{"id":218612,"date":"2025-12-06T13:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/218612\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T13:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:53:10","slug":"how-israels-kardashians-built-cosmetics-powerho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/218612\/","title":{"rendered":"How Israel\u2019s ‘Kardashians’ built cosmetics powerho"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a first profile published about her in 2009 in Yediot Ahronot\u2019s \u201cWhere\u2019s the Kid?\u201d column, cosmetician<\/a> Hava Zingboim described her daily routine: she woke up every morning at 5:15 to make sandwiches for her six children, headed to the gym, dropped them off and, by six, \u201cwas back home with the kids for homework, tests and school assignments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, she sleeps even less. \u201cToday I wake up at three in the morning,\u201d she says. \u201cBetween three and five, I read, study and write. People get emails from me at insane hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bat El Gross, Emuna Ganz, Hava Zingboim, Hodiya Matatia and Sapir Solomovitz <\/p>\n

(Photo: Shahar Arviv)<\/p>\n

\u201cEmails at four a.m.,\u201d confirms her daughter, Emuna Ganz. \u201cThose are usually the most important and serious ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fifteen years have passed since that article. Today, she runs the skin-tech corporation \u201cHava Zingboim,\u201d which blends science and aesthetics. On Sunday, the brand unveiled its new Prophecy series before hundreds of cosmeticians who work with her, aiming to replicate the success of previous products in the line.<\/p>\n

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Hava Zingboim <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alex Lipkin)<\/p>\n

While celebrities like Bar Refaeli<\/a> promote injecting salmon sperm into the face<\/a>, Zingboim is less drawn to fleeting trends. She developed the new product, made of cross-linked hyaluronic acid, after encountering a study about three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn MRI images of the skin, they saw that injected hyaluronic acid stays in the tissue under the skin for years,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt was a stunning discovery. It\u2019s a major shift, because unlike silicone, until now we treated hyaluronic acid as a substance the skin absorbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross-linked hyaluronic acid undergoes a chemical bonding process that makes it thicker and more durable. According to Zingboim, Prof. Rachel Lubart and Dr. Lipovsky from the company\u2019s R&D department managed to shrink the acid\u2019s molecule without breaking its cross-linked structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the acid stays deep in the skin for a long time, it triggers processes we now call biosimulation \u2014 renewing tissue at the skin\u2019s depth,\u201d Zingboim says. \u201cIn the injected areas and in areas where the hyaluronic acid remained, they detected increased production of collagen and anti-inflammatory compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The new Prophecy series <\/p>\n

(Photo: Kfir Ziv)<\/p>\n

After a series of tests, the company developed three products that she says deliver significant improvements to the skin\u2019s appearance and \u201cage\u201d within two weeks: a gel cream, a serum and a rich cream. \u201cWe were shocked by the results. Within two weeks, there\u2019s a drop in chronological age \u2014 wrinkle depth, fine lines, texture,\u201d Zingboim says. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just another cream. This is serious work by our R&D department.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does that mean for the consumer?<\/p>\n

\u201cNow she can apply cross-linked hyaluronic acid to the skin and stimulate collagen production. Today, to encourage collagen, we do invasive treatments like microneedling. Creating collagen naturally in the skin is completely new. It\u2019s another step in what we used to call anti-aging and now call longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A term that has become a major trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cLongevity represents a major conceptual shift in our field. In anti-aging treatments, a patient comes to a doctor or cosmetician, and they\u2019ll do everything to make the skin look better. Longevity is a completely different mindset. We want to ensure the skin reaches old age in peak health and help it perform its natural processes better. It\u2019s a different perspective, not a trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

It certainly feels like a trend being pushed from all directions. How did it suddenly catch on?<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of new studies about aging, as well as research on nutrition and sports. These are constantly studied fields, huge industries, and the research drives a shift in how we think about lifespan and quality of life \u2014 not just appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you promise that in two weeks I\u2019ll look younger?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like promising things, and I\u2019m very careful with that, but studies show rejuvenation in skin age. The skin looks younger, pigmentation improves, hydration levels rise and it\u2019s more radiant.\u201d<\/p>\n

We live in an age flooded with information \u2014 and misinformation \u2014 especially online. Who should I trust?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the same place. I also ask myself, \u2018Should I let this information influence what I do?\u2019 So I check who\u2019s giving me the information. Like in any field, there are credible sources and serious researchers who\u2019ve worked for many years. Then I check if others at that level say the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

