Every new idea has a story behind it, and ours is no different. The man who dreamed up and perfected the concept is none other than Michel Or. Something of a Renaissance Man (if we may say so ourselves), Michel re-invented himself many times on the road to bringing ProMe personalized skin care to the world.
He was born in Moscow, where he received his undergraduate degree in Theater Arts from the prestigious Russian Institute of Theater Arts, or GITIS. After graduating, he made the first drastic change of his life (one of many) and moved to Israel. There he worked with the Israeli Opera, directing productions while enrolled at Bar Ilan University studying for a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Degree in hand, Michel embarked on his second career as a clinical psychologist for the largest hospital in Israel, Tel Hashomer. He worked there for over 15 years.
Meanwhile, Michel was always fascinated by food: the creativity of it, the idea that you could concoct an endless variety of flavors and textures, limited only by your palette, experience, and imagination. He was especially passionate about learning the science and more technical aspects of food preparation. He took on cheese-making, micro-brewing, and winemaking. And of course, he loved to savor and taste his marvelous creations ̶ which soon became a problem; he says he finally tipped the scales at 140 kg, or 308 lbs.
Realizing that his weight was becoming a hazard to his health and quality of life, he made his next life-changing decision and underwent bariatric surgery. Post-surgery, Michel lost 70 kg, or 154 lbs. But he was faced with two new problems: [1] to keep the weight off, he would need to find a new passion in life: something other than food; and [2] the weight loss had wreaked havoc on his skin, particularly his face.
One day, he ran into an old hospital colleague who he had not seen for a while. As they sat down to catch up, Michel learned that this woman had begun working as an esthetician, and that she loved it. She also told Michel that she could help treat his loose facial skin. That day was another turning point in Michel’s life. As his own skin improved, he discovered the exciting potential of this field. He trained to be an esthetician and began working with internationally acclaimed skincare companies including Gigi, Hikari, and PCA Skin.
His clientele grew both in Israel and abroad, and he soon became known as the ‘flying esthetician’. Having spent a number of years in the field learning what clients (including himself) were looking for, Michel decided to go all in and create his own skincare brand with a small group of his talented friends. He became deeply engaged in the process of formulating each product to perform exceptionally well on its own as well as synergistically with other products in the line. He conjured the ProMe business model of customizable professional skin care through AddMe enhancement products to suit his personal skincare needs as well as his love of creatively combining elements to meet specific needs. The process of custom blending spoke to Michel’s inner chef and foodie. His creativity could now result in bespoke skincare for everyone without bespoke prices.
To this day, he spends his time furthering his dream helping to launch his products all over the world, while still finding time to conduct training seminars and care for his clients. Custom blending with ProMe products continues to gain in popularity all over Israel for its spectacular results. Meanwhile, exports to other countries worldwide have yielded rave reviews from each new corner of the globe.