Within less than two years cannabidiol (CBD) has sounded off the tongues of mums, doctors, and internet bloggers as if it was vitamin D, caffeine, or moisturizer cream. Now, the USA’s best CBD companies have finally arrived across the pond in the United Kingdom.
The USA is flooded with reviews of CBD products. There’s tons of positive and negative reviews out there. The UK’s delayed entry into the CBD market means that if you want to buy CBD oil in the UK then you don’t need to make the same mistakes as your American friends.
We are here to help you in your search for the best CBD oil in the UK.
Below, we’ll offer you a detailed rundown of everything you need to know about CBD in the UK. Then we’ll list the best CBD oils that you can buy in the UK. You can buy CBD Oil in the UK at your local chemist, corner shop or online!
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD oil (also known as cannabidiol) can come from the hemp plant, or cannabis plant. The Home Office states that CBD must contain less than 0.2% THC. THC is short for tetrahydrocannabinol and this is the compound associated with marijuana that users high.
CBD derived from the hemp plant contains less than 0.2% THC. This means that CBD is legal in the UK, however all CBD sold in the UK must come from European derived hemp.
So remember, CBD oil cannot get you high. In the UK there is a lot of confusion around what CBD oil actually is, and the different types of CBD oil. The common forms of CBD oil come in the form of a CBD isolate, and a full-spectrum CBD.
CBD isolate contains no THC. In the extraction process, all other compounds are removed. Full-spectrum CBD contains a THC content of less than 0.2%, in the extraction process other cannabinoids are kept in the extract.
CBD Oil vs Hemp Oil
In the UK, CBD oil is regularly referred to as hemp oil, but if you buy hemp oil then you’re buying cooking oil.
Hemp oil can be bought in stores such as:
- Holland & Barrett
- Super Drug
- Boots
- Tesco
If you buy hemp oil from these stores, you are buying cooking oil that is derived from the seeds of the hemp plant. This hemp cooking oil will give you no benefits. There is a lot of confusion in the UK, so we recommend buying CBD that is actually labelled as CBD oil, and not hemp oil.
The Benefits of CBD Oil
For decades CBD research lagged behind THC. That’s because THC’s effects were easier to trace in the body and therefore easier to conduct research. And although science is now on the path towards revealing the benefits of CBD, we have little research to rely on to explain how CBD helps you and me.
We do, however, have a wealth of anecdotal evidence: consumer reviews, patient testimonies, blog articles, and news stories. They’ve all reported on possible relief for victims suffering from:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Pain
- Arthritis
- Inflammation
- Alzheimer’s
- Parkinson’s
- Diabetes
- Autism
- Insomnia
- Cancers
- Epilepsy
There’s still a long way to go to scientifically prove the usefulness of CBD for all of these conditions. The World Health Organization claims that CBD oil is “generally well tolerated with a good safety profile”.
What are the Best CBD products in the UK?
Although the most popular method of ingesting CBD is in an oil, it’s not the only way. Here are some products you can buy today that contain CBD:
Tinctures are often synonymous with CBD oils. These are small bottles with single-serve droppers. You can ingest tinctures, or you can add the oil to foods and drinks.
Vapes boast fast absorption rates, with effects beginning seconds after inhaling and peaking within ten minutes. They come in a variety of flavors and can be infused with natural essences. You can buy vapes in disposable pens or refillable cartridges.
Edibles are popular because they’re so easy — just pop one in your mouth on your way to the office or after a workout. You can buy sweet edibles, like gummies, or savory ones, like granola bars. Companies portion CBD into each serving, so you know exactly how much CBD you’re ingesting.
Topicals use your skin as the absorption method, penetrating your muscles and tissues and soothing aches and pains. Topicals come in creams, lotions, or sprays — ideal for joint and back problems.
Capsules, like edibles, are ingested. Each pill has a measured serving of CBD mixed with a carrier oil. They’re a perfect option for those looking for fast and precise dosing.
CBD Oil dosage
After your body absorbs CBD, it reaches your endocannabinoid system, or ECS. Here, it mimics naturally produced compounds and stimulates the ECS, which is vital in regulating your immune system, sleep cycle, and management of pain.
It’s important to know that CBD interacts with everyone’s ECS differently. So while a 10mg dose of CBD may be perfect for you, it could leave your wife or your dog unimpressed. This means you need to start low and increase your dose slowly.
How to Take CBD oil
Use the tincture to dispense droplets under your tongue and hold there for 60 seconds before swallowing. This will help the CBD to enter your system and get to work faster
How to Buy CBD Oil
Here are some guidelines on what you should look for when you buy CBD oil. There’s a gamut of CBD oils out there, and until Home Office applies regulations, it’s up to you to discern the five-star from the no-star. Here’s our list of the top words and phrases to look for on your hunt for a worthy CBD Oil.
- Third-Party Lab Test: Without proof, the CBD in your new tincture could be lower than what’s stated on the bottle. Or worse, the bottle could have no CBD at all. Companies worth purchasing from will hire labs to test their CBD oil batches and provide you with a PDF or link to the results.
