In the last decade, CBD has become a topic of interest to many in the UK seeking natural, holistic health and wellness products for a variety of uses. As that interest has grown, so has the market for UK products containing CBD, from CBD creams to CBD edibles to CBD vape pens and juices. The number of companies offering these CBD products has also expanded dramatically. With so many choices available, it can be overwhelming when you’re trying to find the best CBD oil UK products for your own personal needs.
First, What Is CBD Anyway?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the second-most prevalent cannabinoid found in cannabis plants, trailing only tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Until very recently, the lion’s share of research on cannabinoids focused on THC, but as various jurisdictions in places like the US and UK began legalising cannabis for medical use, the scope of research began branching out to other compounds from hemp plants. Given its relatively high natural concentrations in cannabis, CBD was a natural choice to look at next.
And so far, the research on CBD is promising. Modern studies suggest that CBD is helpful for achieving a variety of wellness goals, and treating several diverse health conditions. Still, because research remains ongoing, it is illegal to make medical recommendations for the use of CBD. So, nothing in this article should be construed as medical advice.
Wellness Benefits of Cannabidiol
CBD works by interacting with the receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system. Unlike THC, CBD has no psychotropic effect, so it will not get you “high.” However, it does have noticeable effects when ingested.
CBD typically produces a calming effect that can be particularly useful for soothing stress (which can lead to anxiety) or sleep conditions, like insomnia. Anxiety and insomnia, while not directly causal of each other, frequently work in conjunction to create a feedback loop of sorts, making it difficult for sufferers to break out of that cycle. CBD’s calming properties can help both by promoting restful sleep and relieving the severity of symptoms of anxiety. Some CBD products boost these effects by adding supplemental ingredients, such as passion flower or magnesium, to complement this versatile cannabinoid.
Another commonplace use for CBD products is minor pain relief. CBD has shown to be effective at reducing pain, particularly the burn of sore muscles and joints worked by vigorous physical activity. Some people afflicted with headaches who have tried CBD as treatment have reported significant relief of the pain they experience.
CBD is also believed to have anti-inflammatory properties, similar to some over-the-counter and prescription medicines for pain relief. This can be helpful when pain is accompanied by swelling. CBD provides an all-natural, non-addictive alternative to those medications.
Why CBD Tinctures?
When CBD is extracted from hemp plants, it exists as an oil which becomes the base for all CBD products, whether they are CBD edibles (like CBD gummies), CBD vaping oils, CBD creams or anything else. But there is also a product sold as CBD oil, and that’s what we’re focusing on primarily in this article. These CBD products, intended to be ingested as an oil, are often called tinctures or tincture oils.
Tincture CBD oils are products containing CBD suspended in a solution and intended to be taken sublingually. Essentially, these CBD oils are used by placing drops of the oil underneath the user’s tongue and holding it there for a short time (most recommend 60 seconds).
The Benefits of Sublingual CBD Oils
Sublingual CBD oil ingestion works by way of the network of blood vessels present near the skin inside a person’s mouth. It is a very effective way to consume CBD, as the oil product is typically absorbed by the body and takes effect in 15 to 30 minutes, somewhat dependent on individual biological factors. The CBD goes directly into the bloodstream with this method of ingestion.
This is a much shorter time to effectiveness than offered by CBD edibles, which have to go through the body’s digestive system before the CBD can be absorbed. That process can take up to one or even two hours. This makes oil tinctures an excellent choice if one of your desires of a CBD product is rapid effectiveness. However, unlike CBD vaping, which also works quickly, the effects of oil tinctures usually last significantly longer – up to six hours in some cases.
Other Upsides to CBD Tinctures
CBD products, such as CBD edibles (like CBD gummies for pain and other CBD gummies, THC gummies, and CBD capsules), CBD creams and balms, THC pen and THC oil vape products, and oil tinctures, all have their own specific plusses and minuses depending on the person using them and the health and wellness goals they want to achieve. That’s why it’s important to consider how you want to consume your CBD while looking at the various products available in the UK.
One significant benefit to oil tinctures is the precision and flexibility of CBD dosage. Most oil tinctures are sold with dropper-style dispensers, which allow the user to easily measure the exact CBD dosage they want. And the fact that the CBD is evenly distributed throughout the solution means that every milliliter of a CBD oil tincture has a consistent concentration of active ingredients. This makes it much easier than some CBD edibles, which need to be cut into smaller pieces for customized CBD dosages. And hemp CBD oil is far more measurable than a puff from a CBD vapouriser.
CBD tinctures are also valued for being discreet. With no exhaled vapors, odors, or other unwelcome telltales, CBD tinctures do not expose anyone but the user to CBD.
If storage space is at a premium in your home, oil tinctures may be a better choice than CBD edibles, as a bottle of tincture oil is much smaller than a jar of CBD gummies. Tincture oil can even be travel-friendly thanks to compact packaging. Just be sure to protect against leaks if you do decide to take your CBD oil tincture on the road with you.
And, of course, oil tinctures do not require charging, nor do CBD oils require a glass of something to wash them down the way CBD capsules do. All you have to do is measure your CBD dosage with the eyedropper and put the oil drops under your tongue.
