How to Use CBD Oil: A Complete Guide

How to Use CBD Oil

If you’re new to the world of CBD, there is plenty to learn when wondering how to use CBD oil. You’ll need to figure out which method you want to consume it, find the best dosage fit for your body, consider the symptoms you’re using CBD for, make sure there are no other drugs you take that may interfere, and even more. There are a surprising amount of decisions to make but we’ve got you covered!

A Brief Introduction

You may not be super familiar with CBD yet. That’s alright, we’re here to give a brief introduction of this miracle substance! First off, the CBD definition – it’s a natural, non-psychoactive molecule found in hemp and marijuana (meaning it doesn’t get you high). It has a wide variety of therapeutic benefits and other health benefits.

While we’re all about reaping the benefits of CBD, this article focuses more specifically on the ways you can take CBD oil and what else to look out for when figuring out how to use it.

How Should I Take CBD Oil?

If you’ve never taken CBD oil, how to use it is a great subject to educate yourself on. Let’s start off with the various ways you can consume it. There are more than you’d think!

Tinctures & CBD Oils

Tinctures are the most common type of CBD oil. Although tinctures should technically only be products that extract the CBD using alcohol, many companies label their products as tinctures when they use other extraction methods.

Tinctures or oils contain pure CBD, a carrier oil, and occasionally a natural flavoring to improve the taste. The most common way to consume tinctures is by simply dropping the pure CBD oil under the tongue and holding there for at least a minute. This allows the CBD to absorb more effectively through sublingual glands. It’s twice as effective compared to immediately swallowing it!

Tinctures can also be added to food or drink recipes, and even topical products like creams by simply dropping them in. You could purchase edible products from specialty stores (if CBD is legal in your state). The downside of this is that the CBD oil dosage is typically low, while the products are spendy.

Adding it into your own recipes allows you to save money, control your dosage, and have complete power over what you’re eating or drinking with CBD. We’ll talk more about edibles a few paragraphs below.

Vaping

Some people wonder how to use CBD oil in vape pen. First of all, regular CBD oil tinctures should never be put into a vape pen. They’re simply not made for it. That being said, there are oils made specifically for vaping, usually called vape juices or vape oils.

Plenty of people prefer vaping because it’s easy to use – you just refill the pen and start taking puffs. It also has a higher bioavailability (meaning more of the product gets absorbed into your bloodstream). This lets you use less product and get the same effects. Not only that, but you can feel the effects more quickly.

The cons? Although you feel the effects more quickly, they don’t last as long as when you take them orally. You also have to invest in the vape pen as well, which will set you back $50 or more (for a good quality pen). In addition, most CBD oil vape refills and cartridges tend to be spendier than regular tinctures when comparing overall value.

Edibles

Edible CBD products are popping up in health food stores everywhere. Here are a few examples of what you can find:

  • Drinks such as tea, lemonade, kombucha, and coffee
  • Foods and treats like cookies, donuts, and brownies
  • Some trendy smoothie, ice cream, and coffee shops even offer the option to add CBD for premium prices (if it’s legal where you live)

As yummy as this may be, it’s not an optimal method to choose when deciding how to use CBD oil if you want to consume the substance regularly. The absorption rate is half that of taking regular CBD oil sublingually (absorbed under the tongue).

This means around 6% of the CBD is absorbed into your blood, which means you double the dose to feel the same effects. Not just that, but edible products you buy in stores are very spendy and usually contain a low dosage.

Like we mentioned a few paragraphs above, you can DIY and add CBD to your own products at home! You don’t need to do anything special – simply drop it into your drink or food recipe, and there are several types of CBD oil that have completely different effects. Isolate cannabidiol oil (CBD) products are best for this because they’re tasteless. Full spectrum contains strong hemp tastes, but has all of the plant molecules for more health benefits.

Capsules

Another convenient way to take CBD is through daily capsules. This method has the same lower bioavailability as edible products. However, it’s simple to add CBD pills to the collection if you already take pills every day.

Topical Applications

Topical products have their purpose as well. These include products such as CBD creams, patches, and skincare items. They’re most commonly used for symptoms that vaping or tinctures can’t reach. A couple of these include targeted pain (such as joint pain, sore muscles, or back pain) and skin problems.

They have their downfalls – for one, these products aren’t usually as good of a value. You also need to use more of them to get the same effects. These effects don’t last as long, so you’ll have to reapply often. Overall, they’re not as convenient.

Patches are a little easier and very effective for areas of pain! Unfortunately, they’re pretty pricey.

Isolate

Many people wonder how to use CBD isolate. This is simply a concentrated and pure form of CBD, which usually comes in a powder. There are also tinctures and other CBD products that use isolate rather than full spectrum. If you choose the powder, it’s very versatile! You can mix it into creams, foods, beverages, or simply place some under your tongue. This CBD concentrate is usually a better value product as well.

The only downfall is the fact that isolate CBD processes out all of the extra plant molecules, which can provide additional health benefits.

What Is Full Spectrum CBD Oil?

Since we mentioned isolate, we figured we’d share briefly about its counterpart – full spectrum. Full spectrum CBD oils are unprocessed and contain ALL of the hemp plant molecules.

This includes terpenes and hundreds of other muscle recovery beneficial parts of the plant. They offer additional health benefits and have even shown to have an entourage effect when paired with CBD.

