A lot of companies are hopping on the CBD product bandwagon. This means that if you’re looking for the best CBD oil for migraine, the choices are mind-boggling. But with so many products available, it’s even more important for you to do your homework. 

Since research can be a pain, we’re here to give you a head start. We looked at some prominent brands and evaluated them based on a handful of important criteria that may have big implications for you and your condition. First, we’ll tell you about the criteria we used, and then we’ll show you what we found out about the various brands we looked into.

Note: if you’re still researching the difference between CBD and marijuana, read this article. It sheds some light on what CBD really is, its potential applications in pain relief, and how it might be added to your migraine treatment program.

Purity

Common CBD additives such as preservatives or flavors can actually trigger a migraine attack. So your CBD oil should be clean and free of other ingredients that may have unintended effects. 

Additives aside, a lot of CBD supplements talk about being full spectrum or broad spectrum. In fact, it’s becoming difficult to find brands that don’t tout these things as positives. While broad or full spectrum is a great thing for sunscreen, we believe it’s not so good for CBD, and here’s why:

Both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum include other parts of the hemp plant that are not CBD, resulting in the inclusion of many other substances. Full-spectrum oils go a little further to contain trace amounts of THC. 

The problem with this is that you never know how those other things might affect you. What if one or more of those extraneous parts actually triggers a migraine or some other reaction? 

Full-spectrum or broad-spectrum oils may also not be the same from batch to batch and bottle to bottle. So even if your first bottle is okay, your next one might have something else in it. You want your CBD oil as pure as possible. After all, if you’ve researched the benefits of CBD and know it’s CBD that you want, it only seems right that you shouldn’t get any unknown stuff along with it.

Strength

A lot of CBD brands include only small amounts of real CBD — as little as 3 mg. Since CBD has been proven safe even in high doses, there’s really no reason not to get the strongest formula you can find – especially if you’re looking for some natural pain relief.

We evaluated the oils in this article based on their strength per serving, which is generally 1 mL.

Verification

The best CBD oil for migraines should offer verified proof that their label is accurate and the product is pure. Mislabeling is actually a big problem in the CBD industry. 

In one study, 70% of the products tested claimed inaccurate amounts of CBD (either too much or too little). Even worse, 1 in 5 CBD products actually contained THC, when the label said there was none. You definitely want CBD oil that’s pure and labeled properly.

Trust

We’ll take a look at the people behind the company. Are they transparent about their backgrounds and qualifications for getting into this business? Do they have an understanding of your problem that drives them to develop products to help you specifically, or are they just looking to make a buck?

1. Thuswell CBD Oil

Thuswell CBD Oil has been a trusted name that people depend on for years, offering various solutions for migraine relief.

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Purity 

Thuswell’s oil rates very high on purity because its only ingredients are CBD extract and pure hemp oil. The extract is suspended in the oil for delivery into the body. That’s it. Since hemp oil has a pleasant taste, we didn’t see a reason to mess with it and risk the flavors affecting our customers in an undesirable way.

We also use only pure CBD extract, isolated from any other cannabis substances. This is significant because it means you’re not getting anything in your CBD oil that you didn’t bargain for. You’ll know what to expect with every bottle you use.

Strength 

Thuswell’s CBD Oil offers 116.6 mg of cannabidiol (CBD isolate) per serving. That makes it several times stronger than a lot of other brands. The label is very specific about not only how much CBD you’re getting, but also about what’s in the hemp oil.

Verification

Thuswell uses strict third-party lab testing to ensure there’s nothing else in your CBD oil but pure CBD. It’s also made in an FDA-registered facility. It doesn’t get much more verified than that.

Thuswell wants to know exactly what’s in every bottle, and we want you to know, too. The certificate of analysis from lab testing is even available for you to read if you’re into that kind of thing.

Trust

Since you’re looking for help with migraine symptoms, it makes sense to look for a CBD oil that’s formulated just for that. Since 2010, Thuswell has been in the business of helping people with migraine manage how they live with the disease and handle their pain. 

Thuswell was founded by the same team who founded Thuswell Optics, with 27 years of clinical experience and migraine headache research under their belts. Clearly, Thuswell knows migraine and understands the needs of migraine sufferers.

2. Exhale

This brand is available from Exhale Premium Hemp Products and sold on their website.

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Purity 

Exhale isn’t hiding the fact that their oil is full spectrum. Both the website and the bottle clearly state the full spectrum. So while some may not be put off by this, there could be many other parts of the plant in the oil, and every bottle may not be the same.

The company does claim that there are no additives or preservatives and that its oil is organic and non-GMO. The only two ingredients listed are hemp seed oil and full-spectrum CBD.

