CBD oils are all the rage in 2020. They’re used to reduce inflammation, ease chronic pain, promote more restful sleep, and alleviate anxiety.
To experience all the benefits CBD oil has to offer, it’s critical you order from reputable brands only.
Many CBD companies these days are selling products that simply aren’t worth the money. They either have insufficient CBD concentrations, use contaminated hemp, or contain harsh chemicals and synthetic ingredients.
Learn how to spot a quality CBD oil manufacturer, and check out our top three CBD brands to consider in 2020.
Best CBD Oil Brands in 2020
1. Royal CBD Oil — Editor’s Pick
When it comes to quality, it’s hard to beat Royal CBD oils — especially at this price.
Royal CBD is known for producing a superior hemp extract. Yet, they’ve managed to keep the cost of their CBD products at or below the industry average for each category. You’re essentially spending the same as you would on any other bottle of CBD oil, but you’re getting a much better product overall.
What makes these oils so good?
All Royal CBD extracts start with organically-grown hemp. This is important because plants grown in organic soil (no synthetic fertilizers) produce much higher concentrations of active terpenes. d
Terpenes are a class of compounds that provide the characteristic aroma of hemp and other plants. Citrus fruits, lavender, hops, nutmeg, and mint all owe their fragrance to their terpenes. These elements also offer additional medicinal benefits to the oil. It’s desirable to find a full-spectrum oil like these that provide high doses of terpenes, along with other hemp-derived compounds like cannabinoids, sterols, esters, and more.
These oils come in four different potencies, each in standard 1 ounce (30 mL) dropper bottles:
- 250 mg CBD oil
- 500 mg CBD oil
- 1000 mg CBD oil
- 2500 mg CBD oil
All of these oils are well worth the money, but the higher the potency, the better its value overall.
The highest potency oil in this range — the 2500 mg CBD oil — costs just under 10 cents per milligram of CBD. Compare this to the average price of CBD in products with similar quality at around 18 cents per milligram.
This brand has been awarded the number one CBD oil by LA Weekly, VentureBeat, We Be High Observer, and in 2020 alone.
Pros:
- Made from organically-grown hemp plants
- Extracted using state of the art CO2 extraction
- Excellent cost to potency ratio for CBD oils of this caliber
Cons:
- Not available at local shops (online brand only)
2. Gold Bee CBD Oil — Best Value
Gold Bee is a relatively new CBD brand to enter the market — but they’ve been generating a lot of buzz lately. You can find recommendations for this brand on media outlets such as Cleveland Scene, SA Current, Orlando Weekly, and CityBeat.
Two factors make these oils stand out over its competition:
- The terpene ratios presented in the third-party analysis for these oils are substantially higher than usual.
- These oils come in a unique 0-calorie honey flavor — which is something we’ve never seen before in a CBD oil.
These oils come in three different potencies — 300 mg, 600 mg, and 1200 mg. All three strengths come with the option of a raw, unflavored version, or the unique honey flavor mentioned above.
Just like Royal CBD, Gold Bee sources organic hemp for all its products. They use a similar extraction process (CO2 extraction), but in smaller batches and over a longer period. The reason for doing it this way is to maximize the terpene profiles in the final product.
This company is big on testing. They test the hemp when it arrives at the facility, then immediately after extraction, and again once it’s bottled up in the final product. They also send samples to third-party labs to verify their findings (you can find these reports listed publicly on the Gold Bee website).
Despite these oils’ high quality, they’re priced very competitively with the rest of the market.
Pros:
- Exceptional terpene concentration for a CBD oil
- Available in a unique 0-calorie honey flavor
- Third-party verified and backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons:
- High demand means these products are sometimes out of stock (check back later)
3. CBD Pure — Runner Up
CBD Pure is the only brand on our list not based out of the United States. Instead, this company operates out of the United Kingdom. They’re regarded as being one of the leaders in the region.
CBD Pure was sending samples of its products to third-party labs long before it became a standard within the industry. They were also one of the first companies to use smaller bottles for their oils (10 mL instead of 30 mL) to make their oils easier to carry around (yet contains the same dose of CBD).
CBD Pure oils come in three potencies:
- 300 mg CBD oil
- 600 mg CBD oil
- 1000 mg CBD oil
All three of these oils are a bit deceiving in their strength. Because the volume of the oil is smaller, the total CBD is dissolved into less oil, increasing the oil’s total potency by about three times.
The Five Qualities of a Reputable CBD Brand
Not all CBD oils are the same. There’s a surprising number of CBD brands offering underpowered and overpriced CBD oils. It’s important to be able to tell the difference to avoid getting ripped off or disappointed when the products you’re using don’t work.