The downfall is that full spectrum has a much stronger taste – some even say it tastes like marijuana. Some people find it’s too strong for them to take by itself, so they mix it into food or drinks, or simply use isolate instead.

This strong taste is because terpenes are responsible for the flavors, smells, and colors found in all plants. Even so, they also have a wide array of proven health benefits. You can even buy hemp terpenes on their own! If you’re wondering how to use CBD terpenes, many people use them similarly to CBD (such as under the tongue or adding to drinks or food).

Many prefer full spectrum oil in order to reap the additional benefits of terpenes without any extra effort.

How Much CBD Should I Take?

Getting the dosage right is another integral part of taking CBD. This can be tricky because CBD doesn’t have an official dosage or serving size set by the FDA. There are all kinds of dosage recommendations spread throughout the internet, so you may not know where to start.

Although you can’t overdose as shown in this study, you’ll probably only want to take as much as you need since these products are expensive. More CBD doesn’t mean more hemp oil benefits, so you don’t want to waste. How do you figure this out?

Your perfect dosage will depend on a few factors.

  • The symptoms you plan to use CBD for
  • Body mass (some people need less, some need more)
  • Your previous experience with cannabis or CBD

First, you’ll need to figure out the symptoms that you plan to use CBD for. Pain? Anxiety? This could be a big factor in deciding how to take CBD oil. You can find nearly all of the benefits on our CBD oil benefits list. Once you figure this out, you can decide which method you’ll be using. Tinctures and vaping are two of the most popular.

There are always recommended doses on the bottles, but some people need less or more to feel full effects. It’s always good to start low! Individuals with more body mass will require more CBD to experience full effects. The best dose might also change if you’re more experienced with cannabis. That being said, it’s a smart idea to play around and see what works best for you.

What Drugs Should Not Be Taken with CBD?

If you have any medications that explicitly state you shouldn’t take it with grapefruit, you shouldn’t combine it with CBD as well. As strange as it sounds, there’s a chemical in grapefruit that is also in CBD. That being said, it’s always safe to check with your doctor before deciding to consume CBD regularly.

How to Use CBD Oil for Particular Symptoms

Pain Relief

Pain is one of the most common symptoms that CBD is used for. It helps with arthritis, back pain, joint aches, cancer pain, muscle recovery, and all other types of pain! Your ideal method of consumption will vary, depending on which type of pain you’re trying to target.

For most pain-related symptoms, many people prefer a topical product such as a CBD cream for pain that can be applied directly to the skin. This allows the CBD to target that specific area of pain better. The only downside is the effects fade quickly, so you need to keep reapplying to keep up the effects. Patches are more effective because they can penetrate into the bloodstream and the effects last longer, but they’re also more expensive.

There are also topical products like bath bombs and soaks that are effective for sore muscles. These tend to be more expensive. You can even drop some of your regular CBD tincture into the bathtub!

On the other hand, you might prefer vaping or sublingual tinctures if your pain occurs in multiple areas of the body (such as cancer-related pain).

Anxiety + Depression

CBD helps millions of people worldwide fight anxiety and depression. How to use CBD oil for anxiety? Vaping and tinctures are the most common methods. Capsules are great as well because they’re easy to take daily, but aren’t usually as good of a value.

Sleep

Many people wonder how to use CBD oil for sleep after hearing numerous success stories. It’s true – CBD is a great sleep aid! It helps you relax and targets many symptoms that can affect sleep. It reduces anxiety and pain that might keep you up at night. There are some sleep aids that effectively combine CBD and melatonin.

There aren’t many negative CBD effects or side effects, but one of the most common is drowsiness. This is why some people find that CBD is a great sleep aid – it makes them sleepy when they take too much! If this is the only side effect you experience, it’s a great way to put yourself to sleep.

Acne + Skincare

CBD is the new Proactive! Many people are finding that this natural substance helps immensely with acne, rosacea, and other skin issues. The only way to effectively target these issues is with a topical product such as a skin cream or cleanser.

IBS + Menstrual Cramps

Explaining how to use CBD oil for IBS or menstrual cramps is a little awkward. You could try using tinctures or vaping, but suppositories are the most effective method for these symptoms. These are placed directly into the areas of pain, aka into the vagina for menstrual cramps. For IBS… you get the gist.

This isn’t the ideal consumption method, but it greatly helps people with severe symptoms in these areas.

Cancer Potential 

How to use CBD oil for cancer is a tough subject. New evidence that cannabinoids have anticancer properties and could even help kill cancer cells is an incredible discovery. This study shows some promising results. After seeing this, cancer patients will likely want to pump their veins full of it in hopes of eliminating cancer.

However, the findings are still very new and nothing is set in stone yet. You definitely shouldn’t replace doctor-recommended treatments, but there’s no reason not to try taking CBD hemp oil and see what type of benefits you experience! There are even more studies that show CBD can improve appetite and sense of taste for those going through chemotherapy. It also helps relieve pain.

Many cancer patients find that vaping is an effective method since you’ll feel relief very quickly and it has a much better absorption rate. Taking tinctures sublingually works as well if you’re hesitant about vaping.

Bottom Line

That just about sums up our article! If you’re interested in CBD oil, how to use it is an important subject to learn about so you can make the best use of your money and get the fullest benefits. Some products are more cost-effective, have quicker effects, easier to use, more beneficial for particular symptoms, and other quirks.

We hope you found everything you were looking for how to use CBD oil! If you want to find out more, hit us up in the comment section below!

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