Best CBD Oils in the UK for 2024

One of the UK’s biggest growing industries is the CBD oil market, with the number of users increasing year on year.

Although there are some confusions surrounding whether or not CBD is legal in the UK, high-quality CBD oil is sold under the label of “food supplements” and is available in a host of different formats including capsules, topicals, edibles and vape oil.

While this is great news for anyone who wants to try out these exciting and potentially beneficial products, it’s important to know which brands can be relied upon.

Here, we look at some of the best CBD oils in the UK so you can be confident of getting a safe, effective, high-quality product that gives you great value for money.

Best CBD Oils in the UK

Vsavi Full-Spectrum CBD Oil (500-2,000 mg)

If you want to experience the purest and strongest CBD oil in the UK, you’ve got to try Vsavi. Made from organically grown hemp that’s processed through a solvent-free CO2 extraction method, Vsavi CBD oil is as close to the original plant as you can get.

Vsavi CBD begins its life in the form of organic hemp flowers, which are harvested when their cannabinoid content is fullest and brought to Vsavi’s clean room facility in the EU. The essential oil is extracted from the flowers using pressurised carbon dioxide.

The resulting extract is filtered for purity and flavour, and it’s then mixed with food-grade MCT oil derived from coconuts. The MCT oil dilutes the CBD extract to the desired strength, and it also gives the product an appealing flavour and mouth feel.

Vsavi CBD oil is available in three flavours: Natural (unflavoured), Citrus and Peppermint. If you enjoy the botanical and slightly earthy flavour of hemp, try the Natural flavour. If you’d rather use a CBD oil that masks the hemp flavour, try Citrus or Peppermint instead. The flavourings added to these products are organic and natural, so you won’t experience any of the off-putting chemical flavours that you’d get with some other CBD oils.

Vsavi CBD isn’t just a high-quality product that’s lab tested for potency and purity; it’s also an incredibly potent product for the money. When you buy CBD oil, don’t just look at the milligram strength – you also need to look at the size of the bottle. While other companies typically sell CBD oil in 30 ml bottles, Vsavi’s bottles are just 10 ml. That means you’ll get triple the CBD in every drop compared to other brands.

Because Vsavi’s CBD oil is so potent, we recommend starting with the 500 mg strength and working your way up slowly unless you’re already an experienced CBD user.

Vsavi CBD oil is a full-spectrum product, which means that it doesn’t just contain CBD – it also contains all of the other beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes from the original plant. You’ll enjoy the full entourage effect with this CBD oil, but you won’t have to worry about any unwanted psychoactive effects; Vsavi CBD oil contains only trace levels of THC and is below the 0.2% legal limit.

Orange County CBD Oil (500-1,500 mg)

With “Orange County” in its name, you might assume that Orange County CBD is a product imported from the United States. That, however, isn’t the case. Orange County CBD is inspired by the burgeoning hemp industry in the US, but it’s made right here in the UK.

As the story goes, Orange County CBD’s founders travelled far and wide after deciding that they wanted to found a CBD brand. Their search took them around the United States until they finally found the perfect farm growing the ideal strain of hemp for CBD. That same farm has been the source of Orange County CBD’s hemp since the company’s founding in 2019, and the product remains as beautiful today as it was then.

In addition to being grown in the United States, the hemp for Orange County CBD is also processed in the US before being shipped to the UK in raw extract form. Orange County CBD takes over at that point and manufactures its finished products right here in the UK using only vegan-friendly and non-GMO ingredients.

Orange County CBD products ship in 30 ml bottles, which might be appropriate for you if you want a product that’s a bit milder tasting and don’t mind the fact that you’ll have to use more oil than you would with the Vsavi product in order to achieve the same dosage.

One of the great things about Orange County CBD is that there’s never any doubt about the purity and potency of the company’s products. All Orange County products are subject to batch testing through an external laboratory, and the company publishes the results of those tests for the public to view.

Like the Vsavi products mentioned above, Orange County CBD oil is a full-spectrum product that allows you to enjoy the full range of the hemp plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes. Many people believe that CBD is most effective when it’s used in combination with the other compounds that occur naturally in hemp. This is called the entourage effect, and you’ll enjoy the full entourage effect with both of the CBD oils recommended in this guide.

What is CBD Oil?

Sometimes known as Cannabidiol oil or cannabis oil, CBD oil is extracted from the marijuana or hemp plant, although in the United Kingdom it’s only possible to purchase CBD that has been derived from hemp plants.

Unlike THC (another component found in the cannabis plant), CBD doesn’t have any psychoactive effects. 

People consume it for a wide range of reasons including relaxation and general wellness.

How Does CBD Work?

There is plenty of research ongoing into how CBD works in the body. It’s known that it interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system – a system that is spread through the body and brain as well as the central nervous system.

How Do I Use CBD Oils?

The most frequently used way of consuming CBD oil is putting some drops under the tongue, waiting a couple of minutes and then swallowing.

Sometimes, it is mixed into juices or smoothies, or combined with serums and skincare creams. The amount of CBD you should use will depend on your personal needs.

A typical CBD dose is 20-50 mg per serving. This means you’ll need a different number of drops depending on the strength of the product you’ve chosen.

For example, oil with 500mg of CBD in it will need ten times the amount of oil when compared with a CBD oil containing 5000 mg. To find the best dose for you, start at 20mg then increase the amount you take if you need to.

When you’re taking CBD oil, make sure you hold it for a couple of minutes under your tongue before you swallow so the CBD can effectively be absorbed through the gums.

