THC has become more accepted over the past few decades, thanks to new scientific research that has uncovered new health benefits while dispelling common myths and fears. While THC does make you high, it is no more damaging or risky to your well-being than alcohol, and it also can provide many potential health benefits, including pain relief and treating insomnia.
However, not everyone likes smoking or vaping THC. There are numerous reasons for this, whether it’s the increased long-term health risk for breathing in smoke and vapor, the flavor, the extra costs and learning curve to use joints and vapes, and more. This is why more people are turning to alternative THC products, especially for medical reasons. If you want to take THC purely for your health and wellness, then you should look into taking THC isolate products
What Is THC Isolate?
THC isolate takes the general product and puts it through a more thorough refinement process in order to purify it. In the end, it has removed all other terpenes, cannabinoids, and other chemicals that occur naturally in cannabis plants. As a result of this process, it enhances the THC that is left after the refinement process is completed.
One of the benefits of THC isolate is that it can incorporate more of the cannabis plant, such as the stalks and stems. This can help reduce its cost when compared to products such as THC oil, since it uses up the plant source material more efficiently. The purification also helps avoid some of the harmful side effects that can come from impurities.
THC isolate has its pros and cons, depending on what you want to get from it. On the plus side, it is easier to have precise dosing, less likely to interact badly with pharmaceutical drugs, tends to be cheaper, and has more consistent quality. On the negative side, it loses the entourage effect which can offer greater potency and a wider range of health benefits.
While there are many types of isolate products that you can find, there are three different forms of isolate that you should think about trying: crystal, water-soluble powder, and shatter. Here’s a quick guide to what they are, and what benefits they have to offer.
THC Crystal
The process of creating THC isolate typically results in it being in the form of a crystal. This is the purest and most natural result of the refinement process that THC goes through to create the isolate. The crystals look like very coarse sugar, and it is hard, but very brittle. These crystals contain 100% pure THC, with all other kinds of ingredients or chemicals removed during the additional refinement process.
The best way to use these crystals is either to smoke or vape them, similar to how you would smoke or vape THC oil or raw cannabis flower. You can also grind the crystals into a powder, and then mix them into food to make edibles. The heat that is involved with both cooking and smoking helps activate the greater potency of the isolate. That powder can also be used to mix it into skincare products, such as lotions and creams to treat things like acne or inflamed skin. You can also make your own THC tincture using the crystals by dissolving it in olive or coconut oil.
The benefit of THC isolate crystals is that it is simple and versatile. You can use it in its basic crystal form, but you can also turn it into a powder in order to mix it into other kinds of products.
THC Water Soluble Powder
The issue with most forms of cannabis is that they are not easily infused into liquids. When you add it into the water, the natural oils of cannabis remain separated from the liquid and do not fully infuse. You wind up retaining only a fraction of the THC content in the drink, and it is not nearly as potent.
There are two ways to get around this: the first is to steep the whole cannabis plant in your drink like a bag of tea, but this is not quite as appealing. The natural flavour of cannabis plants will be earthy and bitter, which is not enjoyable for everyone. Steeping the plant is also a longer and more difficult process.
Another method is to use water soluble THC powder, made specifically to be easier to mix and infuse with water and other liquids. This powder is made from the THC crystals made above, and then undergoes an additional process to make it easier to infuse with liquid. Otherwise, the natural oil of THC will separate from most liquids. This way, you only have to add the powder into the liquid, mix it together, and let it sit for a while.
THC Shatter
“Shatter” is a name given to a type of isolate product for its appearance. It is very brittle, and looks similar to glass, ‘shattering’ into several small pieces when broken. Shatter is made primarily to smoke or vape. It doesn’t dissolve in water very well, nor does it break into powder very well to be used in food. With its flavor profile, it winds up being the best kind of THC isolate to smoke or vape, especially if you don’t like the more natural flavor of cannabis. For more, you can check: https://thehempdoctor.com/product/delta-8-shatter/
THC shatter works similarly to the pure isolate crystals mentioned above. The benefit of using shatter instead of crystals is that they are typically much more flavorful. It also offers a very potent high, which can be beneficial if you are taking THC to help treat more substantial health issues like chronic pain.
These are not the only three forms of THC isolate that you can try, but they are the most beneficial for their own unique reasons. You can also get specialized THC resin, wax, and more, but the pure form of crystals, water soluble ability of powder, and flavor of shatter cannot be matched by the other forms. The forms of isolate you prefer to use will likely depend on your personal taste, but you can try out different forms and products to find out which one you like the most.
