How to Use CBD Oil: Dos the Way You Use It Matter?

If you’re among the many people who want to try out CBD oil for the first time, chances are that you might not yet know everything about it. Naturally, you’ll start questioning how to use CBD oil, what its effects are and how much of it you need.

It’s fine if you don’t know yet, but it would be for the best to learn about all these topics first before buying CBD oil or its products. We’re here to help you with that. Keep on reading to find out how do you take CBD oil and get other essential information about CBD and its products. 

How to Use CBD Oil

If you’re looking for CBD products you might be surprised by how many different CBD products you can find on the market. They range from basic oils to more surprising finds such as CBD gummies. Seeing that you have this many options you might get lost and find it hard to choose which one to use and how to take CBD oil overall. 

This “How to Use CBD Oil” guide is here to help. Let’s cover a few ways to take CBD oil, talk about their pros and cons and how they work. So, if you’ve been wondering how do you take CBD oil, you’re about to have your question answered.

Keep on reading to find out!

Orally

One of the easiest ways how to use CBD oil is to take it orally. You can simply purchase some CBD oil and ingest it directly. However, many complain about the unpleasant taste that CBD oil has so it might not be for everyone. However, there are alternatives to simply ingesting plain CBD oil. 

The alternative you have here is CBD edibles. You can try cooking with CBD oil, adding it as dressing for salads or using it in some of your baking recipes. Also, there are ready-made products for you to try out, such as CBD gummies, or other foods or drinks induced with CBD.

When it comes to the way how CBD is absorbed after being taken orally, once CBD is ingested in any way that you choose, it goes through the whole digestive tract. After it’s digested it goes directly to your liver. The liver does the job of metabolizing.

Your liver is full of enzymes that are made to metabolize drugs and supplements choosing the substances that end up in your bloodstream and getting rid of the unusable remnants. Once it’s metabolized it ends up in your bloodstream. This way it affects your endocannabinoid system that is full of CBD receptors and provides the desired effects.

It’s important to note that this way is one of the slowest ways to take CBD oil. That must be the biggest downside of taking CBD orally. It can take up to 6 hours for CBD to kick in once you consume it. However, digesting it, you get CBD to stay in your system for the longest time, compared to other methods mentioned here.

It’s definitely the best way to take CBD oil if you’re looking for a longer-lasting effect. 

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Sublingually

If ingesting CBD orally doesn’t appeal to you, and you’re still looking for ways how to take CBD oil, an alternative could be taking it sublingually. The reason why it’s a popular option is that there are many capillaries under your tongue^[1] by which the CBD can be absorbed into the bloodstream. 

What’s important to mention in this “How to Use CBD Oil” guide is that not only are the capillaries beneath your tongue responsible for the CBD absorption, but also the gums and cheeks. It’s often believed that simply putting a few drops under the tongue is enough.

The reality is a little different. If you’d like to maximize the effectiveness of CBD oil, then after spraying or dripping the CBD oil under your tongue, you should swish some oil in your mouth for a minute or two. This way more CBD will be absorbed in your system and you’ll get better effects. 

This method is a little quicker than the previously mentioned oral ingestion way. You’ll get your results quicker since there’s a direct bloodstream absorption. However, many argue that the major part of the CBD oil still gets swallowed and this way isn’t much different than the ingestion one.

I believe it’s worth a try, and if you’re still struggling to find the best way to take CBD oil, you should try out both of these methods, and the other ones that follow, to see which one works best for you. 

Topically

One of the often desired effects of CBD is pain and inflammation relief. In this case, the topical method is the best way to take CBD oil. While most of the other methods aren’t as commonly used for inflammation or pain relief, this one is the most common way how to take CBD oil if you’re looking for this kind of relief. 

The most common way to implement is this method is by using CBD creams, lotions, and patches. Using them, CBD diffuses across your skin reaching inflamed muscles, cells, or nerves. This method is commonly prescribed for issues like arthritis, and many others that cause pain and inflammation.

However, if your goal is any of the other effects such as easing nausea, anxiety or insomnia, this isn’t the way to go. None or barely any of the CBD assimilates to your bloodstream. Without that none other than the areas that are in direct contact with the CBD are targeted. Because of that, you definitely shouldn’t expect these results. 

When it comes to the time frame of the CBD absorption, there isn’t a definite answer. However, when tackling the issue of pain, this is definitely the fastest method to use. It’s important to note that your skin isn’t as absorbent as your capillaries are, and because of that, you should choose a product that’s high in CBD.

So, if you’re dealing with pain and looking up how to use CBD oil, you should definitely consider using topicals. This method would probably benefit you the most. Also, you should consider combining it with the other methods for the best results of taking CBD. 

