Latina entrepreneur finds success with CBD skincare line

LOS ANGELES -- "I got tired of waiting for someone to create a brand of skincare products that were going to incorporate the medicinal side of the cannabis plant," said Gracious Om founder Andrea Barrera.

Barrera said before her skincare business she was a neuroscientist, studying brainwaves of war veterans and people with post-traumatic stress disorder. She also studied the effects of cannabis and thought it would be good to use in skincare.

"I was always just really curious why we weren't taking you know, these cannabinoids and using them to repair our skin to generate new cell growth," said Barrera.

A 2019 study from the National Institutes of Health found that cannabis chemicals help maintain skin balance, barrier formation and regeneration.

Barrera, whose product is now sold by Anthropologie and Saks Fifth Avenue, encourages other aspiring entrepreneurs to start their businesses. She said if she waited until she felt ready then she would have never started.