Is It Safe For People To Make CBD Tinctures At Home?

CBD tinctures have only been around since 2018, but countless customers now count on these hemp extracts to provide reliable relief. Also, as information on CBD extraction spreads throughout cyberspace, more people are taking it upon themselves to make DIY CBD tinctures. Unlike manufactured CBD oils, CBD tinctures don’t require the same machinery or expertise to make at home. In fact, alternative healers have been making DIY herbal tinctures for centuries with just a few ingredients. 

While making CBD tinctures at home is possible, customers need to carefully follow a few procedures to safely extract CBD from their hemp flowers. If people don’t feel they fully grasp how to make CBD tinctures at home, it’s better to stick with highly-rated lab-verified CBD oils on Real Tested CBD. 

A Quick Review Of CBD Oils vs. CBD Tinctures 

Before we go over the basics of DIY CBD tinctures, we must distinguish between these extracts and the more prevalent “CBD oils.” Although these terms often get conflated, they refer to distinct hemp products. More specifically, these cannabinoid extracts use different solvents to get CBD out of the hemp plant. 

To qualify as a CBD tincture, extractors should use alcohol as their solvent. By contrast, CBD oils should use non-alcohol solvents like butane or supercritical CO2. Also, CBD oils are always suspended in, well, “oil!” These traits often make CBD oils easier on the palate versus bitter CBD tinctures, but CBD oils aren’t possible to make at home. 

If you’d like a thorough explanation of CBD oils vs. CBD tinctures, please read Real Tested CBD’s previous guide on this link. 

How Do People Make DIY CBD Tinctures? 

You’ll need to gather your favorite CBD-rich hemp flowers, a mason jar, a coffee filter, and a bottle of high-proof vodka to make a DIY CBD tincture. First, place the hemp you intend to use in your tincture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place these hemp flowers in a ~ 250° F oven for 30 minutes. This initial step is known as “decarboxylation,” and it’s essential for making CBD molecules bioavailable. 

After you’ve let your CBD hemp flowers rest on the counter for a few hours, you could mix them in your mason jar with vodka. Most people recommend pouring 750 ml of vodka per 1 – 2 oz of hemp flowers. Once your mason jar is full, you could put the lid on and give it a good shake. Be sure to shake your jar at least once daily and let it sit in a cool & dark space. 

There’s no “set time” for how long to leave this CBD mix on your shelves, but the alcohol will pull more cannabinoids and terpenes the longer you leave it. You should wait a few days before straining your CBD tincture through a coffee filter into a dropper bottle. However, many CBD fans recommend leaving your CBD tincture in the mason jar for over a month for more potent results. 

Please Don’t Neglect Lab Tests When Making CBD Tinctures! 

Whether you’re planning to make CBD tinctures or order CBD oils online, you must pay careful attention to each company’s third-party lab test results. Unfortunately, hemp flowers can absorb toxins like lead from the soil. CBD hemp extracts and flowers could contain traces of these nasty compounds if manufacturers didn’t purify them. The only way to know there aren’t any pesticides, heavy metals, and insecticides in your hemp is to request a Certificate of Analysis from your CBD brand.

Customers should also remember that Real Tested CBD publishes dozens of unbiased reviews on some of America’s top-performing CBD oils.