Beauties, CBD is something that, although it has been popular for a while, still has a lot of myths and confusion surrounding it. So today, we thought we’d provide a little guide giving an overview of the main three types of CBD you’ll find in products, what to look out for and what the benefits are!
So what is CBD?
CBD is a cannabinoid found in the marijuana. It is one of more than 100 cannabinoids, which are compounds found throughout the cannabis and hemp plants.
Cannabis plants have higher than 0.3% of THC, the psychoactive part of the plant.
Hemp plants have lower than 0.3% of THC, which is the legal limit. Therefore, CBD in the UK is mainly derived from hemp to keep within legal limits.
Firstly, let’s talk about the different types of CBD you’ll see:
- CBD Isolate is simply purified CBD that has been extracted from the marijuana plant and isolated from the other terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids.
- Broad spectrum – contains a range of naturally occurring compounds from the cannabis plant, but typically no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
- Full spectrum – this contains all other cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant including CBN (Cannabinol), CBG (Cannabigerol), and THCV (Tetrahydrocannabivarin), to name a few along with CBD of course. It also contains trace amounts of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), but in very low concentrations (up to .3%), resulting in very minimal psychoactive stimulation.
- You’ll also often find Hemp Seed Oil in CBD products. This is not CBD, but has similar properties but is often uses as the carrier oil for the CBD product. We’ve got a feature all about Hemp Seed Oil here.
Ultimately, the full spectrum CBD is more effective as the other trace elements all work together beautifully, and the THC acts to open the doors to make the CBD work better within the body. Legally in the UK, you cannot use more than 0.3% of THC, which means that the amount of psychoactive stimulation is very minimal, even when it is present.
Although it has been proven by a study from Lautenberg Center for General Tumor Immunology in Jerusalem (http://file.scirp.org/pdf/PP_2015021016351567.pdf) that ultimately, full spectrum CBD is more effective and provides greater relief, this does not discredit CBD isolate. Some people may have negative reactions to some of the other cannabinoids, so it would be wise to speak to a medical consultant before trying full spectrum CBD.
Here’s a great chart showing the different types of cannabinoid:
Got that? Let’s move on to the benefits of CBD:
CBD Isolate
CBD isolate is most useful for people who must refrain from having THC in their system. The benefits you may feel from CBD isolate include:
- Pain relief
- Inflammation and swelling
- Anxiety
- In its pure form, it is tasteless and hasn’t got a scent.
Broad Spectrum CBD is considered more effective as…
- It contains various cannabinoids and they work in synergy together to increase the therapeutic effects.
- It has all the good terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids that are found in full spectrum, it has all of those benefits but without the THC and potential ‘high’ effect.
When you’re looking at full spectrum, the therapeutic effects are increased in comparison to Isolate…. these are the added effects:
- Boosts the immune system
- May counteract the formation of tumours
- Could prevent vomiting
- Includes terpenes, which have anti-inflammatory properties, and are regarded as increasing the efficacy of cannabinoids.
- Cannabinoids CBN and CBG for example, are found in most full-spectrum extracts and studies have shown that both contain anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and pain relieving properties.
Products that use CBD Isolate
Apothem Labs Bath Salts
If you’re a bathing beauty, you’ll love these! These salts contain Pure CBD bath salts enriched with hard-working botanicals and minerals, including repairing ARNICA, comforting EPSOM SALTS and soothing MAGNESIUM. It’s a triple-salt blend, which must be what is giving it that fabulously unusual texture, is a wonderful way to unwind and soothe weary bodies after a long day. They smell lovely and a nice luxury addition to a bath with the addition of CBD for their added benefits!
Buy the bath salts from Apothem Labs
J’Tanicals CBD Moisturiser
I recently started trying out the J’Tanicals CBD Moisturiser which I thought was particularly interesting as it not only has CBD, but it also utilises probiotic technology in it’s formulation.
With CBD Isolate, this lovely moisturiser has a lotion-like feel, it’s fragrance and essential oil free so would be great for more sensitive skins too. It’s a lovely calming and nourishing formula to balance and soothe the skin.
Products that use CBD Full Spectrum
Graces London Products
We’ve worked with Graces London founder Shiona in the past as one of our experts at our CBD event… she knows her stuff and is a wealth of knowledge surrounding the benefits of CBD, particularly full spectrum CBD for health. She has a range of products including her launch product, which is a CBD roller ball. This works both as a facial / body oil and also absorbs into the skin to give you the added internal benefits. You can use this on the forehead for headache relief, for period pains as well as on the face as a facial oil, plus so much more. It works on so many levels.
If you’re interested in trying a full spectrum CBD tincture – Graces London also has one of these to maximise the benefits of the fabulous plant, although shes currently not selling them – keep an eye out for when they return.
When it comes to tinctures, here’s a quote from Graces London founder Shiona about the benefits of taking CBD under the tongue:
“holding CBD under the tongue is called taking CBD sublingually. There are capillaries under the tongue that allow maximum absorption of the CBD into the blood stream. Sublingual intake of CBD is one of the fastest and most effective way to take CBD. Hold for at least 30 seconds – 1 minute to allow maximum absorption.”
Products that use CBD Broad Spectrum
BeYou Oral Drops
These have had quite the effect on Jessica! Full review to come soon but she has been trying the drops to help with her sleep and yes – these have been making a big impact! The CBD in this helps to reduce inflammation in the body and aid in better sleep, to name some of the benefits. They have different strengths plus different flavours (lemon, berry and natural) to really help you customise your routine to what you need. It has been helping Jessica sleep and generally feeling a little better.
Buy the BeYou CBD Drops on BeYou
Lady A Daily Relief Patches
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate CBD into your routine but have an aversion to the taste (or you want to particularly focus the CBD to help something like period pains or arthritis…) then these patches could be the ones for you! They deliver 10MG of CBD over a 24 hour period and work to give targeted pain relief the natural way.
Lady A Evening Tincture – Relax and Unwind
This is like an evening treat and tastes like chocolate mint! This tincture works beautifully with chamomile extract to help calm your mind before you go to bed… just 5 drops under the tongue in the evening is all you need. It’s a lovely product that yes – tastes delicious but also works to help you sleep along with all the other wonderful benefits of CBD!
Fourfivecbd CBD Effervescent Multivitamin Tablets
What I love about these tablets is not only do that reap the benefits of CBD, but they also have other vitamins and minerals that are so important for the body including Vitamins – B1, B3, B6, B12 and C, Minerals – potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, Amino Acids – L-Glutamine, HMB (Calcium B-Hydroxy-B-methylbutyrate) which is an absolutely amazing profile as they all work synergistically together to support the body. Jessica’s partner has been trialling this and he’s been getting the best nights sleep he’s had in a long time because of them, as well as making him generally feel better in himself.
Finally, when looking for a product with CBD, a good starting point is to make sure that the brand includes lab results on their website which demonstrates the levels of CBD within their products. BeYou demonstrate this wonderfully on their website.
Cover image Erin Stone by Pixabay
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