Strength 

The label states 20 mg of a “proprietary blend of hemp extract and hemp seed oil.” The label doesn’t get more specific than that, so it’s actually a little bit unclear to us how strong the oil really is. We docked them a star for that.

Verification

Exhale states that their oil is lab tested for accuracy, and we’ll take them at their word. It does not say the lab is third-party.

Trust

Exhale Premium Hemp Products focuses on CBD-related products. Their about page says that they’re, “a tribe of cannabis pioneers…with decades of experience in the organic food industry. We’re cultivators, researchers, and enthusiasts.” That’s as specific as it gets.

They don’t claim to have any special knowledge about migraines, or any particular scientific background in migraine or pain management. But that doesn’t mean their oil wouldn’t help you. They seem to be pretty upfront about what’s in their oil – it’s just not as strong as you might like.

3. Cheef Botanicals

Cheef Botanicals is another company that specializes in CBD products online.

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Purity 

Cheef Botanicals’ oil is also clearly full spectrum and is purported to be organic and non-GMO, with no preservatives or additives. However, while they state their ingredients are 100% natural, they don’t actually list what those ingredients are, and there is no image of the nutrition label on the site.

Strength 

The only indication of strength listed on the website is that there is 2 mg of CBD per “drop” of the oil. It’s a little unclear what a drop actually is. Is it a dropper full, or a single drop from the dropper? If so, it’s a pretty weak concentration. They also say a 1 oz. bottle contains 1200 mg of CBD in total. By contrast, the Thuswell CBD Oil contains 3500 mg per ounce – nearly 3x stronger.

Verification

Cheef Botanicals says their oil is lab tested, but like the Exhale oil, they don’t say it’s a third-party lab.

Trust

Cheef Botanicals looks to have some pretty good knowledge about CBD and offers a wide breadth of products. They also have a lot of articles on their website explaining different aspects of CBD and how people use it for pain and other issues. So while they do seem to be experts on the subject, the lack of specific ingredient information is a bit unsettling, so we docked them an additional star on the trust scale.

4. Joy Organics

Joy Organics sells dozens of different CBD products, including oil.

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Purity 

While other makers say their oil is organic, Joy Organics actually carries the USDA Organic seal, which means they’ve gone through the time and expense to get the certification. If organic is a big deal to you, that could mean a lot, so we added a star for purity.

However, their CBD oil comes in a variety of flavors, like mint, tropical, and citrus. This might sound good to you if you’re worried you won’t like the flavor of CBD in plain hemp oil (which tastes a lot like sunflower seed oil). But keep in mind that when you add another ingredient you also add the risk of a migraine headache trigger or other types of reaction, and the last thing you need is another type of pain in your life.

Strength 

Joy Organics CBD oils come in a variety of strengths, which some people may appreciate. Remember though, that CBD has been shown safe even in very high doses. Their strength varies from 30 mg per serving to 75 mg per serving.

Verification

Cheef Botanicals states that their CBD oil is third-party lab tested, and provides the lab analysis documents as Thuswell does.

Trust

Joy Organics looks like one of the more trustworthy sources of CBD oil we’ve seen online. They have a couple of doctors on their team, but they don’t seem to have any special knowledge in the area of chronic migraine attacks.

5. CBD MD

cbdMD also sells a lot of CBD products, oil being just one option.

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Purity 

cbdMD sells a variety of CBD oils. All of theirs are described as full spectrum or broad spectrum, so we wouldn’t call them pure CBD because they include other cannabinoids. For the purposes of this rating, we looked specifically at the broad-spectrum oil, but the strength listed on the label for both full and broad-spectrum are the same.

Either way, there are other substances in the bottle in addition to CBD, and it’s hard to know how those might affect the user.

Like some other makers, cbdMD offers different flavors for their CBD oils, including natural, berry, orange, and mint. However, even the “natural” oil lists natural flavors as an ingredient, so it’s not entirely clear what natural actually means.

Strength 

The cbdMD label states 50 to 250 mg of “broad spectrum hemp extract” in their oil, depending on your choice of concentration. On the surface, it seems like you could get a stronger concentration from cbdMD than from Thuswell, which contains 116.6 mg. 

However, since cbdMD oil is broad or full spectrum, your dose isn’t made up of only isolated CBD the way Thuswell’s is. In fact, their label says, for example, 200 mg of “broad spectrum hemp extract,” not 200 mg of cannabidiol specifically. Since we don’t know how much actual CBD is in it, we docked them a star for strength and another for purity.

Verification

cbdMD says that their CBD oil is “batch tested” for THC and does provide the lab analysis documents online. (Incidentally, those lab documents list the other cannabinoids found in the oil, and there are a lot of them. But at least they are listed.)