Most Common Methods to Consume CBD

There are four common ways of taking CBD. These include:

What are the Types of CBD?

There are two types of CBD product:

Is CBD Oil Legal in the UK?

Many people wonder if CBD oil is legal in the UK. At the moment, this is a debatable question. CBD is considered legal if it contains no THC (the psychoactive compound in cannabis).

Although some people believe it’s legal to have CBD products with as much as 0.2% THC content, this isn’t true. You must make sure that the product you choose, therefore, contains zero THC to comply with the law.

Can CBD Make You High?

CBD isn’t a psychoactive compound, so it doesn’t make you high. Cannabis plants contain a minimum of 113 cannabinoids, each of which products its own effect.

The only cannabinoid in the cannabis plant that causes a high is THC. This is removed from CBD products. Not only does CBD not cause a high, it actually counteracts THC’s psychoactivity, so this makes it a useful treatment for many conditions. 

How to Choose the Best CBD Oil?

There are several things to consider when it comes to choosing the best CBD oil.

Concentration

It’s impossible to look at a bottle of CBD oil and immediately measure its strength as there is no standard measurement in the industry.

The potency of a product can vary depending on the kind of CBD used its concentration and its supplier.

For example, a 30ml bottle of CBD oil could contain as little as 300mg which would be a low potency product suitable for new users, or it could contain 500mg of CBD – a mid-potency choice.

There are even 30ml bottles that contain as much as 1000mg of CBD, which would be a high-potency choice.

Cost

An effective way to compare the price of CBD oils is to calculate their cost per milligram. This means you have to weigh up the price and the total amount of CBD the product contains.

Divide the cost by the CBD content in milligrams to find the cost per milligram, and this will give you a good idea of the value for money you’ll be getting from your purchase.

Taste

The taste that you want from your CBD oil will depend on your own preferences. If you like a natural hemp taste, an unflavoured product is ideal for you.

Meanwhile, if you don’t want the bitter taste of hemp, you can choose a flavoured oil. Alternatively, you could add the oil to your drinks or food for a more palatable way of taking your daily dose.

There are also other ways of taking CBD that don’t involve tasting it. Gummies and edibles or CBD vape oils could be the ideal choice for you.

Extraction Method

As far as you can, you should choose CBD oils that have been extracted with the CO2 method of extraction as this is the safest and most effective way to extract pure CBD.

CO2 is a solvent that is used under extremely high pressure and at low temperatures to preserve and maintain the CBD’s purity. 

There are three phases in the process. In the first phase, the plant matter is placed carefully into the extraction container before the liquid CO2 is pressurised and heated, so it achieves a supercritical state, and the active ingredients are flushed out.

In the second phase, the active ingredients are transferred to a separating unit where the pressure is reduced, allowing the CBD to become separate from the CO2.

As a result, the CBD compound becomes a sticky, thick resin while the CO2 is recycled back. In the third phase, the CBD that has been extracted is purified through several refinement steps.

It is emulsified then spun in a roto bath so the ethanol is flushed out of the oil.

Due to these numerous steps, CO2 extracted products are often costly, but they are also considered to be very safe since the process must be done carefully by professionals working in licensed laboratories.

Source

When hemp grows, it has a tendency to absorb any toxins contained in the soil, so you need to ensure you’ve chosen a product grown by a reliable grower.

Choose products that have been made by hemp farmers in areas that have undergone legitimate and strict license processing and certification so the safety and quality of the product can be assured. 

Reputable Brands

When it comes to finding a reputable and safe CBD oil brand, there are three things to consider. 

First, you need to ensure the brand is transparent about its processing and harvesting practices as well as its hemp source.

Second, you should ensure that the brand has committed to 3rd party lab testing to prove the CBD content in the bottle and to guarantee no residual solvents or heavy metals are in the product.

Thirdly, you should check user reviews to ensure that the brand you’ve chosen is legitimate.

Customer Service

Don’t forget to consider customer service when you’re choosing the right CBD oil for you.

Make sure the website for the brand is current and features the email, phone number and physical address of the manufacturer and check that they respond quickly to their calls and emails.

Lab Results

Make sure that the product that you’ve chosen has been third party lab tested so you can be confident of the product’s quality, contents and safety. This will ensure you can trust the manufacturer.

Transparency

You should choose a CBD oil manufacturer that is willing to openly reveal its business practices and that welcomes customer opinions and discussions.

You should check to ensure they provide information about their farming practices, manufacturing and extraction processes, the technology and testing processes they use so you can be confident of their reliability. 

Shipping, Return & Refund Policies

Only if the CBD oil company’s policies are designed to be user-friendly, the organisation can be successful in today’s competitive marketplace.

This means that their return, shipping and refund policies must be top-notch.

You should also consider whether there are any reward programmes or any discounts for special groups such as first responders and retired military.

Website Experience

The user experience you receive from a CBD oil manufacturer’s website will determine whether you want to make an order or return in the future for more purchases.

The site needs to be easily navigable and should be able to navigate you through the top options and bring you the best deals quickly.

You should feel as if you’re getting a great deal with no need to scour the whole website to find what you’re looking for. 

Where to Start with CBD Oil?

If you’ve never used CBD oil before, you may find it quite confusing to know how much you should take, which brand is the best one for you, and where you should be buying CBD from.

If you follow the advice provided here and use one of the brands that we’ve recommended you should find that you have a great first-time user experience.