What Michael Azoulay learned from argan in dry heat

In November 2016 two founders chose to build suncare for women who train outdoors and skip sunscreen because texture fails. That decision set the formula brief for Fré.

The brief named sweat, movement and daily sun as the test conditions. The founders describe users as active women, athletes and coaches, who reported breakouts, redness, dehydration and sun damage while refusing sticky or heavy SPF. For Face Value the question is what the formulas contain, at which concentrations, and what controlled data could support the claims.

Fré Skincare was started in November 2016 by Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun. One founder was born in Morocco in 1978 and moved to Israel in 2001 after study in Paris and New York. The other founder was born in Paris in 1978 and moved to Israel in 2000. They first met in 2014 and aimed to build a profitable business with social purpose beyond Israel.

The line centers on Argania Active Complex, a patented mix of organic argan oil, argan leaf extract and argan stem cells, used with 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide. The plant rationale is functional rather than decorative. Argan tolerates dry heat and intense sun. That tolerance became the starting model.

A coach wrote that her sunscreen stayed comfortable through long outdoor training, with no sting and no heavy feel. That message stayed with the founders. It captured the exact issue Fré was created to address for women who sweat, move and live in sun. Comfort that supports daily use remains the adherence test behind each texture choice.

Your mineral SPF uses 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide, and a merchandising director described Protect Me as absorbing with a sheer and non-mineral feel. Zinc is known for drag and cast. How did texture become wearable without changing the filter.

We began with a clear refusal. No sticky sunscreen. That rule shaped all later choices. Zinc gives solid protection, yet it can drag, leave a cast, or collect over sweat. We focused on milling, dispersion and the base surrounding the mineral. The Argania Active Complex assisted, since the oil part allows thin and even spread, and lighter emollients transport the mineral rather than letting it settle into lines and pores. We evaluated on moving skin and not only still skin, because our customer trains, runs, coaches, swims, then reapplies. Protect Me is our multitasking daily facial SPF, sold in SPF 30 and SPF 50, and it includes the antioxidant complex so the daytime step adds more than filtration. Users often call it sheer for a mineral product, which counts because the best sunscreen is the one a person will actually apply. We prefer mineral SPF that feels sensorial and joyful over sticky formulas that get avoided. Reapply as directed, seek shade at midday, and allow the texture to do the quiet work of helping you apply enough.

You centered the line on Argania Active Complex, combining argan oil, leaf extract and stem cells, when most suncare discussed only filters. What made that desert tree persuasive, and which part proved hardest to balance.

Argan persists where little else chooses to persist. Dry soil, strong sun, broad shifts between night and day. The roots stabilize the soil, the leaves control water loss, the kernels store oil that keeps well. We viewed that as a practical model for skin under sun. Our patented Argania Active Complex unites leaf extract, oil and stem cells, so the formula provides antioxidant support beside the mineral filter. Balance was the hard part. Oil can feel rich, leaf extract can add color and scent, stem cell material requires careful handling and stable sourcing. We sought a serum that would not clog pores during sweat, a day cream that layered cleanly under zinc, a night cream that supported rested looking skin by morning. Many iterations were needed to retain a high botanical load while preserving light texture. We kept returning to field logic. Harvest carefully, steep the material gently, infuse at levels skin can accept. A plant only matters if it performs in formula. For us, argan helps the whole routine remain coherent under sun, sweat and washing.

You first met in 2014, one coming from Morocco through Paris and New York, the other from Paris to banking in Tel Aviv, and by November 2016 you had founded Fré for active women. What filled those early talks, and why did sun plus sweat define the brief.

We met in 2014 and we both sought work with strong meaning beyond Israel. I was born in Morocco in 1978 where I lived until age 18, then I studied in Paris, and in New York, before immigrating to Israel in 2001 where I joined philanthropic organizations to help give equal opportunities to children, youth and immigrants. I was born in Paris in 1978 where I lived until the age of 22. In 2000, new to Tel Aviv, my first role was investment banker, raising funds for start ups in the high tech sector. When we met, we agreed founding a profitable business with an impactful social purpose was the objective. We examined women who train outside, who sweat daily, who live in sun. They described breakouts, redness, dehydration, clogged pores. The sunscreens available to them were sticky or heavy, so they skipped them. That seemed wrong to us. We grew up around the Mediterranean, we like sun, and we wanted protection to feel pleasant. So we wrote a short brief. Clean, effective and joyful suncare, with no compromise. No sticky sunscreens. No toxic ingredients. A routine that could shield in the morning, support recovery at night, and keep skin calm through sweat.

Your community is described as women athletes and coaches, and your motto is when women are strong, the world is strong. As two men, you have said you do not believe women should only be supported by women. How does that support operate day to day.