Trust

cbdMD looks like a legitimate company interested in how CBD can enhance wellness. There isn’t much specific information about who founded the company and why, or what their credentials are. 

6. Pure Kana

Pure Kana sells a lot of CBD products, but we will look at their strongest oil, specifically the Natural CBD Oil 2500 mg.

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Purity 

As far as purity goes, Pure Kana’s oil really doesn’t offer anything different than most of the others we’ve evaluated. Their oil is full spectrum, but also non-GMO if that’s a concern for you. They claim no pesticides, herbicides, solvents, or fertilizers are used, but they don’t claim their oil is organic, either. 

On the label, they state 41.7 mg CBD and 55.6 mg of full spectrum hemp extract (aerial parts) per serving. So less than half of what you’re getting per serving is pure CBD. Other ingredients included fractionated coconut oil (coconut medium chain triglycerides).

Strength 

With just 41.7 mg of CBD per serving, Pure Kana is among the weakest of the oils we looked at. We’ll also note that while it’s a weaker concentration, it’s also the most expensive one on our list at $249 for 2 ounces. That’s a painful price tag.

Verification

Like most of the other oils we’ve evaluated, Pure Kana lab tests their oils and provides documentation of the results.

Trust

Again, there isn’t much to make this company stand out. They state their mission about wellness and CBD. They seem legitimate. But they don’t offer anything specific about their expertise that makes them stand out from any other maker.

7. Bluebird Botanicals

Bluebird Botanicals is another online retailer of a variety of CBD products. For our purposes, we’re looking at their Extra Strength Classic CBD Oil.

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Purity 

As another full spectrum oil, the Bluebird Botanicals product is on par with most of the other oils on our list, except that it is certified vegan. It doesn’t claim to be organic but they do state that no artificial additives are used, and there are no flavors added. 

Like many others, this oil contains fractionated coconut oil (MCT) but states both full-spectrum hemp extract and broad-spectrum hemp extract on the label. There is no indication of how much of each is contained, just that all ingredients comprise a proprietary blend.

Strength 

This oil has just 25 mg of CBD per serving, but its serving size is .5 mL rather than 1 mL like the other oils on our list. So it’s a bit stronger than the Pure Kana brand but less than half as strong as the Thuswell brand.

Verification

Bluebird Botanicals states that they test every ingredient and final batch of product in an accredited third-party lab for potency and purity. But the link that says “see third-party lab results” doesn’t lead to lab results, but to an article about how to read the lab report. 

That article tells you how to find the batch number on your bottle and instructs you to search for that batch number in their database to get the lab results for that batch. But by then, you’ve already made the purchase.

To their credit, the database is on their website with the reports. You could always look at past reports and make a judgment call based on their track record. It seems like kind of a pain, though.

Trust

Bluebird Botanicals has a lot of feel-good messaging on its about page. We don’t mistrust what they are saying, but like most of the other brands, they don’t offer anything specific about what qualifies them to do what they do or why you should trust them.

A Word About Legality

In many states, there used to be outright bans on CBD. But in recent years, those laws have gradually changed and medical cannabis use is on the rise. In 2022, there are no longer any states where CBD use is completely banned. In all 50 states, it’s either completely or conditionally legal. You can read more about it here.

In 2018, the U.S. passed a Farm Bill that says hemp and hemp-derived products (which includes CBD Oil) are to be managed like other crops by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rather than by the Justice Department.

The caveat is that in order to meet the requirements for a hemp-derived product, a CBD product (including CBD oil along with CBD gummies, edibles, etc) must have less than a .3% concentration of THC. It stands to reason that the more pure your CBD oil is, the farther away from that threshold you are – a good thing if you’re looking to avoid any psychoactive stuff.

It should be noted that even “full-spectrum” CBD oils have to meet that .3% threshold to be legal.

Our Take

With all the CBD oils on the market, creating a comprehensive list and evaluation of each one would be impossible. But after researching and comparing some of the popular and respected brands, Thuswell’s CBD Oil rose to the top as the best CBD oil for migraine.

At 116 mg of CBD per dose, our oil is definitely the strongest of the oils we looked at. It’s also the purest, with no other parts of the plant included as they would be in a full spectrum or broad spectrum oil. 

And since we use third-party testing to verify what’s in every bottle, you can believe you’re not getting any unexpected ingredients. No worries about THC or the effects of marijuana.

Finally, Thuswell CBD oil has been formulated by scientists and migraine attack experts who know chronic migraine and understand why people are looking for effective, natural pain relief. This is why we’re so particular about how and where we make our oil, and what is and is not in every bottle.

The best way to learn how CBD oil might help you with chronic migraine relief is to try it for yourself and see how it works with your doctor-prescribed migraine treatment regimen. Try Thuswell’s CBD Oil for migraine here.