Water Soluble CBD vs CBD Oil?

Water Soluble CBD vs CBD Oil

Water-soluble CBD is a hot term in the industry that has generated both excitement and skepticism. These products, created using the same technologies used in the supplement and pharmaceutical industries, are designed to combat the effectiveness issues of oil-based CBD products.

Read on as we take a look at traditional oil-based CBD products, water-soluble formulations, and compare the two to help you choose the one that's best for your needs.

What is CBD Oil?

This results in a dense, sticky material containing a wide variety of cannabis compounds when a CBD-rich extract is extracted from hemp. The cannabinoids inside, like CBD, are hydrophobic substances, which means they don't dissolve in water. It is still hydrophobic, particularly though the CBD molecule is removed from this extract and becomes a white crystalline material.

The term "CBD oil" is used to specifically describe oil-based tinctures, but it is also used to describe the CBD inside any product created using these extracts. Tinctures and other products such as capsules, topicals, and edibles usually contain a CBD extract from mixed carrier oils like MCT.

In this article, we prefer to use oil-based CBD because it describes any product that contains a hydrophobic extract or isolates.

What is Water-Soluble CBD?

To define a CBD extract that has undergone a procedure to break up the oil into small fragments, water-soluble is used. These small droplets are then mixed with a surfactant which serves to emulsify the particles, allowing them to remain stable and not to cluster.

Despite the name, emulsified CBD-rich oils don't actually dissolve in water. The small size of the particles simply allows them to disperse in liquids. This process increases the surface area of ​​the oil, helping to aid in the absorption of CBD into the body.

These “water-friendly” extracts can be in liquid or powder form. They are then used to produce consumable CBD products such as tinctures, capsules, edibles, and drinks. There are a few leading technologies used in the creation of water-soluble CBD products:

Nanoemulsions use a mechanical process to create particles from 10 to 100 nanometers. The tiny particle size allows the use of low amounts of all-natural surfactants, reducing the need for high-volume synthetic surfactants to be used with other water-soluble methods.

Spherical structures ranging in scale from 50 to 5,000 nanometers are liposomes. They consist of a water-friendly internal (hydrophilic) compartment surrounded by a water-insoluble bilayer (hydrophobic). The CBD extract can be stored in the bilayer membrane. In the hemp industry, goods using this technology are popular. The downside to this method is that it uses very complex manufacturing procedures and requires high levels of surfactant.

Microemulsions create droplets of 100 to 5000 nanometers formed by dissolving CBD oil in water. These emulsions are created using a chemical process which has the disadvantage of requiring large amounts of surfactants, resulting in some unwanted side effects for the user. In the CBD sector, this emulsion size is not widely seen.

CBD dependent on oil vs CBD soluble in water: All about bioavailability

It exhibits a first-pass reaction as CBD is swallowed. The compounds must pass through the body and into the liver before reaching the general circulation. During this process, much of the CBD is destroyed by the liver, and only a fraction of that is originally consumed.

Bioavailability is classified as: "the amount of a substance which enters the bloodstream when it is introduced into the body and which can thus have an active effect".

For example, when oil-based CBD is swallowed, studies show that it can be as low as 4% bioavailability. This means that the remaining 96% of CBD ends up being flushed out of the body as waste. This is obviously a significant problem because this inefficiency is extremely costly and costly.

Looking for alternative delivery methods that bypass the first-pass metabolism is one way to get around this problem. The tinctures, when held under the tongue, allow the CBD to be absorbed sublingually through the mucous membranes. Vaping or smoking allows the same compounds to be absorbed into the lungs.

These alternative products do not solve the problem of swallowed CBD, however, and consumables like capsules and edibles are very popular in the industry. Water-soluble technologies aim to tackle the problem head-on. The expanded surface area of the tiny particles of oil helps increase the amount of CBD consumed by the body significantly:

Comparison of Oil-based CBD vs Water Soluble results

Of all this article, this is perhaps the most important section and one of the most often overlooked water solubility points.

Oil-based CBD is slower, lasts longer, but is less completely absorbed. For example, sublingual tinctures take 20 to 60 minutes to appear, appear more gradually and can last up to 8 hours. Swallowing an oil-based product, although not recommended due to its poor bioavailability, takes 60 to 90 minutes to manifest gradually and can last up to 8 hours.

Water-soluble CBD enters faster, is absorbed more easily, but has a shorter duration. For example, swallowing water-soluble capsules only takes 20 minutes to become active in the body, have a more pronounced effect, but only last up to 5 hours.

Which to Choose: Water-Soluble CBD or Oil-Based CBD?

Many tout one solution as being superior, belittling the other. At Higher Hemp CBD, we take a balanced approach. Water-soluble and oil-based CBD are not only good or bad, they each have their own specific properties and, if used consciously, can both yield positive results.

Our advice is simple:

Choose a water-soluble substance if you're going to swallow the CBD. The severe bioavailability issues associated with ingesting an oil-based product make them ineffective and expensive. Since water-soluble products are up to 5 times more effective, just take a fraction of the dose for the same benefits.

If you are open to other methods of consuming CBD, weigh your options. Consider how long it takes for the effects to show up and how long the effects last relative to your personal needs. You may also find it good to use several different product types in different situations!

At Higher Hemp CBD, we offer both water-soluble capsules and tinctures designed to be swallowed. We also offer an oil-based sublingual tincture. All of these products contain our same broad-spectrum extract and we have customers who enjoy both products equally. Let us know in the comments what type of product you prefer and why.