If you’re a new CBD user, it can be confusing to figure out what dose you need to see the benefits you’re looking for. Whether for treating anxiety, sleep disorders, pain, or a variety of other ailments, your CBD oil dosage can vary.
CBD isn’t regulated by the FDA and is treated like a supplement. Because of this, there are no “official” answers on proper CBD dosing. However, a little knowledge can help you determine where to start on your CBD journey.
Read on to find out how to get started with CBD!
What’s My CBD Oil Dose?
CBD oils come in many varieties of serving suggestions, strengths, and types of products. This means, what works in one form might not be what you need in another.
Your brand new bottle of CBD oil may have a recommended serving size of a dropper a day, but that doesn’t spell out for you your exact dosing suggestion. Make sure you know the concentration of the product compared to your weight, ailments, and other needs to best determine your dose.
It’s important to consider that your starting dose will be different than what you end up with. You’ll likely work your way up from the minimum dose to a range that gives you the desired benefits. This slow increase is known as titration.
Factors to Consider
Substances are absorbed into our bloodstreams differently depending on how we ingest them. Supplements that we swallow have to make it through our digestive tracts, which means we lose some potency along the way. Absorbing them under the tongue or vaporizing them bypasses those steps and leads to higher bioavailability of the ingredients.
Using this logic, you can see how an inhaled CBD product might be effective even at lower doses, where a capsule might need to be more concentrated to offset the loss due to digestion. Consider these factors when determining your dose.
Other factors to consider are your age, symptoms, weight, and other physiology. All of these elements can impact how CBD interacts with your endocannabinoid system. This is why there is no single perfect dose for everyone.
Complicating things further is the fact that your optimal dose might change as your body does. Consequently, you might find you need to adjust your dose slightly over time, even after you’ve found one that works for you.
So how do you find your starting dose? Follow these simple rules:
Determine Your CBD Oil Dosage
If you have an above average body mass, you might need more CBD to experience the benefits you want. A good rule of thumb is an estimate of 1-6 mg of CBD per 10lbs of weight. Don’t base it on what other people take; use your own weight as an initial measurement.
No two people react the same to medications. Start out at the lowest dose for your weight class, and gradually titrate higher until you start seeing results. Try increasing your dose my 1-3mg every few days, and stop when notice a positive change.
Discuss your CBD treatment with your doctor. CBD could potentially interact with your medications, or your other treatments could interfere with the absorption of CBD. Your doctor may even have a recommended dose for you, depending on their familiarity with CBD treatments.
Measuring CBD Oil
How can you make sure you’re measuring CBD oil correctly? It depends on which method you are using to take it. A dropper, vaporizer, or capsule will all have different considerations.
Capsule Measurements
To get a perfect dose every time, the most convenient method is a capsule. Like daily vitamins, taking CBD oil capsules makes sure you get the same dose every day with no measuring needed.
The downside of using a capsule as opposed to oils is the indirect absorption of the product. Also if you intend to adjust your strength over time, you may have to buy multiple strengths of capsules to go up or down in dose.
Other oral CBD products could include edibles like candy or baked goods, gummies, and even drinks. These products could give you extra CBD to increase your daily capsule dose if you don’t want to measure oils.
Dropper Measurements
Most droppers hold one milliliter of liquid. Read your label to see the measurement of CBD per milliliter or per dropper.
If your label reads 10mg per 1 milliliter, that means you’re getting 10mg with every full dropper. If you don’t have a dropper, most drug stores or pharmacies carry graduated droppers with milliliter measurements for drug dosing. At a 10mg strength, you could use 1.5 droppers for 15 ml, 2 droppers for 20 ml, and so on.
To absorb oil through the soft palate, place your recommended dose under the tongue and swallow after one minute of waiting. This method will allow the beneficial CBD to absorb quickly into the bloodstream.
Vaporizer Measurements
CBD liquid meant for vaping will either come in a CBD infused vape juice or in a disposable CBD cartridge, depending on your vaping device.
Like regular CBD oil, CBD-infused e-cig juice is measured in milliliters. You will vape the correct dose of e-cig liquid each day depending on how many milliliters of CBD you are using. Check how much liquid your e-cig or vaporizer tank holds to determine how much CBD liquid you’ll consume.
If using pre-filled cartridges, they will say on their label how much CBD is in each one. If one cartridge is 5mg CBD for example, you would smoke three of them to get to a desired dose of 15mg a day. If your desired dose is higher, you may have to use more.
The great thing about CBD products is that you can mix and match. Say you like to take CBD capsules, but you’re also a vaper. Why not try taking a base CBD dose with your capsule, then use your e-cig to add more CBD until you reach your target dose for the day?
Trying different methods of absorption may improve the benefits you see.
Work Your Way Up
There are no strict guidelines on how to decide your CBD oil dosage. It’s important to know that you might not see effects from your first dose. Natural supplements like CBD don’t work the same way as pharmaceutical drugs.
Your unique metabolism and biology will make your CBD experience different from the experience of your family or friends. Follow the recommendations above and start off at your lowest dose, and then work your way up until you find the perfect balance.
If you’re treating serious conditions like chronic back pain or epilepsy, know that you may need to take much higher doses than for conditions such as anxiety or sleep disorders. Always use high-quality, third-party tested products so you know you’re getting real and effective medicine.
Looking for more awesome ways to use CBD? Check out our article on how applying topical CBD balms can help treat muscle pain, cramps, and chronic injuries!