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

Glow Me Plus is listed as your ultralight tinted mineral facial moisturizer with SPF in Light Medium and Medium Deep, SPF 30 and SPF 50, with a glowy finish. Shade selection is precise work. How were those first tones and that finish selected.

We aimed for a morning step that could replace layers. Moisturizer, tint, SPF, plus support for the look of early lines and uneven tone. Glow Me Plus is that step. We kept the texture ultralight so it spreads over damp skin after cleansing and settles with no mask like edge. The tint exists to soften the look of zinc and to provide a soft glow, not to cover like foundation. Selecting Light-Medium and Medium-Deep first was about spanning a broad middle with two flexible shades that sheer out, while we learned from wear tests across undertones. The finish remains luminous because dry, sun exposed skin can look flat by afternoon, and a little light return helps skin appear rested. Use it as your daily face moisturizer with mineral SPF. Warm a small amount between fingertips, press over face and neck, then a bit more along hairline and jaw where white residue tends to hide. If you train outside, allow a minute to set before heading out.

A plant only matters if it does something in the formula.

Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun

C Me is your concentrated waterless serum with 10 percent VC IP for brightness. Waterless vitamin C feels different on skin than water based versions. What should users anticipate from that vehicle.

C Me is a concentrated waterless formula with 10 percent VC IP, an oil soluble vitamin C form. We selected waterless because it allows the serum to feel smooth and keeps the vitamin C stable in the bottle without the sharp slip some water based brightening serums show. On skin it spreads like a dry oil and sits well under SPF in the morning or under cream at night. People apply it for the appearance of brightness and more even tone, and for support against the look of sun related dullness. A few drops pressed onto face and neck is enough. Allow time. The look of dark spots softens slowly with steady use, sun habits and regular SPF reapplication. If skin is sensitive, begin with a smaller amount at night and build to daily. We kept the base simple so VC-IP could remain 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 night restorative cream. Mornings get the focus, but your system is protect, repair and glow. What role is assigned to night.

Day means defense, night means repair. Sweat, sun, city air and cleansing remove water from skin. Recover Me is our night cream for that segment of the cycle. It joins 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, yet it still spreads cleanly and settles without heaviness. Apply after cleansing and serum, when skin is slightly damp. Massage over face, neck and tops of ears where sun collects. If late training was followed by a shower, wait until skin cools a little, then apply. Night is also when routine matters most for the look of photoaging signs. Up to 90 percent of skin aging is linked to sun damage in the stories we tell, so day protection and night care belong together. One steadies the surface, the other supports restored looking skin while you rest.

Fre is now described as clean suncare in 611 Target stores, after early 2017 and 2019 press for skincare made to sweat in. Scale changes sourcing and manufacturing. What was held constant as volumes rose.

Early on we counted 11 to 50 people and a small raise, and attention arrived because the line was made for active skin that sweats. That directed our tests. We maintained wear tests with athletes as we expanded into wider retail, including our current presence in Target stores. What we preserved was the core. The argan complex remains at the center, the mineral SPF remains 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide, and the textures must remain light enough for daily use. Scale can tempt a brand to replace a harder botanical fraction with an easier one, or to thicken a base to speed filling. We retained organic argan oil, leaf extract and stem cell material from controlled sources, and multitasking formulas for all skin types including sensitive. Growth also allowed 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 spent in sun. The formula still has to earn that morning claim.

Closing note from the desk

The record is consistent on process. Leaf, oil and stem cell remain structural to spread, feel and antioxidant positioning, not garnish. Community reports focus on sting, cast and wear under sweat. Those are adherence factors. They do not replace SPF testing, concentration disclosure or longer controlled trials.

Fré defined a narrow use case and held it through scale, from early wear tests to 611 Target doors. Morning defense with zinc plus evening moisturization is a coherent system. What would strengthen the file next is sample sizes, weeks of use and percent change where brightness, tone or firmness appearance is claimed. Until then the formulas read as plausible, well targeted mineral suncare with botanical emollients.

Product spotlight

Start with Glow Me + if tint helps consistent wear. It sells at 39 dollars for SPF 30 and 42 dollars for SPF 50, in Light-Medium or Medium-Deep. It is positioned to guard against sun damage, support the appearance of smoother skin and leave a soft glow. Apply each morning as the combined moisturizer and SPF step.

Protect Me is the untinted daily mineral facial SPF. It sells at 35 dollars for SPF 30 and 39 dollars for SPF 50. The 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide formula with Argania Active Complex is made to spread lightly and sit under makeup. Use daily as the multitasking SPF, and reapply as directed during sun exposure.