Hemp Oil vs CBD Oil: The Difference at a Glance

On the shelf they often stand side by side, but in price they are worlds apart: CBD oil and hemp oil. Both come from the same plant but are two completely different products. Here you can read about hemp oil vs CBD oil: how they differ – and when which one makes sense.

Note: Our CBD products are oral cosmetics or cosmetics. We do not give medical recommendations and do not make any promises of healing. If you have health complaints, your doctor is the right person to ask.

Hemp oil vs CBD oil: the short difference

Hemp oil (also hemp seed oil, in the INCI list Cannabis sativa seed oil) is pressed from the seeds of the hemp plant. Seeds contain practically no cannabinoids. What they do contain is fatty acids, above all omega-6 and omega-3 in a favourable ratio, as in fish – which makes it a perfect alternative to animal products – plus usually vitamin E to prevent oxidation.

CBD oil, on the other hand, is made from flowers and leaves. The extract contains cannabidiol and – depending on the product – other cannabinoids and terpenes. So that it can be taken in drops, it is dissolved in a carrier oil; this carrier oil is often exactly the hemp seed oil described above. That is why some labels list both.

Comparison table

	Hemp oil (hemp seed oil)	CBD oil
Raw material	Hemp seeds	Flowers and leaves
Production	Cold pressing	Extraction (in our case a gentle process without solvents; we deliberately do not use CO2 extraction, so that only the components that are actually needed are dissolved),
Cannabidiol	practically none	declared in per cent or milligrams
Typical use	Kitchen, cosmetics	Oral cosmetic, drop by drop
Price level	Food price	significantly higher, because extraction is complex
How to recognise it on the label	Cannabis sativa seed oil	Cannabidiol or extract with mg information

How to tell in the shop what you have in front of you

• Quantity: A CBD oil always states a CBD content, for example “10% (1,000 mg / 10 ml)”. If this information is missing, it is not a CBD oil.
• Price: A litre of hemp seed oil costs a few euros. Anyone selling 10 ml of “hemp oil with hemp power” for 30 euros without declaring CBD is selling you salad oil.
• Certificate of analysis: Every reputable CBD oil comes with a CoA from an independent laboratory. How to read it is explained in our post Reading a certificate of analysis.

When to use which product

Hemp oil is a good cooking oil with a nutty taste – use it cold, do not fry at high heat, store in a cool, dark place. If cannabidiol is what you are after, you need a declared CBD product: for example from our CBD oils or – if you prefer a water-soluble form – from the CBDeus range.

Our extracts come from 100% Austrian hemp, processed in Vienna. We show what this means in concrete terms under Quality & analysis.