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Wax, Shatter and Dabs: How Concentrates Are Used
Most people meet concentrates one of two ways: added to flower they already smoke, or on a rig or pen made for them. This page covers both, and what the names on the menu mean. It is about using concentrates, not making them.
In a joint or blunt: inside or outside?
Both are done. Inside, a thin line of concentrate laid along the flower before rolling burns with the joint or blunt. Outside, a coating on the paper or wrap is the showier way. A concentrate carries far more THC by weight than the flower around it.
Or pick one ready-made
If you would rather not handle concentrate at all, an infused pre-roll comes with concentrate already added by its producer, inside the roll or coated on the outside.
On a bowl, a pen or a rig
A bowl: a small piece set on top of the flower in a pipe.
A dab pen or an electronic rig: it does the heating, at a temperature controlled for you or set by you.
A rig: a water pipe whose nail or banger is heated, so a small dab vaporizes on contact.
Flavor is the first thing too much heat takes, because the terpenes that carry it are sensitive to heat.
What the names on the menu mean
Shatter: brittle, it snaps into pieces.
Badder and budder: whipped and soft enough to scoop.
Wax: soft and pliable.
Crumble: dry and easy to break apart.
Sugar: crystals held in a little liquid.
Those names describe texture. Names such as live rosin, live resin and cured resin describe how a concentrate was made instead.