According to one report, 25% of Americans are currently using CBD products or are interested in trying them. If you’ve been curious about incorporating them into your daily routine, you might have searched online for the best solutions.
While there are many high-quality options on the market, the vast frontier of the internet has also allowed many unscrupulous providers to advertise their wares. The key to choosing the purest and most premium CBD product is doing your research.
This is especially the case when it comes to a product you put directly onto your body, like CBD pain relief cream. Today, we’re sharing a few steps you can take to make sure you’re choosing the best one for your needs.
Read Reviews
Did you know that 84% of people now trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family members? Before purchasing any type of CBD cream, take the time to check out what others are saying about the company you’re eyeing.
While each person’s experience will be unique, look for common themes, including remarks on:
- How the hemp was grown
- Where the hemp was grown
- Product purity
- Timeliness of delivery
- Third-party testing
- Effective formula
Many companies will have a dedicated page for buyer reviews, or incorporate them into their website. This is a great way to discern which companies are reputable, especially when you’re trying to decide between a few different ones.
If you can’t find reviews on the website, you can also check the company’s Google Business Profile, which appears when you search for them online. At Homegrown CBD Store & Cafe, we’re proud of our 5-star Google ranking!
Shop at a Reputable Place
Always avoid buying CBD products at places like gas stations or smoke shops. Instead, stick to reputable “farm-to-table” cannabis stores like Homegrown, which can be both in-person and online.
These companies are most likely to be transparent about their product sourcing, growing, and manufacturing practices, as well as their lab results.
Understand Ingredients
With any type of pain relief lotion, you want to make sure the formula ingredients are high-quality and targeted. Instead of buying the first cream you find online, learn as much as possible about what’s inside it. This includes its total cannabinoid content, as well as any non-cannabis additives.
Take the Foy Relief Cream, for instance. This 750mg CBD lotion features an innovative formula that combines organic, terpene-rich essential oils and emollients, sourced from whole hemp plant ingredients. The result is a product you can trust, made without any type of chemical bleaching or processing.
Purchasing USDA organic CBD products ensures that the ingredients in your lotion are grown without pesticides or fertilizers. Plants like cannabis can absorb those toxins, which could pass to you. This might seem like a small detail to check, but it’s more important than many consumers realize.
One note to consider is that not all organic farmers will have their products USDA certified, which is why it’s important to shop from local farmers who give you their word that you can trust. Here at Homegrown, we are 90% locally sourced from 100% organic farmers!
You’ll also find this level of purity in our Leef CBD Balm. Made with organic, whole-flower CBD extract that we slow-simmer into a potent reduction, it also includes soothing, inflammation-fighting botanicals such as:
- Calendula
- Grapeseed oil
- Cacao butter
- Lavender
- Peony
We’re so confident in the safety and purity of our products that you can even add a spoonful of our Leef CBD balm to your morning cup of coffee! In addition, we even thought about quality and sustainable packaging when sourcing our products. Our CBD lotion arrives in a BPA-free container made of 100% recyclable material, and our CBD balm comes in a reusable glass jar.
Be sure to check the ingredients list of any CBD product you’re considering, and make sure it’s one you can trust. If a company doesn’t include its ingredients or share information about each formula, consider this a red flag and continue your search elsewhere. Especially in the CBD realm, transparency is key and you deserve to know exactly what you’re putting onto or into your body.
Check Lab Results
Third-party lab testing indicates that a CBD company is dedicated to safety, quality, and purity. Yet, it isn’t enough to simply advertise that this testing takes place. Buyers also need to know the results of those tests.
This is the best way to make sure the product you’re buying matches the online description. The most reliable companies are those that openly share this information online, without modifying it in any way.
You can find all of our Certificates of Analysis (CoAs) on our Lab Results Page, sorted by alphabetical order. Each COA includes a detailed Cannabinoid Analysis that breaks down the total amount of THC, CBD, CBG, THCV, CBC, and CBDV, as well as the total cannabinoid content.
Third-party labs produce CoAs to make sure that CBD products are safe to use and properly labeled. All reputable CBD companies will share batch-specific lab results, so consumers can feel confident about the products they’re buying.
If you don’t see any kind of product testing information or COAs on the CBD company’s website, you can always reach out to them and ask! Some may only provide the results upon request. If they’re unresponsive or unwilling to divulge those details, it could be a sign that they didn’t perform testing in the first place.
If you buy a CBD product from a company that doesn’t provide CoAs for every batch, then you may be getting a product that has more or less CBD than it reports on the bottle. As these products aren’t verified by third-party labs, there’s no way to verify that the information listed on the label is correct. This also means there’s no way to guarantee that the product doesn’t contain harmful additives or toxic chemicals.
Know the CBD Content
From CBD gummies to topical lotions and balms, many products claim to contain this powerful cannabinoid. However, unless the company shares how much CBD is in each product, there’s no way to tell if those claims are accurate.
That’s why it’s important to check the product description so you can know the exact CBD content in each one. We share this in all of our descriptions, so there’s no question as to how much CBD you’re getting. For instance, our Leef CBD Balm contains a total of 135mg of CBD, and we openly share this information on our website.
Along the same lines, you’ll also want to verify if the CBD product is full-spectrum or broad-spectrum in nature. These are the two main types of CBD extract, and they differ slightly in their makeup and content.
Full-spectrum CBD contains naturally occurring extracts from the cannabis plant, including terpenes, other cannabinoids, and up to .3% Delta 9 THC. Similarly, broad-spectrum CBD also contains several cannabis plant compounds. However, these products do not contain any THC, which makes them the perfect choice for somebody who may be drug test sensitive.
If you’re looking for a product that doesn’t contain THC, then you’ll want to narrow your search to broad-spectrum options only. Our Foy Relief Cream and Leef CBD Balm are both broad-spectrum products.
Review Online Presence
It might sound simple, but one of the most effective ways to verify that a CBD company is legitimate is to take a deep dive into its online presence. This includes its website, as well as its social media pages.
If key data is missing from the website, such as contact information or product descriptions, this could mean it’s a fake. Each page should be user-friendly, intuitive to navigate, and well-organized. You should be able to easily find the information you need, with ways to reach out to the team if you have any questions.
Once you’ve verified that the website looks reputable, you can also check out the company’s social media presence. If they have a profile on sites like Facebook or Instagram, are they active and responsive on them? Do their posts seem credible and human-generated?
While this shouldn’t be the only metric you use to gauge a company’s viability, it’s a helpful step to take as you do your due diligence.
Double-Check the Label
The label of the CBD pain relief cream you’re looking at can tell you a lot about what’s within it. In addition to the ingredients and cannabinoid content, you can also check other key details, such as:
- Net quantity (weight) to determine potency
- Instructions on how to use the product correctly
- Instructions on how to store the product correctly
- Suggested dosing information
- Applicable warnings
If the CBD product does not contain all of these elements, then the product you’re looking at might not be as legitimate as others.
Find Reliable CBD Pain Relief Cream You Can Trust
When you’re shopping for CBD pain relief cream, you can never be too careful or inquisitive. You want to make sure the product you buy is organic, high-quality, and third-party tested for safety, purity, and efficacy.
At Homegrown, we’re dedicated to providing the very best CBD products, from oils and tinctures to topicals, edibles, and accessories. We’re open and transparent about our ingredients, manufacturing practices, and test results. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the products we offer, and reach out to us if you have any questions!
Note that this statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.