What’s the difference between Hemp Oil and CBD Oil?
A “green rush” arrived in the U.S. on the heels of Congress’s passing of the Farm Bill in 2018. The significance of this bill is that it “legalizes the sale, transport, or possession of hemp-derived products.” Speaking from hindsight, the bill also ushered us into an era of legalizing recreational Marijuana. As of April 2021, only 6 out of the 52 states and districts remain fully hostile toward the green blaze.
However, like all the concepts rising to the media's attention too fast, misinformation, intentionally or not, started to flood the airways almost immediately. For all the mixed-ups, the name swap of CBD and Hemp might be the most basic, yet the most confusing one.
To many consumers, even stakeholders in the hemp industry, the words CBD and Hemp are almost interchangeable. The hardcore dividing line seems to lay between these two and their “high”-inducing cousin, Marijuana.
So, is CBD and hemp the same?
The short answer is, No.
CBD is short for Cannabidiol, 1 of the over 100 chemical compounds found in a cannabis plant, a green plant that contains 2 popular varieties: Marijuana and Hemp. In other words, CBD is the name of a chemical compound found in hemp, the plant.
Why is it so hard to differentiate CBD and Hemp?
Skewed marketing practices in the beauty and wellness industry might be the first and foremost to blame in fueling the confusion. In general, CBD derived products are sold more expensively on the market than Hemp products.
This probably has something to do with hemp’s widespread industrial uses prior to the CBD hype, as well as the relatively easy access to this plant.
Unlike CBD, which is fairly new and trendy, the hemp plant and its derivatives such as hemp oil, have been around for a much longer time. One common knowledge about the hemp plant, is that ancient Egyptians, Indians, and Chinese were already pretty advanced in utilizing Hemp more than 10,000 years ago. Products derived from the plant’s stems, seeds, leaves, and flowers become fiber and oils that are used to make ropes, papers, clothes, and even additives in food. Additionally, industrial hemp is not a difficult plant to cultivate in the U.S. Historically, farmers in the U.S. were even encouraged to grow hemp during the World War II era.
What’s the difference between Hemp Oil and CBD Oil?
Now we are clear on the difference between hemp and CBD, it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand the difference between hemp oil and CBD oil.
CBD oil, by definition, is oil that contains CBD, the compound. In manufacturing, CBD oil is usually derived from stalks, leaves, and flowers of the hemp plant. Hemp oil, usually short for hemp seed oil, as its name implies, is oil that is refined from seeds of the hemp plant. Because of its source, hemp seed oil (hemp oil) usually has little to no amount of CBD.
However, the low level of CBD in hemp seed oil didn’t render the hemp oil useless. Quite contrarily, hemp seed oil boasts a high concentration of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid, and other nutritious antioxidant content. There was some serious buzz about replacing fish oil with hemp seed oil in the food and nutrition communities not long ago for its excellent supply of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and its easy-to-digest features.
Hemp oil’s nourishing feature didn’t go under detection. Beauty and wellness brands have widely made it the main ingredient of skincare products heavily focused on nourishing such as hemp lotion and hemp massage oils. Some brands such as Hemp Seed Body Care even bring it top notch by adding other natural essential oils like Argan Oil, Coconut Oil, to restore elasticity and flexibility of even the toughest skin, leaving skin healthy, nourished, radiant and silky smooth.
Will hemp lotion show on a drug test?
Again, the short answer to this question is, No.
In fact, this frequently-asked question about hemp lotion, or any hemp CBD product, is a result of the deeply-seated confusion in regards to another commonly-seen name in the area: THC.
THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol. Like CBD, THC is 1 of the over 100 chemical compounds found both in the Hemp plant and its cousin the Marijuana plant. Unlike CBD, THC is the chemical compound that makes someone “high” and fail a drug test.
According to the World Health Organization, pure CBD alone causes no psychological abuse or dependence potential in humans. This claim should apply to CBD extract from the hemp plant, which contains little to no THC itself to begin with. However, some CBD extract is indeed from the Marijuana plant. In this case, due to current extraction and refinery approaches, some THC may still be in the final CBD topicals. You should always check the THC amount contained in the CBD topical you’re purchasing. Make sure the number is lower than 0.3% and whatever the CBD topicals manufacturer claims is backed up by third-party lab testing results.
On the other hand, hemp derived skincare products such as hemp lotion should be safe to use since the main ingredient, hemp seed oil, is definitely derived from the hemp plant, which is known for little to no THC.
