Clean mineral care for sun and sweat, with steady founders

Lather, train, sweat, reapply. A coach told the founders her SPF stayed easy through long sessions outside, without sting and without a thick layer. That practical test shaped Fré, a line made for skin that moves in sun.

Picture wash day for an active household. A runner cleanses in the shower, presses serum into damp skin, smooths tinted SPF along the hairline and jaw, then heads out to coach. By evening the same skin needs rinsing, a few drops of oil serum, and a night cream massaged over face, neck and ear tops. This piece follows that cycle, step by step, in the founders words.

Fré Skincare started in November 2016, founded by Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun. One was born in Morocco in 1978 and reached Israel in 2001 after studies in Paris and New York. The other was born in Paris in 1978 and reached Israel in 2000. They first met in 2014 and aimed to create a profitable company with social purpose beyond Israel.

What they made is clean sun care built on a single plant. At the center sits Argania Active Complex, a patented mix of organic argan oil, argan leaf extract and argan stem cells, combined with 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide. Reading the record closely, the plant reads as a working choice rather than decoration. Argan endures dry heat and intense sun. That toughness gave the founders a starting point.

You built the line around Argania Active Complex with argan oil and leaf extract and stem cells when most suncare spoke only of filters. What convinced you about that desert tree, and what was hardest to get right in use.

Argan lives where almost nothing else chooses to live. Poor earth, fierce sun, broad swings from night to day. The roots keep soil in place, the leaves limit water loss, the kernels store an oil that keeps well. We took that as a working guide for skin in sun. Our patented Argania Active Complex joins leaf extract, oil and stem cells, so the blend brings antioxidant support beside the mineral filter. The difficult part was proportion. Oil can feel heavy, leaf extract can add color and scent, stem cell material asks for gentle handling and reliable sourcing. We wanted a serum that would not block pores during sweat, a day cream that layered neatly beneath zinc, a night cream that helped skin appear rested by morning. It needed many rounds to hold botanical levels high while holding texture light. We kept going back to field thinking. Pick with care, steep the material softly, blend at levels skin can take. A plant only matters if it acts in the formula. For us, argan helps the full routine stay together through sun, sweat and washing.

Your mineral SPF uses 100 percent non nano zinc oxide, and a merchandising director praised Protect Me for absorbing with a sheer non mineral feel. Mineral texture is famously difficult. How did you get zinc to feel light on skin while keeping protection strong.

We began with a refusal. No sticky sunscreens. That decision shaped each choice after. Zinc guards well, yet it can drag, leave a cast, or rest over sweat. We worked on milling and dispersion and the base holding it all together. The Argania Active Complex helped, because the oil portion lets the cream spread thin and even, and the lighter emollients move the mineral instead of letting it pool in lines and pores. We tested on skin in motion, not only skin at rest, 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 holds the antioxidant complex so the day step offers more than filtering. People call it sheer for a mineral formula, which counts because the best sunscreen is the one you will truly wear. We would rather make mineral SPF sensorial and joyful than sticky and skipped. Reapply as directed, seek shade at midday, and let the texture help you use enough.

You met first in 2014, one coming 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 talks sound like, and why did sun and sweat become the brief.

We met in 2014 and we both wanted a name with real meaning that reached 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 moving to Israel in 2001 where I worked with philanthropic groups to help bring equal chances to children, youth and immigrants. I was born in Paris in 1978 and I stayed there through age 22. In 2000, new in Tel Aviv, my first post was investment banker, raising money for start ups in the high tech field. When we met, we said starting a profitable company with an impactful social purpose was the goal. We looked at women who train outdoors, who sweat daily, who live in sun. They talked about breakouts, redness, dryness, blocked pores. The sunscreens they owned were sticky or heavy, so they skipped them. That seemed wrong to us. We come from the Mediterranean where we love the sun, so we wanted protection to feel joyful in use. So we wrote a clear and simple brief. Clean and effective and joyful suncare, without compromise in daily use. No sticky sunscreens. No toxic ingredients. A routine that could guard in the morning, mend at night, and keep skin calm through sweat.

C Me is your concentrated waterless face serum with 10 percent VC IP for brightness at the sink. Waterless vitamin C feels different on skin than water based versions do. What should a reader expect from that choice in a routine.

C Me is a concentrated waterless blend with VC-IP, an oil soluble type of vitamin C, at 10 percent. We picked waterless because it allows the serum to feel even and keeps the vitamin C steady in the bottle without the sharp glide some water based brightening serums show. On skin it spreads like a dry oil and layers cleanly below SPF in the morning or below cream at night. People reach for it for the look of brightness and more even tone, and for support against the appearance of sun linked dullness. A few drops pressed across face and neck is enough. Allow time. The look of dark spots eases slowly with regular use, sun habits and renewed SPF. If your skin runs sensitive, begin with a smaller nightly amount and grow to daily. We kept the base plain so VC-IP could remain central, with argan portions to hold the finish comfortable rather than tacky.

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

I trust female leadership, I trust women as a motor for progress and I trust free and strong women to carry humanity ahead and we need them at their best, always. When women are strong, the world is strong in our daily work. That is not a slogan for us in how we work. My mother is a strong woman who defied traditional patriarchal rules to become an ophthalmologist, my father is a gynecologist who helped women give birth. That remained with me. We do not feel women should only be supported by women. If we hope to shift the world by lifting the position of women within it, I hold that backing from men is essential. In daily terms it means listening first. Our community tells us what fails in training, what stings the eyes, what casts white, what balls under sweat. At Fré, my role is with our amazing community to form an impactful movement for empowerment and environmental protection. If we can join all our strengths, I trust we will be amazed by what we will accomplish as a community. And it means returning steadily, including our pledge of one percent of revenue to guarding people and planet.

Glow Me plus 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 pick those first tones and that finish for daily wear.

We aimed for a morning move that could stand in for layers. Moisturizer, tint, SPF, plus care for the look of early lines and uneven tone. Glow Me + is that move. We held the texture ultra-light so it glides across damp skin after cleansing and settles with no mask like rim. The tint exists to soften the zinc look and to lend a soft glow, not to hide like foundation. Starting with Light-Medium and Medium-Deep was about serving a broad middle with two flexible shades that sheer out, while we studied wear tests across undertones. The finish remains luminous because dry, sun touched skin can seem flat by afternoon, and a little light return helps skin appear rested. Use it as your daily facial moisturizer with mineral SPF included. Warm a small amount between fingertips, press across face and neck, then a bit more along hairline and jaw where pale residue tends to settle. If you train outdoors, allow a minute to set before leaving.

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

Michael Azoulay and Mickael Bensadoun

Recover Me blends the Argania Active Complex with copper peptides and niacinamide into a nighttime cream for recovery. Mornings get the focus, but your system is protect and repair and glow. What is the night step meant to do for skin.

Morning is for shielding and evening is for mending. Sweat, sun, city air and washing draw water from skin. Recover Me is our night cream for that phase of the cycle. It mixes our argan complex with copper peptides and niacinamide to deeply moisturize and to support the look of firmness and calm by morning. The texture runs richer than our day SPF, yet it still spreads smoothly and settles without weight. Apply after cleansing and serum, while skin stays slightly damp. Massage across face, neck and ear tops where sun gathers. If you trained late and showered, wait till skin cools a little, then use. Night is also when habit counts most for the appearance of photoaging. Up to 90 percent of skin aging is linked to sun damage in the stories we tell, which is why day guard and night care fit together. One steadies the surface, the other helps skin appear renewed as you rest.

Fré is now 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 in the formula as volumes grew.

Early on we counted 11 to 50 people and a small raise, and notice arrived because the range was built for active skin that sweats. That framed our testing. We held wear trials with athletes as we entered broader retail, including our present place in Target stores. What we guarded was the center. The argan complex remains core, the mineral SPF remains 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide, and the textures must remain light enough for everyday wear. Scale can push a label to trade a harder botanical part for a simpler one, or to thicken a base to fill faster. We stayed with organic argan oil, leaf extract and stem cell material from managed sources, and with multitasking formulas for all skin types including sensitive. Growth also allowed more of the steady work, from coral planting to backing for girls through outdoor sports, paid by one percent of revenue. A wider shelf brings more mornings in sun. The formula still has to prove itself that morning.

Closing note from the desk

What remains is the hands on method. Rinse after training, press serum into damp skin, smooth a thin zinc layer, massage night cream when skin has cooled. Leaf, oil and stem cell serve that method, not the reverse. They help texture spread, help skin look calm, and link daily care to a tree shaped by heat.

Fré began to build suncare that active women would keep using, clean and light and suited to sweat. From a small crew to 611 Target doors, the record shows the same bar. Guard by day, mend by night, and judge a routine by whether hands reach for it each morning.

Product spotlight

Start with Glow Me + when you want tint plus mineral SPF in one morning pass. It runs 39 dollars for SPF 30 and 42 dollars for SPF 50, in Light-Medium or Medium-Deep. It helps guard against the look of sun damage, supports the appearance of smoother skin and leaves a soft glow. Cleanse, leave skin slightly damp, warm a small amount, press over face and neck, then set one minute before sun.

Keep Protect Me for daily sheer zinc. It runs 35 dollars for SPF 30 and 39 dollars for SPF 50. The 100 percent non-nano zinc oxide blend with Argania Active Complex spreads thin and sits well under makeup. Smooth on each morning as your multitasking SPF, and reapply as directed in sun.