When was the last time you really looked at the list of ingredients in your favorite CBD topical formula? Naturally, when using one of these products, we are primarily concerned with the milligram strength of our favorite cannabinoid, and perhaps the presence of hemp-derived terpenes. But, the other ingredients in a hemp product matter, not just because it is important to make sure that the ingredients are high in quality, but also because many ingredients commonly used by companies actually contribute to the capabilities that these products possess. So, one of the most useful categories of ingredients to be found in hemp products is essential oils.
What are Essential Oils and How Do They Impact CBD Products?
Within any plant, you’ll find compounds known as terpenes – yes, the same terpenes that exist in the hemp plant. Essential oils are oils extracted from plant material, which naturally offer concentrated levels of the plant’s terpenes. In fact, essential oils have been used for thousands of years for the benefits they may offer and are produced using various methods including stream distillation and cold-pressing, which keep these terpenes stable. Essential oils are known for their aromas, which are valuable in and of themselves as they are natural ways to scent products and are enjoyable to the senses.
Still, they offer more intensive properties as well.
Essential oils are rich in valuable properties which come directly from their terpenes. Terpenes, like we said, are found in all plants, and each plant has its own distinctive terpene variety and composition. In plants, terpenes offer defense from predators and disease, while also determining a particular plant’s flavor and aroma. But, when we extract these terpenes, we find that they offer properties that are highly useful to us as they boast properties that can impact how we feel. For example, tea tree essential oil is known for being a powerful antifungal, while many people swear that lavender essential oil makes them feel soothed after a long and hard day.
Adding essential oils to a hemp product simply increases the diversity of properties of which the product is capable, while still keeping the product all-natural and holistic. CBD products can be enhanced with these natural plant derivatives to pinpoint certain desirable effects through their distinctive properties.
What Kinds of CBD Products Contain Essential Oils?
Not every company puts essential oils in their hemp products, and there are some types of hemp products that practically never contain essential oils. For instance, the large majority of essential oils can irritate the airways when inhaled in moderate to heavy concentrations, which is why you are not going to often find essential oils in vaping products or infused into flower. It is also rare to find essential oils in edibles, because their flavors can be quite strong, and interfere with the flavoring ingredients that give edibles their delicious taste.
The most common type of CBD product that often contains essential oil are topicals. Essential oils, like the compounds in hemp, can absorb through these delivery channels to offer their properties as desired to the body.
What are the Best Essential Oils for Both Tincture and Topical-Based Products?
There are countless essential oils out there, since any plant’s essential oil can be extracted. But, some are more useful than others in terms of the properties they possess and are therefore more commonly found in CBD products.
Peppermint
Peppermint can be found in lots of tinctures and topicals. When used in tinctures, its exhilarating properties are quite enjoyable, while the flavor is enhanced as well. Peppermint essential oil is particularly useful in topicals, as menthol, one of the key compounds in peppermint essential oil, is known for offering a cooling sensation that can be extremely useful when applied to sore or tight areas of the body.
Tea Tree
Tea tree essential oil may offer anti-inflammatory properties that make it very helpful when applied in the form of a topical. It’s also said to have many skin related benefits such as its ability to soothe skin irritations and improve dry skin.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus essential oil, like peppermint essential, offers a distinctive cooling sensation that can be quite helpful especially in topical formulations. When applied to the skin, its properties go deep within the muscles and joints, just like menthol.
Black Pepper
Black pepper essential oil is high in a terpene called caryophyllene, which is a terpene that’s also quite prominent in the hemp plant. This essential oil, in addition to its very well known aroma, it's said to provide relief from aches and pains, provide anxiety relief and even act as an appetite suppressant.
Clove
Clove essential oil is another one that you’ll find in a lot of topicals, because of its apparent numbing effects that can be very useful when applied to target areas of the body. These effects can reach into the deep tissue below where it is applied.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the most utilized essential oils in the natural world, as it offers properties that can be valuable when applied topically, as well as properties pertaining to mood and even sleep. It’s known for its bliss-inducing capabilities that are perfect for times of stress, and CBD and delta 8 tinctures and topicals can benefit from its incorporation.
Frankincense
Frankincense essential oil, also known as olibanum, has been around for many, many years and is extracted from the mountainous regions of India, Africa and the Middle East. It has a very pleasant woody and spicy aroma and is said to provide many health benefits, specifically related to arthritis.
Blue Tansy
Of all the essential oils that we’ve researched and included in our products, Blue Tansy is by far, the most sought after because of its many beneficial properties. Let’s start with it’s amazing aroma which is sweet and herbal due to its high camphor content. Its health benefits that people describe are very extensive, but the few we’ll point out are its calming effects and the anti-inflammatory properties it possesses. In addition, there are many skin healing effects related to the high camphor concentration in Blue Tansy essential oil.
Taking Your Hemp Routine to the Next Level with Essential Oils
Essential oils and hemp compounds can work together to really help you zero in on your holistic goals, which is why so many CBD topicals are formulated with essential oils of all kinds these days. Their wondrous properties can offer loads of useful advantages to your daily hemp routine.