Last updated 16 August 2026 · Originally published 22 August 2022
Two formats that turn up a lot and get talked about in very different ways. One makes reasonable sense. The other is sold on a claim that’s shakier than it sounds.
Skin cream
This is the more sensible of the two.
CBD has anti-inflammatory effects in laboratory studies, and skin has its own endocannabinoid signalling system — so there are plausible local targets for it to act on. That’s a reasonable basis for putting it in a cream, and why the research interest is real rather than purely commercial.
Human evidence is still small and mixed. A few studies of particular topical formulations have reported benefits — including a small randomised trial in thumb arthritis that compared CBD in shea butter against shea butter alone[1] — but that doesn’t establish that an ordinary retail CBD cream will work. How much gets through your skin depends heavily on how the product is made.
Our guides to CBD and skin and CBD cosmetics go through what’s been shown.
If you want to try CBD on a specific sore joint or patch of skin, a cream is the most logical format. Don’t assume a higher milligram count means a better product — formulation matters too.
Sublingual strips
These are thin films you put under your tongue and let dissolve. Discreet, no measuring, no oily taste. As a way to take a fixed dose without fuss, they’re perfectly good.
The claim to be careful with is the one about speed.
Strips are usually sold on the idea that dissolving under the tongue delivers CBD straight into your bloodstream, bypassing digestion, so it works faster. In theory that’s how sublingual absorption works. In practice it’s less certain than the marketing implies. In one small study of eight healthy men, researchers compared CBD drops held under the tongue with capsules that were simply swallowed. Blood levels came out much the same, and both peaked around four hours later.[2]
That study looked at oil rather than strips, and a film designed to dissolve in place might perform differently. But good published evidence for ordinary retail CBD strips is still lacking, and “sublingual” on a label isn’t proof of faster absorption.
Our guide to how to take CBD goes into it properly.
Which should you pick?
Different jobs, so it isn’t really a contest.
A cream if you want to treat a specific place — a joint, a patch of skin. Most CBD creams are intended to act locally, not throughout the body.
A strip if you want a convenient, pre-measured dose you can take anywhere. Choose it for the convenience rather than the speed.
With either, check the label for a stated CBD amount and look for a batch-specific lab report. Products vary more than they should, and the packaging isn’t always reliable.
None of this is medical advice.
For more, see our guide to CBD and what the research actually shows, or browse Using CBD.
References
- Heineman JT, Forster GL, Stephens KL, et al. A randomized controlled trial of topical cannabidiol for the treatment of thumb basal joint arthritis. Journal of Hand Surgery (American Volume). 2022;47(7):611–620. doi:10.1016/j.jhsa.2022.03.002
- Johnson DA, Funnell MP, Heaney LM, et al. Cannabidiol oil ingested as sublingual drops or within gelatin capsules shows similar pharmacokinetic profiles in healthy males. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. 2024;9(5):e1423–e1432. doi:10.1089/can.2023.0117
About this article
Updated in August 2026 to reflect what’s now known about sublingual absorption, and to correct the original’s description of CBD as psychoactive but not psychotropic. With earlier reporting by Ben Fitzsimmons.