By Inhalation

Another one of the ways to take CBD oil is by inhaling it. You must already have guessed that smelling a hemp or cannabis plant won’t do. The way to do it is by smoking or vaping.

It’s a rather controversial way since there have been many debates on the strong negative effects on your lungs and the whole respiratory system, so you should take caution using it.

However, if this doesn’t scare you, you still have the option to consider the inhaling method. One of the most popular ways to do it is by using a vaporizer. It’s quite a common way to take CBD oil. If you’re interested in this way to consume CBD, check out some of the best CBD vape juice providers such as CBDfx or Hemp Bombs. 

If you’re looking into vaping you should consider getting a high-quality vape pen. You should avoid anything that has propylene glycol in the components list. You'd be best off opting for ceramics for a better vaping experience.

It’s important as bad quality vape pens might produce a too hot vapor or while heating might get hazardous components of the pen into your bloodstream. 

Another one of the ways how to use CBD oil is by smoking it. Hemp plant’s flowers or even cannabis, if it’s legal where you live, can be smoked and this way your body is provided with CBD.

Although it’s one of the most harmful ways to take CBD oil. While inhaling vapor is a controversial topic, it’s known that inhaling smoke can definitely damage your lungs. 

If you’re curious about the process of how CBD is absorbed when you inhale it, I’m here to tell you all about it. If we got deep into details, there would be a lot of biochemistry involved, but let’s try to put it simply. 

Once inhaled the CBD infused smoke or vapor travels through your whole respiratory system. Finally, it ends up in the lungs where the CBD is absorbed into the bloodstream. This is the quickest way to get CBD. It’s said that after 10 minutes you’ll have absorbed around 34 to 56% of the CBD^[2]. 

However, it’s worth mentioning that if you looked up “how do you take CBD oil” hoping for long-lasting effects, this method might not be for you. Since it’s absorbed rapidly, there’s not much of CBD left in your system after an hour or two. 

So, if you’re looking for a quick relief rather than long-lasting calming effects of the CBD this method is for you. Even though it might be tempting to use this way of taking CBD, you should remember that by smoking or vaping CBD you might get exposed to cancerogenes or other health hazards. 

Which Method Is the Best For Me?

Now that all of the most common ways how to use CBD oil are presented you have to make a choice which one to use. Even though the advantages and disadvantages are stated clearly it might still be hard to choose as all of them offer quite good qualities. 

To determine which way to use you must first understand which health problem that CBD is said to ease you want to tackle first. For example, if you’re looking to ease anxiety before a long hectic day, you might consider taking CBD either orally or sublingually, as this way CBD stays in your system for longer.

If you’re looking to ease muscle pain or inflammation caused by an injury you should probably consider topicals. This way the problem is addressed directly and rapidly and you get the effects quickly instead of waiting until CBD travels all through your bloodstream before tackling the problem of pain.

Furthermore, if you looked up how to use CBD oil because you're feeling extremely stressed and need a quick fix, you should probably opt for vaping or smoking. The calming effects would then be felt quickly and you would avoid all the waiting for the CBD to kick in. 

However, it’s important to remember that each person is an individual. While we can notice some tendencies when it comes to ways how to use CBD oil, you should experiment with each of the ways to find which one works for you. Also, you could try combining these methods to get the best results. 

Conclusions

Figuring out the ways how to use CBD oil might get tricky. At first glance, you might get overwhelmed by the fact that there isn’t one answer to the question of “how to use CBD oil?”. Simply for that reason, we decided to present the most popular options. 

Some of the ways to do it include ingesting it orally, which provides longer-lasting effects than most of the other ways, taking it sublingually, which is known to be a bit faster than the oral way.

Also, you have the option of using topicals. They’re known to provide quick and direct pain relief. Using this method you won’t have to wait for the CBD to be absorbed into the bloodstream for it to work.

The last of the most popular options is inhaling it. It can be done by either smoking or vaping. This method is rather controversial for the possible danger to your health, but it’s known to be one of the quickest working ways how to use CBD oil. You should consider all the options and pick one or combine them to find what works for you. 

If after reading this “How to Use CBD oil” you’re tempted to start using CBD for amazing health improvements it promises, you may now need to make a choice of which oil to use. To make it easier for you, we made a guide of the best CBD oil providers on the market. Also, you may choose CBD vape oil or even CBD gummies if they appeal to you more. 

Scientific References

Contributed by Molly Devine, Registered Dietitian

1. Naumova E., Dierkes T., Sprang J. et al. 'The oral mucosal surface and blood vessels'

2. Millar S., Stone N., Yates A., et al. 'A Systematic Review on the Pharmacokinetics of Cannabidiol in Humans'