Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun and the argan leaf under sun

A coach wrote to say her sunscreen finally stayed comfortable through long outdoor training, with no sting and no heavy film. That note stayed with the founders. It described the exact problem Fré was made to solve for women who sweat, move and live in sun.

The note came from a member of a community the founders describe often, female athletes, fitness and health coaches who care about empowering others and protecting the planet. In their telling, those women were dealing with breakouts, redness, dehydration and sun damage, and they were refusing sticky sunscreens while asking for formulas that felt light enough to wear every day.

Fré Skincare was founded in November 2016 by Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun. One was born in Morocco in 1978 and came to Israel in 2001 after study in Paris and New York. The other was born in Paris in 1978 and came to Israel in 2000. They met for the first time in 2014 and set out to build a profitable business with social purpose beyond Israel.

What they built is clean suncare centered on one plant. The core is Argania Active Complex, a patented combination of organic argan oil, argan leaf extract and argan stem cells, paired with 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide. What we noticed, reading slowly through the record, is how often the plant choice is framed as practical rather than romantic. Argan survives dry heat and strong sun. That resilience gave the founders a place to start.

You met for the first time in 2014, one arriving from Morocco by way of Paris and New York, the other from Paris to Tel Aviv banking, and by November 2016 you had founded Fré to make skincare for active women. What did those early conversations sound like, and why did sun and sweat become the brief.

We met in 2014 and we both wanted something with strong meaning beyond Israel. I was born in Morocco in 1978 where I grew up until age 18, then I studied in Paris, and in New York, before immigrating to Israel in 2001 where I worked with philanthropic organizations to help give equal opportunities to children, youth and immigrants. I was born in Paris in 1978 where I grew up until the age of 22. In 2000, new to Tel Aviv, my first job was investment banker, raising funds for start ups in the high tech sector. When we met, we said founding a profitable business with an impactful social purpose was the objective. We looked at women who train outside, who sweat every day, who live in sun. They told us about breakouts, redness, dehydration, clogged pores. The sunscreens they had were sticky or heavy, so they skipped them. That felt wrong to us. We come from the Mediterranean, we love sun, we wanted protection to feel joyful. So we wrote a simple brief. Clean, effective and joyful suncare, without compromise. No sticky sunscreens. No toxic ingredients. A routine that could protect in the morning, repair at night, and keep skin calm through sweat.

Your community is described as female athletes and coaches, and your motto is when women are strong, the world is strong. As two men, you have said you do not think women should only be supported by women. What does that support look like in practice.

I believe in female leadership, I believe women are a driving force for progress and I believe free and strong women move humanity forward and we need them at their best, always. When women are strong, the world is strong. That is not a slogan for us. My mother is a strong woman who broke the rules of traditional patriarchalism to become an ophthalmologist, my father is a gynecologist who helped women give birth. That stayed with me. We do not think women should only be supported by women. If we want to change the world by strengthening the place of women in it, I believe the support of men is essential. In practice it means listening first. Our community tells us what fails during training, what burns the eyes, what leaves a cast, what pills under sweat. At Fré, my work is with our amazing community to build an impactful movement for empowerment and environmental protection. If we can connect all our strengths, I believe we will be amazed by what we will achieve as a community. And it means giving back steadily, including our commitment of one percent of revenue to protecting people and planet.

You centered the line on Argania Active Complex, combining argan oil, leaf extract and stem cells, at a time when most suncare talked only about filters. Why did that desert tree convince you, and what took the most work to get right.

Argan grows where little else wants to grow. Dry soil, strong sun, wide shifts between night and day. The roots hold the soil, the leaves manage water loss, the kernels hold oil that keeps well. We read that as a useful model for skin under sun. Our patented Argania Active Complex brings together leaf extract, oil and stem cells, so the formula carries antioxidant support alongside the mineral filter. The hard part was balance. Oil can feel rich, leaf extract can bring color and scent, stem cell material needs careful handling and steady sourcing. We wanted a serum that did not clog pores when you sweat, a day cream that layered cleanly under zinc, a night cream that helped skin look rested by morning. It took many rounds to keep the botanical load high while keeping texture light. We kept returning to the field logic. Harvest with care, steep the material gently, infuse at levels skin can accept. A plant is only interesting if it does something in the formula. For us, argan helps the whole routine hold together under sun, sweat and washing.

Your mineral SPF uses 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide, and a merchandising director singled out Protect Me for absorbing with a sheer, non-mineral feel. Mineral texture is famously difficult. How did you make zinc feel light without losing protection.

We started with a refusal. No sticky sunscreens. That forced every choice after. Zinc protects well, but it can drag, leave a cast, or sit on top of sweat. We worked on milling, dispersion and the base around it. The Argania Active Complex helped, because the oil fraction lets the cream spread thin and even, and the lighter emollients carry the mineral instead of letting it gather in lines and pores. We tested on moving skin, not just still skin, because our customer trains, runs, coaches, swims, then reapplies. Protect Me is our multitasking daily facial SPF, offered in SPF 30 and SPF 50, and it carries the antioxidant complex so the day step does more than filter. People describe it as sheer for a mineral formula, which matters because the best sunscreen is the one you will actually wear. We would rather make mineral SPF sensorial and joyful than sticky and avoided. Reapply as directed, seek shade at midday, and let the texture do the quiet work of getting you to use enough.

