We review CBD Topicals from Kush Queen, Lord Jones, Apothecanna, Mary’s Nutritionals and Q-Gold
A lot of people have asked, what prompted you to put CBD in Muscle Goo? CBD was never our starting point as a business, we wanted to focus on natural versions of products we found valuable but were filled with chemicals. But after buying and trying topicals in our personal lives, it became impossible to not see the market was underserved. Below is our complete review of topical CBD products from Kush Queen, Lord Jones, Apothecanna, Mary’s Nutritionals and Q-Gold, with the backround of why we tried CBD and were looking to gain. We’re also super excited to show how Muscle Goo CBD stacks up, we’re transparent in our reviews because we made this product to ensure that by any comparison on any metric– we offer the best value, and the best product experience.
Intro – What benefits did we want out of CBD?
My wife and I first started looking into CBD products intently in the middle of 2018, and have tried a wide range as we look for optimal products for our lifestyle. CBD recommendations have become a common topic with friends and online contacts, so we’ve broken down the ones that appeal to us, ranked them and reviewed them for easy access.
Why did we look into CBD?
My primary reasons
- I was looking for a natural, legal sleep aid, I didn’t like the feeling of medication, and wanted to find something that would help me sleep but not leave me drowsy in the morning. I had recently gone completely clean of all alcohol, thc etc and wanted to look to CBD as a natural solution
- Once I had hit 30, the soreness from gym, CrossFit, sports, picking up my son etc had gotten much worse, and in addition to the Theragun (best purchase I’ve made in years), I was looking for a solution for soreness that couldn’t be worked out with a foam roller or Theragun
My wife’s primary interests were
- Using CBD for relaxation and anxiety
- Reducing inflammation (she had also recently gone gluten free to reduce this)
Our expectations weren’t that all of these things would be helped by CBD, even just one or two would have been great. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the more premium solutions we tried actually handled all of the above, and we were hooked.
Why CBD Topicals?
Oils – Too variable
We never found the same results in oil, and the dosage and quality of the oils we tried varied considerably. Every time was too much of an experiment, and we wanted something reliable.
Food – good, but a different feeling
There are definitely CBD food products we enjoy, my wife loves a specific local Texas dark chocolate 100mg bar that comes in 6 squares (one-two is perfect amount).
I’m particularly partial to the local Austin Sunriser CBD cold brew, 30mg and pretty much guarantees a great workday for me.
But overall, we found that food/drink related was easy to have too much CBD, and too much of these lead to the opposite of the desired effect— more anxiety. We never had this issue with topicals, which have become our go-to.
Topicals
Topicals have the perfect mix of factors for CBD application. They set in a little more slowly, setting the amount is a little more manageable, and some of the available products have the other positive benefits that come with topicals (icy/hot soreness relief, etc)
Our CBD Review Ratings System
- Smell – Is it pleasant to both males and females? Does it compare to other premium topical products from brands like Aesop?
- Skin – How does it feel when using as far as consistency, and when it’s applied?
- CBD potency & quality – How much CBD is in the topical, and what are the effects
- Cost – Whats the cost, relative to size and quality
Overall score – Letter grade
Kush Queen Melt – $40 for 2oz with 100mg CBD
Smell – 4
Skin – 4
CBD – 3
Cost – 4
Melt provides a pleasant smell, and enjoyable experience with it’s lotion application. It has 100mg of CBD, and comes in at a reasonable price point. The branding and packaging are very haphazard and cheap, but the product is a great option for anyone looking for a solid topical.
Overall B+
Lord Jones – $60 for 1.7oz with 100mg CBD
Smell – 4
Skin – 2
CBD – 3
Cost – 1
Lord Jones is impeccably branded and packaged, but the positives end there. The cost is outreagous for one of the smallest container amounts we tested. The CBD content is average, the applicator design is odd, and of all the topicals we tried, this is the only one that lead to an allergic reaction on the skin (for my wife, using their unscented variant). Not worth the cost.
Overall C+
Apothecanna Body Cream – $14 for 2oz with 12mg CMD
Smell – 4
Skin – 3
CBD – 1
Cost 3
This is a fine product at a low cost, but has so little CBD that you can’t feel the effects, you’re essentially buying a small bottle of lotion with a marijuana leaf on the packaging and not enough CBD to have any noticeable impact.
Overall – C-
Mary’s Nutritional Muscle Freeze – $35 for 1.5oz with 75mg CBD
Smell – 4
Skin – 5
CBD Quality & Amount – 2
Cost – 2
Mary’s is an muscle freeze gel, with a great peppermint scent and a good “icy” feel when applied. It comes in a wide squeeze applicator similar to Lord Jones, but dispensing a slightly yellowish gel instead of a cream. The smell and feel of this product is good quality and feels good on application, especially compared to creams. Mary’s has mediocre CBD content, only 75mg for the entire jar. (1.5oz for $35), same as Kush Queen for relative volume. With the tiny amount it dispenses and this low potency, it’s not very useful compared to traditional freeze’s, or effective as a CBD source with its lower potency.
Overall – B+
Q-gold topical cream – $39 for 1oz with unknown mg CBD
Smell – 4
Skin – 3
CBD Quality & Amount – 2
Cost – 1
This product is a very thin lotion that is supposed to come with “fast acting” patent pending technology for faster absorption of CBD. The lotion feels thin but high quality, and the packaging is premium with a great looking applicator, and a see-thru container that lets you see the volume left. The downside? The cost is $39 for 1oz, making it by far the most expensive CBD lotion/creme in our comparison by volume. In addition, there is no info on the amount of CBD inside (nothing on packaging, nor on ecommerce) and it certainly doesn’t feel like a legitimate amount. This feels like a bit of a scam, rather than a product one would rely on for pain relief and anxiety.
Overall – C
The Best Choice for CBD Topicals
Muscle Goo CBD – $39 for 2oz with 200mg CBD
Smell – 5
Skin – 4
CBD – 5
Cost – 5
Muscle Goo smells amazing, has 2x the CBD per bottle of the other good products we tested (200mg), and comes in at around the same price. The gel is a little sticky on application but sinks in fast, and just feels far more like a premium product. In addition, the jar makes it easier to apply in decent amounts than the squeezable bottles offered by most other brands. When comparable at the same price, with double or more CBD, easier application and better overall scent, it’s easily the best option on the list.
Overall – A
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