CBD Lotion vs Salve – Everything You Need To Know

CBD lotion and CBD salve are two names that usually come up when you search for topical CBD products. But which one should you use and why? Most people face this dilemma between choosing CBD lotion and salve because they don’t know the differences. Although they may look similar, their basic ingredients are different. In fact,  CBD is infused into these products differently. Let’s take a look at how CBD lotion and CBD salve differ, and how to apply these products.

What is CBD lotion?

CBD lotion has a higher water ratio compared to other topical CBD products. It contains moisturizing agents and water in the base, CBD compounds, and other ingredients. One of the reasons why CBD lotion is so effective among users is that the skin absorbs the ingredients faster than CBD salve, thus providing quicker results.

According to dermatologists, a skincare lotion should be water-based for hydrated, supple skin. Therefore, a CBD lotion has a double-action formula – its watery base not only keeps your skin hydrated but the CBD compounds ease your joint pain away and make your skin smoother and soft.

Another reason why more CBD users embrace CBD lotion? Well, its effects set in faster than with other delivery methods. Scientists and skin specialists believe that CBD lotion can successfully bypass the endocannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, and work directly with neurotransmitters. This allows them to send pain-relieving signals to your brain.

Bypassing these two receptors means that a CBD lotion can alleviate pain without taking much time or providing the high sensation of THC. Scientists believe that this happens primarily because you are applying the lotion topically on the injured area and not consuming a few drops of CBD tincture and allowing it to mix with your bloodstream before finding the receptors that can send pain-relieving signals.

What is CBD salve?

CBD salve is a therapeutic topical ointment containing natural CBD extracts. When you think of CBD lotion vs salve, the first difference that you should know about is the primary ingredient. While CBD lotion contains a watery base, CBD salve uses wax and fatty oil to make the base. It doesn’t contain water. As a result, CBD salve is denser than CBD lotion.

Manufacturers say that CBD salve is a simple concoction of various ingredients with wax and fatty oil being the base. The three essential ingredients that CBD salves contain are beeswax, fatty oil, and CBD compounds. One of the reasons why manufacturers prefer using beeswax is because it is dense and sticky, thus making the salve thicker and denser along with the other ingredients.

While beeswax is the most popular type of wax used in CBD salve, some of the vegan salves contain Candelilla wax, derived from the Candelilla plant. In addition to beeswax, fatty oil also plays a crucial role in making CBD salve. In fact, the oil part is responsible for delivering the effects of CBD into your body when you apply the salve topically. Although there are various types of oils available, manufacturers use coconut oil. This is another CBD lotion vs salve that you can keep in mind. While lotion has a water base, salve has an oil base.

Making CBD lotion vs salve

There is also a significant difference in the manufacturing process of CBD lotion and CBD salve. First of all, CBD lotion has a watery base. The manufacturers have to use water at a specific ratio to ensure the consistency of the mixture. Otherwise, the lotion won’t be dense enough. On the other hand, CBD salve has an oil base, but it doesn’t necessarily have a fixed ratio when it comes to fatty acids present in the oil.

In this case, there is a direct relation between the amount of fatty acids and CBD. The higher the fatty acids in the oil, the higher its capacity to carry CBD. Therefore, you should always check whether the percentage of fatty acid present in the CBD salve that you are planning to buy.

Another CBD lotion vs salve difference that stands out is the process of infusing CBD into the two products. Infusing CBD oil into CBD lotion is a pretty straightforward process where manufacturers mix CBD oil with the other ingredients of CBD lotion to make a thick paste. This paste is not as dense as CBD salve because of its water base.

On the other hand, CBD salve has a relatively long process of infusing CBD. The manufacturers first ground the cannabis plant extracts into a fine powder, followed by steeping the powder rigorously for several hours. It then goes into a heating chamber that has a temperature of more than 200o F. The tremendous heat inside the chamber decarboxylates the CBD that further mixes with the fatty acids present in the oil.

Once the oil goes through the heating process, the manufacturers melt beeswax or Candelilla wax and mix it with the CBD-infused oil. They also add various essential oils, such as peppermint, lavender, or tea tree oil, and fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, and E to make the salve more effective and allow it to emit a sweet fragrance when you apply it topically.

Application of CBD lotion vs salve

It is also essential to note the CBD lotion vs salve differences in regards to how you apply the two products. CBD lotion is ideal if you want to apply it to a relatively large area of your body. For example, if you have a sore back, you may want to get a back massage with CBD lotion. You need to use a small quantity of lotion to cover the entire back. This is because of the density of the product. CBD lotion is not as dense as a salve and therefore can cover a bigger area easily.

CBD salve, on the other hand, is suitable for a small area. Suppose you have pain in your right knee or left shoulder. You can take a small amount of CBD salve and apply it topically on the injured area.

Efficacy of CBD lotion vs salve

There is no denying that both CBD lotion and CBD salve are both highly effective in alleviating pain, making your skin soft and supple, and healing your skin. They also exhibit the other properties of CBD depending on why you are using them.

However, when it comes to the reaction time between the two, CBD lotion edges slightly ahead of CBD salve. This is because CBD lotion isn’t as dense as its counterpart and can successfully bypass the interaction with CB1 and CB2 receptors. Scientists believe that this saves a lot of time in sending pain-relieving signals to your brain.

As already mentioned, the ingredients in CBD lotion interact directly with the neurotransmitters that directly send pain-alleviating signals to the brain and therefore provides a quicker reaction than CBD salve. That doesn’t mean CBD salve is ineffective. It can deliver similar effects but takes a slightly longer time.

Moreover, you can apply CBD lotion to a bigger area of your body. If you apply CBD salve to a similar area, you may have to buy the product more frequently than CBD lotion.

If you are looking for high-quality CBD lotion, CBD salve, or any other CBD products like CBD tincture, CBD gummies, or CBD ointments, you should rely on Tanasi.com. It is one of the leading online stores that provides full-spectrum CBD products at affordable prices and ensures consistency in quality by rigorously testing each item before packing and shipping so that you enjoy the benefits of CBD.