Glow Me + is listed as your ultra-light tinted mineral facial moisturizer with SPF in Light-Medium and Medium-Deep, SPF 30 and SPF 50, with a glowy finish. Tint shade work is exacting. How did you choose those first tones and that finish.

We wanted a morning step that could replace layers. Moisturizer, tint, SPF, and support for the appearance of early lines and uneven tone. Glow Me + is that step. We kept the texture ultra-light so it spreads over damp skin after cleansing and settles without a mask-like edge. The tint is there to soften the look of zinc and to give a soft glow, not to cover like foundation. Choosing Light-Medium and Medium-Deep first was about covering a wide middle with two flexible shades that sheer out, while we learned from wear tests across undertones. The finish stays luminous because dry, sun exposed skin can look flat by afternoon, and a little light return helps skin look rested. Use it as your daily facial moisturizer with mineral SPF. Warm a small amount between fingertips, press over face and neck, then a little more along the hairline and jaw where white residue likes to hide. If you train outside, give it a minute to set before you head out.

We would rather make mineral SPF sensorial and joyful than sticky and avoided.

Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun

C Me is your concentrated waterless face serum with 10 percent VC-IP for brightness. Waterless vitamin C behaves differently on skin than water based versions. What should a reader expect from that choice.

C Me is a concentrated waterless formula with VC-IP, an oil soluble form of vitamin C, at 10 percent. We chose waterless because it lets the serum feel smooth and keeps the vitamin C stable in the bottle without the sharp slip some water based brightening serums have. On skin it spreads like a dry oil and layers well under SPF in the morning or under cream at night. People use it for the appearance of brightness and more even tone, and for support against the look of sun related dullness. A few drops pressed over face and neck is enough. Give it time. The appearance of dark spots softens slowly with steady use, sun habits and reapplication of SPF. If your skin is sensitive, start with a smaller amount at night and build to daily. We kept the base simple so the VC-IP could stay the focus, with argan fractions to keep the finish comfortable rather than tacky.

Recover Me pairs the Argania Active Complex with copper peptides and niacinamide as a nighttime restorative cream. Mornings get the attention, but your system is protect, repair and glow. What is the night supposed to do.

Day is defense, night is repair. Sweat, sun, city air and cleansing take water from skin. Recover Me is our night cream for that part of the cycle. It combines our argan complex with copper peptides and niacinamide to deeply moisturize and to support the appearance of firmness and calm by morning. The texture is richer than our day SPF, but it still spreads cleanly and settles without heaviness. Use it after cleansing and serum, when skin is slightly damp. Massage over face, neck and the tops of ears where sun collects. If you trained late and showered, wait until skin cools a little, then apply. Night is also when routine matters most for the look of photoaging. Up to 90 percent of skin aging is linked to sun damage in the stories we tell, which is why day protection and night care belong together. One steadies the surface, the other helps skin look restored while you rest.

Fré is now described as clean suncare sold in 611 Target stores, after early press in 2017 and 2019 for skincare made to sweat in. Scale changes sourcing and manufacturing. What did you protect as volumes grew.

Early on we had 11 to 50 people and a small raise, and attention came because the line was made for active skin that sweats. That shaped our tests. We kept wear tests with athletes as we grew into wider retail, including our current presence in Target stores. What we protected was the core. The argan complex stays at the center, the mineral SPF stays 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide, and the textures must stay light enough for daily use. Scale can tempt a brand to swap a harder botanical fraction for an easier one, or to thicken a base to speed filling. We stayed with organic argan oil, leaf extract and stem cell material from controlled sources, and with multitasking formulas for all skin types including sensitive. Growth also let us do more of the steady work, from coral planting to support for girls through outdoor sports, funded by one percent of revenue. A wider shelf means more mornings in sun. The formula still has to earn that morning.

Closing note from the desk

What stays with us is the steadiness of the plant logic. Leaf, oil and stem cell are not decoration here. They carry the texture, the antioxidant story and the link to dry country where the tree learned to manage sun and scarcity. The founders speak about strength and community in plain terms, and the formulas follow the same line.

Fré set out to make suncare that active women would actually wear, clean and light and suited to sweat. The record shows a small team holding that line from first serum to wide retail. Read slowly, that is the whole story. Protection in the morning, repair at night, and a glow that comes from use rather than promise.

Product spotlight

Glow Me + is the tinted mineral moisturizer with SPF to reach for first. It costs 39 dollars for SPF 30 and 42 dollars for SPF 50, in Light-Medium or Medium-Deep. It protects from sun damage, supports the appearance of smootherskin and leaves a soft glow. Apply each morning as your moisturizer and SPF step.

Protect Me is the sheer daily mineral facial SPF. It costs 35 dollars for SPF 30 and 39 dollars for SPF 50. The 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide formula with Argania Active Complex spreads lightly and layers under makeup. Use daily as your multitasking SPF, and reapply as directed during sun exposure.