the most pressing questions is how hemp and cannabis come from the same Cannabis Sativa plant but possess such different results?
Both are part of the genus flowering family of Cannabaceae, and this genus breaks up into Cannabis Sativa (hemp and marijuana are a species under this genus), Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Ruderalis.
The hemp plant produces less than .3% THC content, free of psychoactive effects, while its distant cousin, cannabis, is the complete opposite.
The cannabis plant produces psychoactive effects with a THC content upwards of 30%.
CBD has become increasingly popular due to the therapeutic benefits it provides to consumers. It integrates well into a wide variety of CBD wellness products, making it much harder to settle on a product.
Here are some of the product categories you’ll run across.
CBD Product Categories
It’s great to have options, but what good are options if you don’t completely understand them?
With this in mind, we’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the products you’ll see when you’re shopping around for CBD products.
Understanding the options presented to you is the first step in finding the best product for your lifestyle needs.
CBD Tincture Oils
Tincture oils are one of the longest-standing CBD products around. These are oils extracted from the hemp plant, often blended with other valuable ingredients like MCT oil.
MCT oil is an absolute must since CBD is an oil-soluble compound, and the human body is primarily water). We all know water and oil don’t mix, so MCT oil provides a vehicle for CBD— helping it absorb into the bloodstream quickly and effectively.
CBD tincture oils are placed under the tongue sublingually and held for 60 seconds so the CBD content can absorb into the capillaries.
If you like a little more control over your serving amount, tincture oils are a great choice because they’re not pre-measured. You start with a small amount and work your way up until you reach the ideal amount for your needs.
CBD Edibles
Who doesn’t love CBD in a candy-like gummy?
This is what the CBD edible category embodies—CBD that tastes good. There are several edible options on the market these days, including, but not limited to, cookies, gummies, teas, drinks, waters, and more.
The selection of CBD edibles on the market is quite expansive. Don’t get overwhelmed if you don’t immediately know about some of the ingredients included. Many companies combine CBD with other wellness ingredients to bolster the effects for consumers.
Start by reading the information the company provides, but do your own research afterward. This way, you gain an unbiased perspective of the product and the ingredients.
The only downside to edibles is they have the lowest bioavailability rate of all the product categories. They take longer to kick in since they have to pass through the digestive system before absorbing into the bloodstream.
They also lose a little bit of concentration during the trip through the digestive system. However, they’re still an excellent option for people wanting easy-to-manage, pre-measured serving amounts.
CBD Vape Pens
If you’re looking for a fast-acting serving of CBD, this is it. CBD vape pens offer the highest bioavailability level since they enter the bloodstream directly through the lungs with each puff.
It’s around 1-2 mg per puff also, so it’s the perfect product to carry along with you if you need to take the edge off.
You have the option of a disposable vape pen or a vape pen kit. The only difference is you toss the disposable pen out when it’s empty and buy a new one.
The vape kit contains a rechargeable, refillable pen you load with your favorite vape juices.
The choice is yours.
No matter which you choose, you’ll experience instant gratification with this crowd-pleasing pen.
CBD Topicals
Sometimes you need targeted relief, and this is precisely what CBD topicals provide.
Consumers love CBD topicals because they never enter the bloodstream, but instead, it travels through multiple layers of skin before reaching the muscle in need.
There are plenty of topicals infused with additions like White Willow Bark to enhance the product’s effectiveness.
Some examples of topicals are CBD bath bombs, skincare items, lotions, creams, salves, and balms.
Whether you’re sore after an intense workout or your hands are cramping up after typing 60 wpm or eight hours straight, there’s a CBD topical for that.
Choosing the Right CBD Oil Option
We mentioned the different CBD oil options above—full spectrum, broad spectrum, and CBD isolate.
Within all of the product category choices, you’ll see most of them contain a different CBD oil base. Full spectrum oil includes all of the naturally occurring cannabinoids of the hemp plant, including trace amounts of THC, less than 0.3%.
This isn’t enough to warrant any psychoactive, “high” feeling, but it may cause a false positive on a drug test.
Full spectrum oil also offers the highest level of the entourage effect since all of the compounds are intact, ready to work synergistically to provide a deeper level of therapeutic benefits.
Broad spectrum oils don’t contain any THC (it’s removed during an additional extraction process). You still get some of the entourage effects, just not as pronounced since some cannabinoids are no longer present.
On the other hand, if you want pure CBD, go with the CBD isolate option.
The best way to approach this situation is to try different products and see which works best. One of the beautiful things about human nature is we’re all incredibly unique, with varying biological compositions.
This means what works for you may not have the same effect on the next person due to our unique factors.
Parting Thoughts
Locating the best CBD product for yourself takes time for some people, but some people get it right the first time.
Chances are, you’ll like everything you try, but then you’ll try something else later and love it even more.
Overall, make sure to keep in mind different product categories have different bioavailability rates (how fast they take effect).
Look at it like this, trying different products is the fun part.
So, what are you trying first?
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