How to Use CBD Oil

If using CBD is new to you, you may be wondering how to use CBD oil to see the most benefits. There are so many CBD products on the market today, it can be overwhelming to know which to try and how to find a quality CBD company to buy from.

We’re breaking all the considerations of how to use CBD oil down for you in this guide, starting with understanding the bioavailability of CBD oil and how that impacts its use.

Bioavailability of CBD Oil

When it comes to determining how to use CBD oil, understanding bioavailability is one of the most important factors. 

The bioavailability of any active compound - such as CBD - is the percentage of a given serving that ends up being available for your body to use. A bioavailability of 100% would mean that 100% of the CBD in a product is available to your body.

But a bioavailability of 100% is only achievable through injection directly into the bloodstream. Every other method of consumption will result in some percentage of the CBD becoming unavailable. Some may become trapped in the body’s fatty tissues, for example, or metabolized before it actually enters the bloodstream.

Because each method of CBD oil consumption - such as CBD oil tinctures, CBD softgels and CBD gummies - has a different range of bioavailability, it’s important to consider that factor when choosing the right CBD oil product for you.

Now that we understand bioavailability, let’s talk about some other factors to consider when exploring how to use CBD oil.

How to Use CBD Oil: Things to Consider

Aside from a CBD product’s bioavailability, there are lots of other factors to consider when choosing how to use CBD oil, including what result you’re looking for and when and how you want to take CBD.

How Long Does CBD Take to Have an Effect?

How long a CBD product takes to have an effect depends on several factors, including the type of CBD oil itself and the method of consumption. Edible products, such as CBD gummies, for example, typically take longer to take effect than CBD tinctures. The onset of edibles typically takes anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour, while tinctures can take up to 20 minutes.

The onset of CBD effects can also be impacted by factors related to the human body itself. The number of cannabinoid receptors in the body, how they are expressed and how your body produces endocannabinoids, for example, can be impacted by age, weight, health, metabolism and other factors. If you produce fewer endocannabinoids, you may be more sensitive to CBD than someone with an abundance of the neurotransmitter.

How Much CBD Oil Should I Take?

Much like the bioavailability of CBD oil and the time to take effect, the ideal serving of CBD depends on several factors. These include the product being used, the concentration of CBD in the product, an individual’s genetic makeup, gender, weight and other health factors.

While some CBD products list a suggested serving size, these are not one size fits all. The recommended serving size could be too small or too high, depending on the individual and the reason for use.

Serving sizes also vary from product to product because CBD oil products contain varying amounts of CBD. One product might contain 10mg of CBD per serving, for example, while another contains 50mg per serving. Similarly, full spectrum CBD and broad spectrum CBD are typically more effective even at smaller servings, thanks to the entourage effect of terpenes and other cannabinoids. For this reason, it’s important to read all labels carefully when purchasing and using any CBD product.

Perhaps the most important factor to consider when determining how to use CBD for wellness, is the effect you are interested in when you use CBD products. Your ideal serving size will vary depending on your desired results.

At the end of the day, determining a serving size of CBD oil is not always a simple answer, and will depend on your goals, your health and the products you choose. That being said, let’s explore some of the CBD products available and their uses.

Choosing CBD Oil Products

We’ve said it a few times now, but when it comes to figuring out how to use CBD oil in a way that supports your health, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The same is true in regards to choosing a CBD product.

When you’re figuring out ways to take CBD oil, it’s important to consider a few factors to find the product that’s right for you:

• Lifestyle Considerations: Some products are more convenient and easier to take on the go. Others are simply more enjoyable to use.
• Use Considerations: Some methods of consumption are better for certain uses. If you’re using CBD to support skin health, a topical CBD product could work best. If you want to support good sleep patterns, CBD softgels with melatonin might be more beneficial. While CBD alone does not improve sleep, the melatonin in these softgels can help you get a better night of rest.
• Time Considerations: CBD products take different amounts of time to take effect. If you need faster effects, a tincture may be a better fit than a gummy.
• Bioavailability Considerations: CBD oil is not inexpensive, much like vitamins, minerals and other supplements. To get the most value for your money, you’ll want to ensure the CBD product you choose as a high bioavailability.

Ready to explore some of the types of CBD oils and other products available? Read on for the pros and cons of each below.

CBD Oils and Tinctures

CBD oils and tinctures are typically used at home in the morning and the evening, but can also be used throughout the day. They typically take effect within about 20 minutes, so they’re perfect for using before bed or in any situation where time is a consideration.

Tinctures can be messy, however, so they’re not the best choice for travel or if you’ll need to use CBD on the go. CBD tinctures also usually come in a breakable bottle, so if you have an active job or want a product you can take with you on a day in nature, a tincture is probably not your best option.

Are tinctures effective?

Tinctures are generally considered very safe, but it's not recommended that one go into it blindly, given that they also can be very powerful. 

What is a tincture and how does it work?

Tinctures are concentrated herbal extracts made by soaking the bark, berries, leaves (dried or fresh), or roots from one or more plants in alcohol or vinegar. The alcohol or vinegar pulls out the active ingredients in the plant parts, concentrating them as a liquid

To apply a tincture sublingually, simply load up the dropper with the desired amount, and squirt the liquid out under your tongue. Make sure to keep the extract there for 60 – 180 seconds. Afterward, you can swish the remaining liquid around your mouth before swallowing it.