Shopping for Safe CBD Products in the UK
CBD side effects are reasonably uncommon, and usually represented by minor maladies such as dryness of the mouth, drowsiness, loose stool, and reduced appetite. However, the majority of CBD consumers report no undesirable effects at all.
But that should not be taken to mean that all CBD tinctures are perfectly safe. With the ever-increasing number of CBD oil brands rushing to join the market for CBD products, it is sadly inevitable that some cut corners and end up making an inferior CBD product that may not be fit for consumption. Below are some factors worth examining when looking for a CBD oil tincture.
Sourced From Organically Grown Hemp Plants
Whether you buy organic foods or not, you will want to buy CBD oil tinctures made from organically grown cannabis hemp. Hemp is a well-known bioaccumulator, meaning the plant is very efficient at leaching nutrients and compounds from the soil in which it grows. While that contributes to hemp’s heartiness as a plant, it also results in the plants absorbing things you don’t want to consume. Things like chemical pesticides and fertilisers.
Organically grown hemp will be free of those harmful substances, so long as the soil it grows in is absent them as well. We recommend purchasing CBD only from companies that grow their own organic hemp and retain control over every step of the production process. After all, if you want a clean, safe CBD oil, you absolutely must start with clean, safe hemp.
Clean Extraction Processes
The other major step where harmful contaminants can enter the CBD product is in the CBD hemp oil extraction process. Some CBD oil extraction processes are cleaner than others, but for the ultimate in clean, safe CBD oil extraction, carbon dioxide is the clear winner.
CO2 extraction uses carbon dioxide heated to a supercritical state, in which it displays properties of both a gas and a liquid. Not only is this a very efficient method of CBD oil extraction, pulling all of the desirable organic compounds from the hemp, it also leaves no harmful chemicals behind, for unparalleled purity and potency.
Some inferior low-end brands of CBD products use butane or other harsh solvents to extract CBD from the hemp plant. That method pollutes the finished CBD oil product with all kinds of undesirable and even harmful compounds. We recommend you steer far clear of those CBD brands and products.
The Importance of a Good Reputation
You also should consider the reputation of any CBD company you choose to grace with your trade. How long have they been in operation, and what kind of image do they present to the UK public? Are they transparent with their hemp sourcing and growing, their CBD oil extraction, and production processes? What are UK customers saying about them?
Third-Party Lab Tests
The best companies in the UK's CBD product market will stand behind everything they sell with independent laboratory testing, and they make the results of those tests public, usually on their own websites. These tests are important for letting consumers know exactly what they are consuming, and help ensure potency and purity in the finished CBD oil tincture. If a company won’t tell you what is in their CBD oil product, we advise against purchasing it. This is true of CBD for humans as well as CBD for dogs.
The Three Types of CBD Oil
While quality and product safety are noteworthy concerns in choosing a CBD tincture, they aren’t the only things that matter for UK consumers. One significant factor to explore is what kind of CBD will work best to achieve your ends.
There is only one kind of CBD oil that exists in nature, but you’ll find three main types of CBD offered in CBD tinctures. These are full spectrum CBD, broad spectrum CBD, and CBD isolate, and the differences between these CBD oils lie in the other organic compounds from hemp that are included in the finished CBD oil product.
All of the various cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids present in hemp plants have their own specific effects, as well as modifying effects on other compounds when taken together. Because of this, including or excluding particular compounds can tailor the effect of the CBD product for individual needs.
Full spectrum CBD contains all of the many cannabinoids from the hemp plant, including small amounts of THC. While full spectrum CBD oil can contain up to 0.3% THC, the UK legal limit on THC content is less than 0.2%. So, often you’ll see products in the UK labelled as full spectrum CBD, when they are actually broad spectrum CBD products.
What’s broad spectrum CBD, you ask?
Broad spectrum CBD is the exact same CBD oil as full spectrum CBD, only the THC has been filtered out. Nevertheless, broad spectrum CBD still retains almost all of the other desirable organic compounds from the hemp plant. Broad spectrum CBD should be considered a robust CBD oil in that regard, full of health-boosting cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids.
Lastly, there is CBD isolate. CBD isolate is simply cannabidiol with no other cannabinoids, terpenes, or flavonoids present. It is 99-percent pure CBD. Isolating the pure CBD from the other compounds removes any primary or interactive effects of those compounds. Eliminating those other compounds and their effects can be useful for determining how CBD will affect the user without the potential complication presented by multiple active ingredients and their interactions.
Your own wellness goals should inform which type of CBD is most appropriate for you, as some work better than others depending on the goal in mind. Additionally, all of these types of CBD can be combined with other ingredients to enhance or reduce specific effects, depending on the intended application.
Finding a Premium CBD Oil 2022
We hope this CBD oil shopping guide has given you the direction you need to find the CBD oil tincture best suited to meet your health and wellness goals in 2022. It’s a big CBD market here in the UK, with a lot of CBD products to choose from. We are happy to help you navigate this exciting world of natural health and wellness aids. Please remember to buy only safe, premium CBD oil products from reputable sellers, and consider how the sometimes subtle differences in CBD formulas can make a noticeable difference in the resulting effect. Happy shopping!
This article was written in cooperation with CBDfx