- Organic and Non-GMO Ingredients: Unlike resin-rich cannabis plants, industrial hemp has less CBD per pound. So companies need tons of hemp to attain a CBD extract. If the hemp they’re using comes from China or Russia, it could be filled with toxins and chemicals. So check for certified organic and Non-GMO labels.
- Low or No THC: Remember, the Home Office only legalized CBD products that contain less than .2% THC. Consumer Reports have found that many CBD oils claiming low THC contain much more than advertised, over .2%. It’s best to choose a CBD isolate, guaranteed to have no THC.
- Super-Critical CO2 Extraction: Out of the various ways to extract CBD from hemp, CO2 extraction is the cleanest, causing less waste and less need for extra purification post-extraction.
Now you know what to look for, let’s get to the the Best CBD oil in the UK.
The 5 Best CBD Oils in the UK
1. Balance CBD
We raised Balance CBD to our number one spot because no other CBD oil could match its taste, ingredients, or overall quality. They source hemp from farms with dedicated food-grade crops, which means all the company’s oils are free of GMO and 100% organic.
Balance CBD offers the world famous Charlotte’s Web CBD Oil, and a all natural relief CBD oil. You can buy CBD oil in the UK from Balance CBD in multiple different sizes. Balance CBD sells both THC-free and full spectrum oils, and every bottle includes terpene blends concocted by their in-house adviser, Dr. Manpreet Bajwa.
The addition of QR codes on the bottles impressed us too. These codes link to your oil’s batch results at a third-party lab. No other company in the UK has gone this far to ensure that their customers feel safe while enjoying their product. Balance CBD is completely transparent about its ingredients through their certified lab reports.
We tried both their Charlotte’s Web terpene infused tincture and their natural CBD oil, both with 500mg of CBD. The effects were noticeable within fifteen minutes, and the combination of CO2 extracted CBD, flavorful and beneficial terpenes was consistently appealing. The best thing is that if CBD oil isn’t your thing, then they also have a great range of CBD gummies that you can buy in the UK.
Try them out today. They currently have a 50% off sale.
2. Aura CBD
Aura CBD’s name derives from the company’s founder, Aura Lakshmi, a believer in hemp’s innate power to heal. Like Balance CBD, Aura ships non-GMO and organic CBD oils across the UK.
We tried their 20% Raw CBD Drops, with a blend of raw CBD extract, flavonoids, and fatty acids. Their oils have trace amounts of THC in them, but they assure their customers that the percentages are well below the Home Office’s .2% guideline.
It would be nice to see some added flavors, as the oils taste a tad bitter. We understand Aura’s side of the matter, however, as they consider themselves a food supplement company.
Aura CBD also sells beauty products infused with CBD, such as bath salts and skin balms. These features of Aura CBD place them at #2 on our list of best CBD oil UK.
3. Hempura CBD
Hempura CBD prides themselves on selecting only the highest grade industrial hemp for their oils and other products. They ship most of their hemp in from Eastern Europe, countries like Poland and Romania, and then extract within the UK.
They provide batch results through a database you can check online, and we’ve found that they update the results every month. This is one of the reasons we had them at #3 for Best CBD oil UK. Hempura CBD uses various extraction methods, a rare choice in the industry. Some of their methods include winterization, filtration, and decarboxylation.
Hempura CBD oils are vegan-friendly and animal testing-safe. We tried their 500mg CBD oil, with a market price of £54.99. It’s an earthy taste, not too strong. We found the rich extract added to the experience.
4. Provacan CBD
Provacan CBD is a subset of CiiTech, a Jerusalem-based research company that focuses on non-psychoactive cannabis and hemp products. They claim their CBD oils are optimized for the human endocannabinoid system.
This may seem abnormal, but as they admit on their website, THC and CBD were discovered by Dr. Mechoulam, a scientist from the University of Jerusalem. Provacan develops CBD extracts in the EU and sells them from their facility in the UK.
As with Balance CBD, they offer third-party lab test results on the batch that your CBD oil was bottled from. But we’d like to see their process revised, as you must fill out an online form and wait upwards of a week to receive the results. This is what limits them to #4 on our list of best CBD oil UK.
They sell CBD oils in 300mg – 2400 mg tincture bottles. We tried their 600mg bottle for £59.99. Again, this is a flavorless oil, but what it lacked in taste it made up for in effect.
5. Love Hemp
Love Hemp is the love child of two health-conscious fitness guru’s, Tony Calamita and Thomas Rowland. They manufacture lab-tested CBD oil from US hemp sources. You can buy their selection of oils in a few flavors, such as natural, peppermint, and orange.
We enjoyed Love Hemp for the mellow effect of their product, and because they’ve dedicated their lineup to THC-free oils and edibles. You can find third-party lab tests online to confirm the authenticity of your product, too. These features mean they round off our list of the best CBD oil UK.
These oils are CO2 extracted, Non-GMO and vegan-friendly. A bottle of their 400mg oil sells for £49.99. Expect light hints of flavor and results which build slowly but last at least three hours per dose.
