How To Use CBD Oil Effectively: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on by TJ

CBD oil is everywhere these days— supermarkets, drug stores, we’ve even seen it at the hardware store. You might be reading this because you’re wondering how to use CBD oil, or if it’s even the right CBD product for you. 

In this post, we’ll be covering a few things like,

  • How to take CBD oil sublingually
  • Oral dosing
  • How often you should dose

If you’re looking for more information about how to calculate an appropriate dose, please read our post on dosing. 

Without further adieu…

How Do You Use CBD Oil? 

CBD oil is a versatile product. How you use it may depend on the strength of your oil. With Sunset Lake’s CBD oils, you’ll want to get comfortable with our recommended 25mg doses before moving on to a more robust dosing schedule. 

We suggest getting acclimated to 25mg doses taken in the evening after you’ve settled in for the night. You’ll want to take your CBD oil either orally or sublingually every night and see how you feel after 1 to 2 hours. After two weeks of adjusting to 25mg, feel free to adjust your dose as needed. 

After you’re used to ingesting CBD oil, feel free to get more creative with dosing. CBD oil can make a great additive to dips, drinks, and can even take the edge off of your morning cup of coffee.

Using CBD Oil Orally vs. Sublingually

There are two ways to take CBD oil via your mouth— sounds strange but it’s true. When you take your CBD oil orally, you swallow CBD oil and wait for it to reach your digestive tract before experiencing any benefit. 

If you take your CBD oil sublingually—under your tongue— you should feel the effects much quicker than you would if you were to ingest it.

A woman putting CBD oil under her tongue for sublingual application
Sublingual application

Sublingual 

Sublingual consumption involves putting CBD oil under your tongue where the membrane to your bloodstream is thinner than anywhere else in your mouth. Cannabidiol will traverse this membrane more quickly and you should feel the effects in as little as 15 minutes. Once you’ve held it under your tongue for roughly 20 to 30 seconds, swallow it. 

What Does Sublingual Mean?

“Sublingual” comes from Latin for “under the tongue.” The soft tissue under your tongue contains what are known as sublingual glands.

Are There Benefits to Using Your CBD Oil Sublingually? 

Taking CBD sublingually has some advantages over consuming CBD orally. Because you’re applying CBD oil directly to a capillary-rich membrane in your mouth, the active cannabinoids get into your bloodstream faster. 

Using your CBD oil sublingually does present certain disadvantages, too. For instance, if you’re taking unflavored CBD oil sublingually, you’ll need to hold it under your tongue for 20 seconds before swallowing. If you’re not a big fan of hemp’s taste, this could be unpleasant. Luckily, there are flavored products on the market that can help. Here at Sunset Lake, we carry almost all of our CBD oils in both a mint and a citrus flavor. 

Oral (Ingestion)

Using CBD oil orally is more straightforward than sublingual ingestion— it involves swallowing your CBD either by itself or mixing it with food or into a beverage. 

The downside of using your CBD oil orally versus sublingually is that you’ll have to wait for the active cannabinoids to reach your digestive tract and liver before you notice any benefits. 

A woman holding a 3,000mg CBD oil tincture from Sunset Lake CBD

What Are The Benefits Of Using Your CBD Oil Orally? 

Using CBD oil orally rather than sublingually has the distinct benefit of versatility because you can add it to just about any recipe that calls for cooking fat. This method will help you experience all the benefits that CBD has to offer without the aftertaste. 

You can add CBD oil to: 

  • Your morning coffee or tea
  • Your pre- or post-workout smoothie
  • Homemade salad dressing (made with hemp oil!)
  • Your evening cocktail 
  • A snacking dip, like guacamole 

Which Is Better? Oral or Sublingual?

Taking your CBD oil orally vs sublingually shouldn’t have any effect on how long the benefits from your dose should last, but sublingual ingestion should allow you to feel more immediate effects. 

Topical

You can also choose to use your CBD oil topically by applying it directly to your skin in affected areas. 

The benefits of topical application include,

  • Rapid effect on the area
  • Targeted relief 
  • There is no risk of triggering a positive drug test with topical CBD 

While CBD oil will work topically, it’s probably best to use topical products formulated with CBD instead. These are crafted with skincare in mind and contain other moisturizers and vitamins that will benefit your skin. 

How Often Should You Use CBD Oil? 

This a common question that many have. How often you take CBD oil will vary depending on your body, what your goal is, and your ingestion method. 

If you take CBD orally or sublingually, we recommend acclimating to daily 25mg doses to get comfortable and observing how your body reacts before changing your dose strength and frequency. 

If you use CBD topically though, you don’t need to adhere to this adjustment period. Instead, use as needed.