by Trista Okel, CEO, Empower BodyCare
Whether online or in your local store, it’s still the Wild West when shopping for CBD products. How do you find trustworthy brands in a sea of CBD? Transparency is key, and here are five tips on spotting trustworthy brands.
1. Always Look for the Amount of CBD in the Product on the Outer Packaging
This information should be batch-specific, as each batch needs to be tested to confirm there weren’t discrepancies in the manufacturing process. Batch-testing is key to ensuring the consistency of a product.
2. Check the Ingredient List
For topical products, make sure the hemp extract or CBD listed in the ingredients list is not the first ingredient listed, and companies are required to list ingredients by volume. Since CBD products are dosed by the milligram (mg) content, the likelihood of a topical product leading with CBD as the main ingredient will never happen.
3. Does the Product Have an Expiration or Best by Date?
Unless it has a skin-irritating amount of preservatives in it, all products have a best by or expiration date. Trust companies that spell this out for you-it means they’ve conducted the research and know how long their products will remain fresh.
4. Look for the Batch-Specific Certificate of Analysis (CoA)
The most reputable companies in the CBD market have QR codes and/or web addresses on the packaging that lead to a CoA from an accredited 3rd party testing lab for each batch.
5. What to Look For on the CoA
- Does the batch or lot number match?
- Potency? Does the amount of CBD on the bottle match the CoA?
- Heavy Metals? Hemp is a “bio-remediator,” which means it’s excellent for cleaning up toxic soil. However, soil toxins are then stored in the plants, becoming concentrated in the harvested CBD extract.
- Pesticides? We don’t want these in or on our bodies! Organic, please.
- Solvents? These can be leftover in some CBD extracts after processing. No, thank you.
- Microbiological Activity? This is a kinder, gentler way of saying yeast, mold, mildew, bacteria, a virus or two, you know, things you don’t want in your favorite CBD oil, lotion, or skincare products.
There are a lot of inexperienced and/or unscrupulous operators in the CBD market, so having the tools to determine which companies to purchase from can be tricky. These quick and easy ways to check up on a brand before buying will help guide you in the flood of CBD products available today.
