There’s a lot to appreciate about Heylo. Their lab is focused on producing full-spectrum, terpene-rich cannabis extracts. They use education and transparency as their guiding principles. Their Pax Era Pods and CCELL cartridges are some of the terpiest, most full-flavored vape cartridges available in Washington. They develop topicals with medical marijuana patients in mind. The business is 100% woman-owned. They even like to open their lab doors for public and industry events that support cannabis education and arts while making an impact with local charities.
The entire Heylo team is friendly, welcoming, and just as eager to share their ideas as they are to share their latest vape cart. So when they invited me inside the lab for a tour, I teamed up with photographer Grant Hindsley to capture their process in action.
Heylo partners exclusively with Clean Green Certified outdoor farms to supply their lab with terpene-rich flower for extraction. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
A glass of filter, full-spectrum CO2 oil settles after the fats and lipids have been completely removed, leaving behind a glassy, translucent oil. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Dutch Treat cartridges are lined up for packaging.
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Rose Palazollo, Heylo’s Operations Manager, loads the extraction column with 5 lbs of starting material. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
A full glass of crude CO2 extract fresh from the extractor. This run features a high-CBD phenotype of Green Crack. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
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The fats, waxes, and lipids from cannabis are filtered and separated during the winterization process. After winterization the natural waxes are salvaged for product development. Heylo’s line of topical products incorporates this by-product as an ingredient and reduces waste. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Dewaxed oil is pumped into the rotovap.
A droplet of ethanol collects on the cold condenser coil as the oil and ethanol separate. The cold coil allows Heylo to recapture the ethanol and reuse it in future refinements. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Raw CO2 extract, also called crude, pours from the nozzle of the collection chamber after the extraction process is complete. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Winterized oil warms up in the rotovap, a rotating heat bath that gently and evenly heats the mixture, allowing the ethanol to evaporate and leave behind only the refined, full-spectrum cannabis oil. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Heylo Founder Laurel “Lo” Friesen is an environmental chemist who worked in gastroenterology before getting started in the cannabis industry. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Heylo specializes in high-terpene extracts in addition to a range of CBD and rare cannabinoid products. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
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