Top 5 Ways to Use Tinctures:

1. Sublingually. Using the dropper, simply dispense your desired dose directly under your tongue.
2. Infused into a favorite beverage. Using the dropper, dispense your desired dose directly into a beverage and consume.
3. Infused into a favorite food or meal.
4. Added to other edibles.
5. Orally.

CBD Oil Capsules

CBD oil capsules are generally delivered orally. Made with gelatin, capsules melt within minutes in your stomach and deliver the full serving of CBD oil there, ensuring none gets absorbed into the tissues of your mouth or throat. Capsules are also perfect for taking on the go, because they won’t make a mess and can be taken just about anywhere.

Palleviate’s CBD softgels also boost bioavailability thanks to nano-emulsion technology, which reduces the size of the CBD oil droplets and results in significantly higher absorption into the blood. Because of this, a smaller serving size is typically needed to produce the same results as traditional CBD oil. 

Because they are in capsule form, however, CBD softgels can take longer to have an effect than some other forms of CBD, such as an CBD tincture.

CBD-Infused Topicals

CBD topicals include products like skin creams, balms, salves and oils. These products can contain pure CBD or a full spectrum or broad spectrum CBD oil with other beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes. Topicals also often have a variety of other beneficial ingredients designed to affect the skin, such as moisturizers, vitamin E, collagen, aloe and more.

Topicals are ideal for targeted effects on a particular area of the skin or body because they deliver CBD and other ingredients directly where they can have the biggest impact. However, they can take some time to apply and can be a little messy, so they may not be good for on-the-go use.

How to Use CBD Oil: Tips for Beginners

Now that we’ve explored the factors to consider when choosing a CBD oil or other CBD product, let’s take a look at some tips for CBD oil beginners. If you’re new to using CBD oil for wellness or specific wellness challenges, be sure to read through the tips below.

• Start with one product. It’s important to research your CBD product options carefully before starting one, and to stick with that product for awhile. This will help you determine the effects of that particular product. If you switch between different products it will be harder to determine its impact and your ideal serving size.

 

• Start with a low dose. When you first start determining how to use CBD oil, it’s a good idea to start with a small serving size. This allows you to examine your body’s reaction to CBD. We recommend starting with 1mg of CBD for every 20 pounds of body weight. For example, someone weighing 100 pounds should start with 5mg of CBD, while someone weighing over 200 pounds could start with 10mg.

 

• Start before bedtime. Starting to use CBD oil at night ensures that if CBD tends to make your drowsy, you’re not impacted during the daytime. If you experience no issues with drowsiness, then you can try taking the same serving size in the morning. Once you’ve determined your reaction to CBD, you can take it as needed throughout the day.

 

• Increase serving size slowly. If you experience no unwanted impacts but also haven’t achieved your desired CBD benefits, doubling your serving of CBD is typically the next step. Be sure to try the new serving size for at least a few days to determine how your body reacts.

Where to Buy CBD Oil Products

Once you’ve determined the type of CBD product that’s right for you, it’s time to find a company from which to buy your CBD oil and other CBD products. Much like CBD oil itself, CBD companies are not all created equal.

If you want the most value for your money and the most CBD benefits from the products you choose, it’s important to find the best CBD company that provides high quality, premium grade CBD oil. To that end, let’s explore some of the things to consider when choosing a CBD company to shop with.

Preferred Hemp Source

Hemp is farmed all over the world and not all hemp is created equal. While the United States only recently started to rebuild its hemp production, the U.S. produces some of the best cannabis and hemp products in the world.

Industrial hemp is primarily grown for its seeds and fibers, and is not developed to produce high levels of cannabinoids and terpenes. PCR hemp, on the other hand, was specifically grown to be rich in these powerful compounds.

If a CBD company states that their CBD was extracted from industrial hemp, it’s safe to assume that the product is either lower in CBD and terpenes than a CBD product from PCR hemp, or that is has been further processed and refined and lost some of its natural balance of cannabinoids and other compounds. This is why Palleviate products are always made from CBD derived from PCR hemp.

Quality of Other Ingredients

In nearly all CBD products, CBD oil is not the only ingredient. When choosing a CBD company to shop with, it’s important to also pay attention to the quality of their other ingredients. 

Oils like hemp seed oil, coconut oil and almond oil are generally healthy and high quality. But if a product contains ingredients you can’t pronounce or that sound like chemicals, the CBD manufacturer could be trying to cut corners or find inexpensive ingredients for their products.

If you're ever in doubt about an ingredient in a CBD product, be sure to do an internet search and you should be able to determine whether it's safe and healthy for use.

Quality Testing

Another important factor to keep in mind when choosing a CBD company is whether their products have gone through third-party lab testing. Most high quality manufacturers will send their products to outside labs to determine whether they contain contaminants and to measure the levels of cannabinoids in the product.

Because CBD oil can vary in potency from one batch to another, this third-party testing is critical to know exactly how much CBD is in each product. Third-party testing can also confirm levels of THC in CBD products.

All of Palleviate’s broad spectrum CBD products, for example, have been third-party lab tested to confirm 0.0% THC. Our full spectrum CBD products have also been third-party lab tested to confirm 0.3% THC.

Getting Started with CBD Oil

Now that we’ve explored how to use CBD oil and how to find the best CBD products for you, you may be ready to shop for CBD online. But you may also still have some questions about CBD. If you’re still wondering about whether CBD is right for you, click the button below to get answers to some of the commonly asked questions about CBD.

 

 

The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your health care professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act require this notice.