How Long Does CBD Oil Take To Work?

The answer for how long CBD oil takes to work can vary from a general sense, where CBD may help you feel better within a few days, all the way up to a week. This is due to the compounding effect, also called the entourage effect.

The entourage effect basically states that the effectiveness of CBD oil and other products increase over time, therefore you may notice the beneficial effects of pain, anxiety and sleep relief within a longer time frame. However, you may not notice any specific results within the first day. So do not be alarmed, and be patient with the process.

How Long For CBD Oil To Kick In?

This is a very popular question among our customers, potential customers, and people inquiring in general. In short, difference CBD oil products take different amounts of time to take effect.

The time it takes to kick in ranges from as little as 5 minutes, to as long as 1-2 hours. But usually no longer than this time frame. The time it takes until you feel CBD is up to many factors. However, these are the values on average.  

The time it takes to feel the effects of CBD oil: 

Sublingually: 5-25 minutes

Digestion: 30 minutes – 1 hour

How long the effects of CBD oil last:

          6-8 hours (on average)

When taken sublingually, CBD oils take out the middleman of the digestive system. Therefore the CBD is absorbed by the body and kicks in fairly quickly. CBD oils should be put under the tongue for 60-90 seconds to allow for absorption by your two sublingual glands under your tongue. The CBD then travels into your bloodstream and pumped throughout your body, which also leads to higher effectiveness since it does not get diluted by digestion.

Based of studies of sublingual absorption peak effectiveness may take effect as fast as 30 minutes, however to be conservative this may be closer to 45 minutes after sublingual intake. Sublingual intake “avoids drug disruption” that may take place from  “gastric acid and intestinal and hepatic enzymes” when it CBD is taken orally. Under the tongue bypasses this and allows for higher absorption, bio-availability (percentage of CBD that is available for use by the body), and quicker activation.

How long CBD oil lasts is dependent on the concentration. The higher the CBD concentration in the oil, the longer it lasts and the stronger the oil tincture will be. The beneficial effects of CBD oil and the side effects of CBD oil all depend on the amount of CBD taken. 

How long for CBD creams to work?

How long CBD creams take to work really depend on the ingredients within the topical salve, as well as as CBD strength of the topical. 150mg of CBD cream will be different than 500mg. This is a variable on top of the different brands and products with different action times.

The time it takes to feel effects of CBD Creams:

30-60 minutes on average

How long the effects of CBD Creams last:

4-6 hours on average

As a standard, due to the fact that creams and lotions are absorbed through the pores on your skin, they take much longer to take effect. However, they also last fairly long with an average per use lifetime of 4-6 hours.

CBD Creams are a great way to target or localize areas of pains, inflammation, and aches. However, the sacrifice is the longer time it takes to kick in, and a shorter “per use” life than most other options.

Factors that affect absorption: A similar study that examined topical steroid use for eczema noted four different factors that affect absorption. All that effect CBD products as well.

1. CBD Dosage Used: The dosage or amount applied to your skin makes a big difference to how long it takes to kick in. As well, the dosage of CBD in the topical cream likely also affects how long it takes to take effect in the body.
2. Point of Application (on skin): Wherever the topical was applied makes a large different to how long it takes to take effect. Thinner skin areas would take less time to absorb than thicker skin would. Per the study, the soles of your feet and palms of your handles absorb little amounts topically while skin on the face, scalp and other areas would absorb a tremendous amount more.
3. Type of Product/Ingredients: This applies to the brand of product, the manufacturing process of not only the CBD extraction but also the CBD isolate itself, and the ingredients within the topical cream salve. Some topicals contain additional ingredients beyond CBD such as Aloe, White Willow Bark, Caffeine, and a list of other compounds. Each of this have their own beneficial effects, and also affect the absorption rate and time of CBD into your skin.
4. How it is Applied: An overlooked variable is the way the CBD is applied to your skin. This relates to dryness of skin and before or after showering. If showering soon after application, it might not take effect at all.

How long do CBD Edibles take to work?

CBD edibles include products such as gummies, chocolates, granolas, bars, and all the other type of new CBD products. CBD Edibles take a longer time to kick in because they have to go through the process of digestion before acting. The digestive process for CBD edibles can take an hour, or when it passes through the lining of your gut.

What affects CBD digestion of Edibles?

The variable factors that affect the digestion of CBD edibles includes how empty or full your stomach is, age, weight and height.

Let’s look at our edible options:

How long for CBD Gummies to work?

It takes CBD gummies a much longer time period to kick in, because it is ingested and therefore has to go through the digestion and absorption process through gastric acid and metabolization.

The Time it takes to feel effects of CBD Gummies:

45 minutes – 1 hour

How long the effects of CBD Gummies last:

6-8 hours 

However, due to the time it takes to complete this process, CBD Gummies and other CBD edibles tend to last for a longer time period because it has to be digested and broken down. This process of digestion has been found to take around 6-8 hours.

How long for CBD Capsules to work?

Based off a study of medication capsules, they found capsules to take around 30 minutes to take effect. Therefore CBD capsules are likely to take a similar amount of time to be ingested by the body and absorbed in the blood stream.

The Time it takes to feel the effects of CBD Capsules:

30 minutes

How long the effects of CBD Capsules last:

45-60 Minutes

How long for CBD vapes to work? (Inhalation)

CBD vapes is the fastest way to ingest CBD. This is because our lungs are porous and have large holes. When CBD is ingested through inhalation, it gets to the bloodstream very quickly. People have noticed “almost instantaneous” effects from CBD vapes after around 3-4 inhales.

However, the downside of CBD vapes is even though they do kick in quick, they also wear out quick. People tend to notice the effects of vapes for a maximum of 2-3 hours. Although they are also 5x more potent or effective than normal CBD products.

The time it takes to feel effects of CBD Vapes:

5-15 minutes

How long the effects of CBD vapes last:

2-3 hours

How Long Does CBD Stay In The Body?

CBD has been studied to have a half-life of around 3-5 days as suggested by a cannabinoid study from 1991. Therefore it can be assumed that a normal dosage of CBD would likely be completely out of your system within a week if not earlier.

The higher the dosage of CBD, the longer it should take to be removed by the system. Theoretically. Also theoretically, CBD is also found to increase effectiveness the longer you use the oil tincture for. This is a part of the entourage effect, as spoken about in the beginning of this article. 

This CBD study also did a six week long study of a daily dose of 700mg in order to test how long it takes for CBD to be undetectable after consistent use. The study found that after one week only a small amount of CBD could be detected. Then a few days after that were virtually undetectable. Therefore, based off this study, we can assume that CBD lasts in the body for two weeks at a maximum. 

However, do not confuse CBD detection to be in relation with THC, a separate cannabinoid. The difference between CBD and THC is small, but drug tests only test for THC. There are specific things you should know about CBD oil and drug tests. Drug tests do not test for CBD, but they test for THC. Which depending on the type of product, may be found in CBD oil.