Hemp oil and CBD oil are two very different products. They have different sources, compositions, and uses. 

If you are confused by the two terms, it’s not your fault. Hemp oil and CBD oil have some similarities and it doesn’t help that sometimes the terms are mistakenly used interchangeably. 

For starters, hemp oil doesn’t contain CBD (Cannabidiol) while CBD oil obviously does. That’s because hemp oil and CBD oil come from different parts of the same plant.

What is Hemp Oil?

Hemp oil is extracted from only one part of the hemp plant – its seeds. While CBD is present mainly in the resin on the buds and in very low amounts on the resin on the leaves, the seeds do not contain CBD. (The seeds also do not contain Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the psychoactive substance that induces the “high” associated with marijuana.)

Hemp oil is made from pressing the seeds of the hemp plant, the same way olives and sesame seeds are pressed into oil. 

Hemp Oil Benefits

Hemp oil is considered a superfood because it’s packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, omega fatty acids, antioxidants, and other nutrients. Specifically, it contains Vitamins B, B1, B2 and E, as well as potassium and magnesium. 

Hemp Oil Uses 

You’ve probably seen hemp seed oil for sale at your local health food market. The oil is prized for cooking not just due to its health benefits but also its nutty taste. (Try it in salad dressing and you might never go back to olive oil.) It’s also used as a nutritional supplement in smoothies or protein powder. 

Besides its internal benefits, hemp oil has external perks because of its ability to hydrate. For this reason, hemp oil is a key ingredient in body lotion, soap, shampoo, and other beauty products. 

What is CBD Oil?

CBD oil does not come from hemp seeds but from resin on the plant’s flowers and, to a lesser extent, on its leaves where the Cannabidiol is present.

Also, where hemp oil only comes from hemp, CBD oil can be extracted from hemp or marijuana. Most CBD oil you see on the market, however, comes from hemp, not marijuana. That’s due mainly to legal reasons since hemp is widely legal and marijuana is not. And while some CBD oil may contain THC, that’s only in countries or states that have legalized marijuana. For the purposes of this article, we are only discussing CBD oil without THC.

CBD Oil Benefits

People who have used CBD oil hail it for its therapeutic benefits for the body and mind. Its numerous potential benefits of CBD include its potential to relieve inflammation¹, pain², anxiety³, sleeplessness⁴, and other disorders, as well as benefits for the skin⁵. CBD is believed to may have anti-aging effects owing to CBD’s potent antioxidant effects, shown to be more effective than both vitamins C and E⁶, according to a study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. (Antioxidants play a big role in helping the skin because they protect collagen, prevent DNA damage, and also slow down sun damage.) CBD has also been shown to alleviate psoriasis, eczema and other skin issues⁷. Read more about CBD’s effect on the skin.

For some people looking for these types of benefits without the “high” associated with marijuana, CBD oil has been a savior.

CBD Oil Uses 

CBD has exploded in popularity because it is believed to have many of the medicinal and physical benefits of marijuana but without the high effect. CBD is thought to be effective for insomnia⁸, general aches and pains⁹, day-to-day stress or anxiety¹⁰, as an anti-inflammatory agent¹¹.   

Products containing CBD range from oil to pills to coffee to sweets to e-liquids as well as topical skin creams and lotions because of its potential cosmetic and healing benefits to the skin.

While some make claims about its medicinal benefits, most of those have not yet been scientifically proven, perhaps due to the insufficient number of clinical research, since research on the plant was forbidden until recently in most countries around the world. The US Food & Drug Administration, however, recently approved the first CBD-based drug to treat epilepsy, which is a positive sign of things to come for this potentially valuable and multi-faceted substance.

In Summary

So while hemp oil and CBD are distinct from one another, they both may have of great value but in different ways. One is a nutrient that also has some cosmetic benefits and the other is emerging as a potential medicinal and cosmetics game changer.  All of Botanima Organics’ products are derived from hemp.