You’ve read about CBD, and you decided to buy some products – but now you find yourself wondering how to store it so that it doesn’t lose its quality. Don’t stress! You can make the most out of CBD products if you know how to store it and follow these tips. Read on to learn how to keep your CBD fresh for your next use without losing any potency!

CBD’s shelf life

What you should look for is the expiration date – often 1 year after you first open it. However, there are factors that might shorten CBD’s shelf life, and that depends on how you store your CBD!

Some factors which affect CBD are:

• Sunlight – leaving CBD products near a window or outdoors, where UV rays can easily reach the bottle, is something to avoid. Direct sunlight won’t do anything horrible to your CBD, but it will cause a breakdown of the important components inside. It may also cause the products to melt or leak (especially cartridges and gummies)
• Heat – similar to sunlight, heat can also damage your CBD product and make it practically useless. The heat from the sun or other sources quickly deteriorates the CBD oil components and considerably shortens its shelf life. 
• Air – air can also cause damage to your CBD because it interacts with the components inside the CBD oil in a process known as oxidation. The best way to avoid this is to keep your CBD in a tightly-closed container and reduce air exposure.

It’s important to mention that while these outside factors are likely to hamper the quality of your CBD oil, they won’t make it dangerous for ingestion. That means that the damage caused to CBD products don’t make them harmful to the body, just less potent.

How to store CBD

And now…the moment you’ve been waiting for. How exactly do you store CBD when sunlight, heat, and air are all around us? It’s actually straightforward – keep your CBD in its original packaging and keep it in a cool, dark, and dry place. A cupboard or pantry works great. 

Short-term storage

If you’re planning on storing CBD short-term, like a month or two, keeping it in the refrigerator is great. The cold temperatures will preserve the potency and consistency of the product if you use it daily. It should go without saying that the original bottle packaging is best, but ziploc bags work pretty well, too, for non-liquid CBD products. 

Long-term storage 

If you’re wondering how to store CBD long-term and keep it fresh & potent, we have the answer. CBD is best kept in the freezer if you intend to use it for an indefinitely long period, but bear in mind that you need to de-thaw it each time you use it. In this case, ziploc or vacuum bags work best for non-liquid CBD products, we wouldn’t recommend freezing liquid CBD. 

Common signs your CBD has gone bad

You might know how to store CBD adequately, but you need to watch out for some common signs that your CBD has gone bad and can’t be used anymore. Luckily, it’s quite easy to notice when your CBD is no longer usable, and this can be seen in its:

• Smell – CBD has an earthy, pleasant aroma, so if you notice any weird odors coming out from your bottle, there’s a big possibility that your CBD has gone far past its expiration date and can no longer be used.
• Consistency – the texture of your CBD product is a great way to notice if something’s wrong. Usually, a very cloudy or clumpy consistency is a dead giveaway that your CBD product has exceeded its shelf life.
• Taste – if the flavor of CBD has changed drastically, then you should simply throw away the product as it can no longer be used. 

Final thoughts

CBD products need to be handled with extra care and caution in order to make the most out of them! Of course, buying high-quality products from a reputable company is the first and foremost step that must be taken, but making sure that you know how to store CBD is also extremely important. We wouldn’t recommend using CBD for longer than its shelf life because this would just ruin the experience for you and cause it to no longer produce any effects whatsoever. These basic tips above should help you get an idea of how to store CBD. If all else fails – use your instincts or send us a message!

We are not medical professionals, this advice is not intended as medical advice, only our best information on the subject.

Source:

– Healthline: Yes, CBD Oil Expires — Here’s How to Check Yours