Here are five tips to consider when shopping for CBD products to get the best products for the money.
1. Positive Customer Feedback & Brand Mentions
One of the easiest ways to assess a CBD company is to look at what past customers say about the brand.
Do a quick Google search for the company you’re looking at and see what comes up. A reputable brand will have dozens of pages worth of positive reviews from industry experts and customers alike.
Brand mentions are another way to assess a CBD brand’s relevance since only the upper echelon of CBD brands ever make it onto the recommended lists on various websites, podcasts, or print media.
2. Third-Party Testing as a Standard
Third-party testing is a process designed to provide transparency for a CBD product. It’s an optional step companies can take to prove the claims they’re making are accurate.
When a CBD company completes a new batch of extract, they’ll send a small sample to an analysis lab. These labs operate on their own and have no affiliation with the CBD industry outside of testing. This is important to ensure all test results are unbiased and accurate.
The lab will test the sample and send the report back to the manufacturer. It’s then up to the CBD brand to decide if they want to make the results public.
The only reasons a CBD company wouldn’t have these tests live is if they didn’t order them to begin with (a red flag), or if the results came back with failing scores (also a red flag).
Always check for third-party labs on the company website. Any reputable brand will feature these reports as a standard.
3. Multiple Potency Options
This step isn’t a surefire way to tell the difference between high-quality brands from scams — but it’s one factor to consider.
Most reputable CBD brands have at least six separate CBD oils to choose from, whether this is in the form of different potencies, different flavors, or a combination of the two.
Conversely, most CBD scams only have one product to choose from. That’s one potency, one flavor, and one bottle size.
If you find a CBD brand that only has one product in its lineup, it’s worth taking a closer look at the other factors on this list to see if they could be a scammy brand or not.
4. Satisfaction Guarantee
If the CBD oil is as good as the company claims, they should have a guarantee on their products. These guarantees will allow you to return the oil within a set amount of time for a full-refund should you decide it’s not working for you.
The guarantee should last at least a month because it takes a few days for CBD oils to take effect in many cases. You may not know if the oil works for you or not until the second week of using the oil.
Make sure the guarantee includes return shipping.
All three of the CBD brands on this list offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee for their CBD oils. If you’re not completely satisfied, you can have your money back — no find print.
5. Full-Spectrum Hemp Products
There are three different forms of CBD oils to choose from — CBD isolate, broad-spectrum extract, and full-spectrum extract.
Most experts agree full-spectrum products have the strongest and most reliable effects overall.
CBD isolates contain only one active ingredient — CBD. Everything else has been removed before making the CBD oil.
Broad-spectrum extracts contain all the active ingredients of the hemp plant except for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is the primary psychoactive component in the marijuana plant. The problem with broad-spectrum products is that while removing the THC, many of the other beneficial compounds are damaged or removed as well.
Full-spectrum CBD oils are the gold standard for the industry. They contain the ideal cannabinoid and terpene ratios for maximum benefit. These two classes of compounds work together to produce stronger, more versatile effects than either of them on their own.
You can improve the effects of a CBD isolate by combining terpene concentrates alongside your oil. Like buying CBD oils, it’s important to order terpenes from reputable suppliers only — such as Finest Labs in the United States.
Other Health Supplements to Take With CBD Oil
CBD oil is a great health supplement on its own, but you can make it even more powerful by combining the oil with other health supplements. The best supplements to use depends on the condition or symptoms you’re looking to support.
Here are a few examples of popular health supplements people are combining alongside their CBD oil:
1. L-Theanine — for stress & anxiety
2. Kava Kava — for stress, anxiety, depression, & sleep
3. Melatonin — for sleep
4. Boswellia — for chronic joint pain & inflammation
5. Turmeric — for joint pain & digestive health
6. Reishi — for immune health & inflammation
Final Thoughts: Best CBD Oil Brands For 2020
Shopping for CBD can feel a bit overwhelming. With so many different brands on the market today, it’s difficult to know which products are worth the money and which ones aren’t. This is a valid concern when you consider how rampant low-quality or insufficient CBD oils are on the market today.
When shopping for CBD oils, look for factors such as positive reviews, evidence of third-party testing, size of the product range, and a money-back guarantee. Companies that tick all of these boxes are the least likely to sell you an ineffective CBD oil.
If you’re getting started with CBD oil for the first time, we recommend you check out the selection offered by Royal CBD or Gold Bee. Both brands offer premium full-spectrum CBD oils at below market price.
To see the lowest prices, click here.
