How CBD oil is made from hemp

CBD oil may be everywhere, but that doesn't mean all extracts are made to the same standard. Keep reading to find out what goes on behind the scenes at Cibdol, and why our CBD oils are renowned for their purity, safety, and effectiveness.

How Cibdol CBD is made: a step-by-step guide

Before we’re ready to ship our CBD oil across Europe, the extract must go through several crucial phases, each contributing not only to the quality of the final product, but also our reputation for golden-grade CBD.

Below you’ll find a complete breakdown of the eight key stages required to produce Cibdol CBD oil.

Raw plant material

All Cibdol CBD oil begins life as hemp. However, even at the earliest stage of production, Cibdol goes above and beyond to ensure our hemp is not only naturally grown, but free from pesticides, GMOs, and heavy metals. It's only by using the highest-quality raw material that you can hope to create the highest-quality CBD oils.

Once harvested, hundreds of kilograms of hemp travel to our warehouse, where we prepare it for supercritical extraction.

Milling and processing

The most significant concentration of CBD exists in the flowers of mature hemp plants. So, before we can even consider CO₂ extraction, the raw plant material needs to be sorted and milled into a fine powder.

Huge bags of hemp plant material are fed, by hand, into a milling machine, as we check for stalks and any foreign objects swept up during harvest. With the larger parts of the plant removed, all that remains are finely ground flowers ready for extraction.

Supercritical CO₂ extraction

Extraction is where we finally turn raw plant material into CBD. Inside hemp is a diverse blend of chemical compounds; but, separating them from one another requires sophisticated machinery and precise conditions.

By subjecting CO₂ to supercritical conditions, it takes on characteristics of both a gas and a liquid. The supercritical solution is then washed over the plant material, stripping out the crucial chemical compounds and leaving behind any physical plant material.

Although the result of CO₂ extraction may look a lot like black sludge, that black sludge is packed full of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. But, it takes a few more stages for our full-spectrum extract to reach the golden-grade standard Cibdol prides itself on. With our cannabinoids in hand, it's time to turn them into purified CBD.

Chemical decarboxylation

When we said hemp material is full of CBD, we weren't technically correct. Raw plant material actually contains an "inactive" version of CBD called CBDA. CBDA doesn't interact with the body in the same way as CBD, so we need to remove the extra carboxyl group (the “A”) to transform it into an "active" cannabinoid.

Usually, this is done by heating raw cannabinoids in a decarboxylation oven. At Cibdol, however, we use chemical decarboxylation to turn all of our CBDA into CBD, and to ensure we don't damage any other compounds during the process.

During this process, the raw hemp extract passes through several sealed chambers where chemical reactions create the heat necessary to activate CBDA. Performing decarboxylation this way ensures all of the smaller compounds (terpenes and flavonoids) remain intact, and that the final product has a much greater impact on well-being thanks to the entourage effect.

Distillation

With only a few steps left, it's time to start adding the finishing touches to our full-spectrum CBD extract. Chemical decarboxylation may have saved the smaller flavonoids and terpenes from being destroyed, but it also retains natural plant waxes and fats.

Distillation helps remove these elements, as they each have different boiling points. By carefully heating and condensing, it's possible to separate the vast blend of compounds, only keeping what is needed. It's also at this stage that we can isolate specific cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, and CBC for use in dedicated products.

Filtration

Our full-spectrum extract is virtually ready, but to deliver a golden-grade finish, a round of filtration takes place under sterile conditions—away from the production floor. The point of filtration is to remove any microbes that could have survived the previous stages, and to give the extract a level of purity that speaks for itself.

It's also during filtration that we add the full-spectrum CBD extract to the chosen carrier oil. Cibdol uses olive, hemp seed, and black cumin seed oil as carriers for CBD, with each providing a unique range of nutritional benefits.

Bottling

This may not seem like an important stage, but accurate bottling is crucial to maintaining the integrity of Cibdol CBD oil. The ratio of carrier oil to CBD extract needs to match the concentration advertised. For example, one drop of 10% CBD oil should contain 4.6mg of CBD, compared to a 20% formula which should contain 9.2mg of CBD per drop.

Bottling also involves labelling products with correct details on batch number and expiry date. It's with this critical information that customers can verify the exact contents of their chosen product online, thanks to the final stage of production—testing and analysis.

Testing and analysis

All of the previous stages would be for nothing if we didn't have an independent party of experts to verify our CBD. With state-of-the-art testing facilities, a third-party organisation carefully examines our CBD extract, checking the purity, integrity, and cannabinoid content. Concerning the latter point, not only are CBD levels verified, but the levels of other cannabinoids too, including THC. Customers can have complete peace of mind knowing Cibdol CBD products contain only trace levels of THC (as allowed by law).

CBD production isn't a simple process (when performed to the highest standard), and it's easy to cut corners to maximise profits. By publishing test results directly to the Cibdol site, we're giving customers something money can't buy—product confidence. You get to see exactly what goes into our extract, and what doesn’t.

The purest CBD in the world

To provide the purest CBD, you need unprecedented quality control, state-of-the-art facilities, and the industry’s greatest minds. Fortunately, Cibdol delivers on all fronts, ensuring that everything from the processing of raw hemp to extraction, filtration, distillation, and bottling is performed in-house. With quality control measures implemented at each stage of production, customers can have complete faith in the transparency of our brand and the quality of our extracts.

If you want to try the highest-quality CBD for yourself, why not browse the Cibdol store for a comprehensive selection of CBD oils, capsules, creams, and supplements? Or, if you'd like to learn more about extraction, decarboxylation, or product testing, you'll find the answers in our extensive CBD Encyclopedia.