Behind the Brand: Kana Skincare Combines K-Beauty and Cannabis With a Female-Based Mission

Kana Skincare is an award-winning vegan spa skincare line that harnesses the power of K-Beauty, aromatherapy, and CBD into products.

When Janie Buu began her career as a behavioral therapist for children with developmental disorders, it was also her first encounter with the healing powers of cannabis. She saw incredible improvement in one of her young patients and discovered that her mother had been giving her small doses of CBD oils, which made Buu aware of the incredible power of plant-based medicine.

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The experience was a springboard for Buu, who decided to craft a series of women-focused cannabis seminars and businesses to provide knowledge and education behind the plant back in 2013. Focusing on community and collaboration over competition, she wanted to uplift fellow female entrepreneurs in her space. Eventually, this naturally transitioned into Kana Skincare—an innovative line of clean, high-performance products that harness the power of K-Beauty, aromatherapy, and CBD into products.

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”I am incredibly passionate about the power of CBD on wellness and beauty,” says Buu. “Kana Skincare offers a merge between the two: K-Beauty meets mental health, while supporting my drive for advocating cannabis wellness and female empowerment. Our products are clean formulas you can truly trust. As career-driven women and mothers on-the-go, we didn’t have time to think twice about our skin care. Nonetheless, we found ourselves constantly second-guessing and researching the products we were using. We wanted clean and consciously-formulated products that supported our healthy lifestyles and personal values. However, we discovered many products claiming to be clean and conscious actually had unwanted ingredients and questionable brand philosophies.”

We chatted with Buu, who shared more about the inspiration behind her innovative line, what’s next for her company, and more.

When was Kana Skincare founded and what does the name mean?

Kana Skincare was founded in December 2017. The name combines the elements that make the brand unique: K-Beauty, cannabis, and a female-based mission. The word Kana is a Japanese female name. I didn’t know it at the time when I named it, but it stands for ‘powerful, beautiful female.'

What inspired the creation of Kana Skincare?

I am an American born-Chinese Korean. My mother was born and raised in Korea, hence the strong Korean culture influence on me. My family heritage made Kana Skincare a natural choice. Barely tip-toeing over the counter, I was already watching my mom making her own skincare masks with ingredients from the kitchen! Some of my earliest memories are of her mixing egg whites and avocados with honey, making her own treatments. We’d apply it on our faces and top that with thin cucumber slices or eat them! When I got older, I realized that her ultra-sensitive skin meant she couldn’t use more traditional products found in stores—so she made them.

Around 2014, my father underwent a 12-hour long open heart surgery in Asia. To help him recover, I brought over a small amount of CBD. The results were incredible—the staff at the hospital remarked he used fewer painkillers and recovered faster than any other patient, even ones far younger than him! It was just another confirmation of the magical properties of CBD—it’s so anti-inflammatory. I started using CBD on my skin then, after dealing with breakouts from sleeping on a hospital couch for a week!

This was not a skin-grade product, whatsoever! But I believed in CBD so much that I saw the potential. I knew I could create the perfect formulas to make magic. I was also greatly influenced by K-beauty, which is 10 to 12 years ahead globally in skin care and cosmetics. So I wanted to combine the best of both worlds: K-beauty meets CBD.

I had already seen the incredible effects that CBD could have on health and wellness. There was an amazing wealth of research being done on CBD in medicine, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the powers it had for beauty. Kana Skincare’s products each introduce a new nutritive superfood—all incredible ingredients as well as a little nod to my mother’s kitchen masks!

Tell us more about your skincare line and what makes it special.

Kana Skincare really does occupy its own space in the skincare world. It combines the powerful healing abilities of hemp-derived CBD, CBN, and CBG with the best-kept secrets of Korean beauty. Natural skin care doesn’t have to look dull—we play with colors of the plant-based raw materials to create the perfect, natural colors with no dye.

The line is 100% vegan and made in the USA with all-natural ingredients and a twist on the concept of aromatherapy. There’s no fragrance, just natural scent combinations from plants and flowers! Users do say that it’s like opening a fresh garden in a jar. As much as Kana Skincare nurtures the skin, it also nurtures the senses. Mental health is essential to well-being and we’re committed to both inner and outer wellness! This goes along with the mission of Kana Skincare, tying back to “powerful female.” True beauty is about daring to be your best confident self.

Janice Buu.

Do you have a hero or favorite product?

It really does depend on the season! Our Lavender CBD Sleeping Mask is a cult-favorite because of its overnight results. The hydration is incomparable to anything anyone has used in the past and the natural glow shines through foundation/powder. The LIT Facial Oil Blend is a superhero when it comes to cold and dry weather—it nourishes like no other. EGF Active Botanical Essence is an all-time high-performance bottle that plumps my skin, I definitely take it everywhere traveling. Purple Rice CBD Sleeping Mask smoothes the lines on my neck and tightens jaw lines so I use it in combination with the Lavender Mask. The formulations are all handcrafted with the most powerful ingredients and made fresh.

Where are your products sold?

We are sold on our website, at our partners’ stores, and online at Bloomingdales, Dillards, Sephora Europe, Anthropologie, Birchbox, Free People, and Equinox Spa. At Equinox, non-members can also book Kana Skincare CBD facials!

What's next for the brand?

Kana Skincare has always broken boundaries and I don’t see that ever changing. We want to continue to create original visionary concepts that set us apart; nourishing, plant-based products that feel good and look good with tangible results for our consumers.

Something I am really excited about is the Pink Lotus + CBD Essence Toner releasing later this month. It combines the concept of a balancing, calming toner and an ultra-hydrating, collagen-boosting essence in one for the most beautiful, instant results. The formulation is without parallel and I can’t wait to share it with our consumers.

It is also essential that Kana Skincare has a strong foundation of doing good, that we continue our mission of helping to foster confidence and self-care in women. We recently began a series of virtual classes on beauty, self-care, and mental health! We take questions from our audience so it isn’t one-sided, we’re listening and engaging in the conversations women want to have today. It really is an ongoing conversation about beauty, wellness, and health. There’s also still so much to be done in terms of education about CBD beauty, plant-based products, and fragrance/dye-free ingredients! We want to educate our audience and turn everyone into conscious consumers.

For more information and to purchase, visit kanasakincare.com and follow on Instagram: @kana_bbeauty

[Images courtesy of Kana Skincare]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk