Personalization for the Professional [A Q&A With Ronit Segev]

Ronit Segev believes that the only way to truly improve the skin is through the skin care professional. She believed this with so much intensity that she created her brand Biofor exclusively for professional use. The brand has recently arrived in the U.S., so we sat down with Segev to learn more about her journey, the skin care industry in Israel, how she approaches personalized skin care and how she identifies new technology.

1. How did you start your brand?

At 32, a dormant passion within me was awakened—the love for biology, which became alive and active. I had loved biology since high school but never thought of turning it into a career. That’s when I decided to return to university, this time to study biology. By the end of my bachelor’s degree, at the age of 36, all of us students were deliberating about our specialization for our master’s degree. One morning, I woke up and looked in the mirror, only to see a face staring back at me that looked a decade older—hollow eyes and a tired skin texture. That’s when things got serious and even alarming. I couldn’t accept my appearance. I was literally desperate to find a solution to the signs of aging and scientifically proven ways to rejuvenate the skin. That’s when I knew what I would specialize in for my master’s degree. In Israel, there is no university program in cosmetology, but I gathered every relevant course about skin structure, active ingredients, and delved deep into the vast ocean of science on skin rejuvenation.

During my master’s studies, I founded Biofor and decided from the outset that the company’s products would be marketed exclusively to professionals.

Improving the skin requires in-depth knowledge and personalized solutions. Skin issues cannot be solved with off-the-shelf products chosen by the consumer.

The company started with five products and grew over time. As a company serving cosmeticians and skin experts, I understood the importance of offering solutions not only for aging but also for acne, pigmentation, and texture issues. I eagerly dove into the available ocean of knowledge, which became my passion, my fuel, and my main area of interest.

2. Why did you decide to do personalized skin care?

Every cosmetician works in a personalized manner, even if they are not using [our] approach. The very act of conducting a professional skin diagnosis for each client, providing products tailored specifically to their needs, and offering personalized usage instructions makes the treatment they receive personal. In my opinion, only with personalized care can we truly ensure sustainable results in improving the skin’s appearance.

[Our] protocols and approach have always been highly personalized. We have provided cosmeticians with many professional tools to adapt any cream to the specific needs of the skin—through various adjustments such as changes in application frequency and method, diluting the concentration by mixing with a moisturizer, applying double doses of the same product on the same evening, and more. The idea of bringing personalization into moisturizers is truly innovative and adds an extra layer of professionalism to cosmetic treatments. This transforms every moisturizer into a tailored treatment solution, increasing the likelihood of achieving the results the cosmetician aimed for. After all, we all do everything possible to get the best results!

The more personalized the treatment, the more precise we become, increasing the chances of improving the skin’s function and appearance.

There is another advantage to personalizing moisturizers: it provides the cosmetician with a competitive edge—both over off-the-shelf products that clients choose on their own and over competing cosmetic clinics. After all, no store, website, or other cosmetic clinic creates the exact same cream that the specific cosmetician has customized after analyzing and understanding the client’s skin condition. This exclusivity helps the cosmetician build long-term loyalty and client retention over the years.

3. How do you personalize the products?

About three years ago, we launched a series, consisting of a moisturizer and five different ampoules. These are not the standard ampoules commonly known in our field and cannot be applied directly to the skin, as they are not finished products but raw materials. As we know, raw materials—such as biomimetic peptides, vitamins, and more—are not used at 100% concentration but in small percentages. The calculations are pre-determined so that mixing 2ml of an ampoule into 50ml of cream provides the exact concentration scientifically proven to be effective. The method is highly precise: mixing the ampoules into 30ml, for example, would result in a concentration that deviates from what is required. And their direct application to the skin could also cause harm. Up to three different ampoules can be mixed into one cream, tailored to the skin’s specific needs.

The idea is that every cosmetic clinic becomes, in a sense, a small laboratory, formulating creams that are perfectly suited to the skin’s needs—its genetics, current condition, lifestyle, level of sun exposure, and other important factors relevant to its needs at any given time. The same client might receive different creams during different visits to the clinic, as her skin changes, along with seasonal or other factors requiring a different formula. We are now developing five additional ampoules and working on a serum into which these ampoules can be incorporated, creating a personalized serum.

4. Why did you choose the professional market versus the consumer one?

I entered the cosmetics industry to provide fast and proven solutions to skin problems. I have no interest in creating "more of the same" or offering more pleasant, fragrant, visually appealing, and desirable creams that cannot transform the skin from within. Producing such creams doesn’t require advanced knowledge or experience in skin pathophysiology, active ingredients or cosmetology.

Anyone can create a desirable brand that succeeds commercially. My passion lies in helping people look more beautiful, solving issues that affect their aesthetic appearance, and fostering greater self-confidence in their own skin. This is especially true for women, whose self-confidence and self-esteem often stem significantly from their outward appearance. 

5. What do you feel are your hero ingredients?

As many skin experts will agree, retinoids have been and remain the leaders in achieving intensive improvement across a wide range of skin parameters. Careful and intelligent use of retinoids is essential to avoid side effects and to tailor their application precisely to every skin type, particularly for darker skin tones. However, when used correctly, they can significantly rejuvenate the appearance and function of the skin and play an integral role in treating acne, pigmentation, and skin imperfections.

I also make extensive use of azelaic acid, which is an ingredient in several of our products. It is highly versatile—balancing sebum production, regulating the keratinization process of skin cells (with important implications for a smooth and even appearance, as well as preventing deep blockages that lead to acne), offering antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and balancing pigment production—just to touch on its main attributes.

We incorporate a variety of biomimetic peptides, selected based on their specific purpose. Like many others, we also use hydroxy acids in various formulations and concentrations. Vitamins and soothing agents are, in my view, absolutely essential. Some vitamins are multifunctional and not just antioxidants, such as niacinamide, green tea, and vitamin C, each offering at least four distinct benefits per ingredient.

6. What are some of the ingredients you are researching?

I am researching several ingredients for balancing melanin pigment production, as hyperpigmentation is one of the most troubling skin concerns both in our country and abroad. Ingredients relevant to repairing the epidermal barrier also interest me, especially in response to requests from European countries characterized by cold and dry climates. Additionally, I am exploring ingredients and solutions for treating rosacea. While we have had good experience using our products for rosacea, I always strive to refine and improve further. It’s important to note that new ingredients are constantly entering the market. Many companies that develop these ingredients conduct experiments in their own laboratories and provide the results to formulators like me. I approach such research findings with a certain level of caution and a critical perspective, as their publication often aims to support ingredient sales. That said, I give some of these ingredients the green light for specific testing within our lab and assess the potential to incorporate them into our products.

7. What do you see on the horizon?

We aim to expand our knowledge library available to professionals. While it is already very comprehensive, we understand that by providing even more knowledge at an even higher level, we can help skin experts achieve even better results. We are exploring the most effective ways to make this knowledge accessible and user-friendly for skin professionals both in Israel and around the world, including through AI technologies. We are also investigating how advanced devices for assessing skin parameters can be utilized, leveraging their outputs to design more precise treatments and deepen our understanding of the skin.

We plan to introduce an AI model that will assist cosmeticians in selecting the most accurate and effective treatments based on the parameters they have diagnosed. As the digital age continues to advance, we will be able to offer our knowledge through additional channels beyond the diverse options already available.