For those still finding their way around CBDs, it’s easy for them to become overwhelmed with the high number of product types already in the market. All these options weren’t available less than a decade ago. But times have changed, and today you can get your hands on CBD tincture, bath bombs, oil, drinks, topicals, edibles, and many more.
CBD makes for an enormous and largely unregulated billion-dollar industry. Misinformation in the industry isn’t making things any easier for would-be clients. Don’t be fooled into believing that CBD products, e.g., oil is legal all over the United States. The reality is that each state has the mandate to either explicitly legalize CBD or provide guidelines on how to acquire it.
Some consumers also find the products being highly confusing. For instance, how do you differentiate a CBD oil from a tincture when browsing through an e-commerce store selling the two as separate items? Do these two have any differences?
CBD Oil—What Is It?
Often, you will find the terms ‘CBD oil’ and ‘tincture’ being used interchangeably. For most customers, the major confusion lies in that both products are often sold in bottles that look the same and which feature similar droppers.
CBD oil is manufactured through a process that involves extracting the oil from the flowers of a hemp plant. Several extraction methods are currently in use. The most common are supercritical CO2 extraction and using butane as a solvent.
The butane method isn’t highly recommended as it tends to leave behind residues which may pose serious health concerns. Supercritical CO2 extraction, on the other hand, is cleaner, and much safer.
Compared to other CBD products, the oil tends to have a higher CBD percentage. Some CBD oil products may have as much as 100mg of CBD for each 1ml. CBD oil is often used for its relaxation benefits, as it allows users to become relaxed within a few minutes after ingestion.
CBD Tincture—What Is It?
The main difference between tincture and oil is in their composition. Referring to any product using a phrase such as ‘CBD oil tincture’ doesn’t help matters. All it does is add to the confusion. However, it’s possible to differentiate the two CBD products.
When a product is referred to as a tincture, it means that the product is a liquid extract that has been combined with additional ingredients, e.g., peppermint oil or cinnamon oil and vegetable glycerin(VG).
Tinctures are created by taking the hemp’s organic matter and soaking it in a water or alcohol solution. This is then left alone for a few weeks allowing the natural compounds contained in the plant to soak into the water/alcohol solution.
Once the cannabinoids become enough, the manufacturer then uses a filter to strain the liquid. Filtration is done to leave the chlorophyll-laden highly bitter plant matter behind. As such, a tincture refers to any medicine stored in an alcohol-based solution.
Its proponents claim tinctures have a better taste compared to CBD oil. Tinctures are highly versatile as you can add them to drinks or foods without taking them through the manufacturing process.