So we won\u2019t be injecting salmon sperm into our faces.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that won\u2019t happen. Why? Because if we\u2019re talking about DNA fragments, you\u2019re talking to me about fish DNA? I\u2019m not a fish. There are things I ruled out from the start, like collagen supplements. For years, it didn\u2019t make sense to me, and I didn\u2019t take them. But twenty years passed, and studies came out showing that in certain conditions, with certain diets, it works. For now, I say: eat fresh salmon because it has proteins that enrich your diet \u2014 more than rubbing it on your face or injecting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of trends, we\u2019re in an era where many influencers and celebrities launch skincare brands. You may be well-known, but they\u2019re stronger than you on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a chef preparing food for takeaway. He knows the chemistry, how food keeps over time, how to preserve its qualities. Then someone else with no knowledge arrives and cooks too. I respect anyone who opens a business, especially women \u2014 but you can\u2019t compare that to someone who\u2019s spent 30 years in the field and researches it. Unlike them, I work with skin, I treat people, I teach cosmeticians, I see their results. It\u2019s work that is \u2014 I won\u2019t say on a different level, okay? \u2014 but it\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingboim stresses that the new product is not meant to replace injectables, but to offer another option \u2014 one that can complement injections or serve as an alternative for those who don\u2019t want a swollen look. She herself reduced fillers at age 50 because she didn\u2019t like the appearance, and stopped entirely over the past year and a half.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the growing demand for products that deliver quick results,\u201d she adds. \u201cPeople want instant, now, immediately. They don\u2019t have time. And the age keeps dropping, so we\u2019re seeing more and more products tailored for younger ages. Very young.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYounger. Ten, eight. They\u2019re already talking about four-year-olds. There\u2019s a company in the United States (Rini, co-owned by actress Shay Mitchell) that just launched face masks for four- and five-year-old girls. Today, girls aged ten and eleven are cosmetics consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interview with Zingboim takes place at the company\u2019s Ramat Gan offices, where her school sits alongside the training, research and development divisions. It is an empire. In each arm of the business, Zingboim has placed one of her four daughters. All identify somewhere along the religious spectrum \u2014 some with uncovered hair, some with wigs \u2014 and all live within a short radius around her in Ra\u2019anana. Zingboim also has two sons (\u201cthe youngest is just now leaving home,\u201d she says with a hint of sadness) and 13 grandchildren, including one-month-old Libi, who joins the interview as well.<\/p>\n

Zingboim and her children<\/p>\n

The maternal umbilical cord has never really been cut, and for the first time, the women sit together for a joint interview about business, family, faith and the label often attached to them: \u201cthe Israeli Kardashians.\u201d As with Kris Jenner, Zingboim\u2019s daughters see their mother as a \u201cmomager.\u201d \u201cSometimes I watch the Kardashians, hear Kris talk and say to myself: that\u2019s Mom!\u201d says Hodiya Matatia, 29, the company\u2019s brand manager and head of social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if you watch,\u201d adds Sapir Solomovitz, 36, a mother of four, formerly the VP of marketing and now in business development. \u201cNo matter how strong Kris is, she cries in a second. I love how composed and polished she is, and in a split moment, you say something emotional, and she just breaks down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingboim\u2019s eldest daughter, Bat-El Gross, 38, a mother of six, was the first to join the business. She had planned to be an English teacher at a Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Ra\u2019anana until she was called in. Later came the youngest daughter, Emuna Ganz, 25, a mother of one and now VP of R&D. Their father, Moti, is also involved. It is a family business where the work never really ends \u2014 even when they go home and close the door on the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing part of the family business obligates you. You\u2019re not an employee in an office,\u201d says Solomovitz. \u201cWe live and breathe it. We exchange messages, references, ideas. There are advantages \u2014 when I talk to my mom, I can also bring something up about my daughters and grab a quick coffee. We\u2019re together at my parents\u2019 house every Shabbat, and the next day we\u2019re back at work. My husband always says, \u2018Don\u2019t you get tired of it?\u2019 No, I don\u2019t. You learn to balance personal, family and professional. So what if yesterday I yelled at her and hung up on her? You learn to set boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matatia: \u201cShabbat. For my father, it\u2019s very important that on Shabbat we don\u2019t talk about work, don\u2019t think about work. It\u2019s sacred time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Solomovitz, Matatia, Zingboim, Ganz and Gross <\/p>\n

(Photo: Shahar Arviv)<\/p>\n

Was it obvious to all of you that you\u2019d join the business? Was this path set in advance?<\/p>\n

Matatia: \u201cI never imagined I\u2019d work here. After national service, everyone assumed I\u2019d join the family business, but for me it wasn\u2019t an option. I wanted to work in marketing, just not necessarily here \u2014 but one thing led to another. It\u2019s a huge privilege to learn from our parents and work together as a family. We have a lot of disagreements, and we have to rise above them and say \u2014 what a privilege it is that we even get to argue about work. It\u2019s not a fight; it\u2019s a different way of looking at things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think Hava would have allowed you to choose another path?<\/p>\n

Matatia: \u201cLook, each of us is doing another degree, each of us studies, each has another niche in life. I teach bridal classes and work as a mikveh attendant, and I\u2019m doing a master\u2019s in Bible studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cI resigned once and went to work at a startup because I felt I needed experience in other fields \u2014 and then I came back. Now I\u2019m studying law. As a workplace, it lets us grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganz: \u201cI thought I\u2019d be a special-education preschool teacher or study psychology, something in the therapeutic world. At the same time, I had a huge passion for this industry \u2014 helping people become the best version of themselves and feel confident in their appearance. What we do here can sound superficial, but it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hava, you also employ people who aren\u2019t family. Do your daughters\u2019 opinions carry extra weight?<\/p>\n

Zingboim: \u201cBeing my daughter gives no special privileges; on the contrary, my daughters work harder than anyone. I trust them deeply, just as I trust my teams. In work meetings, I know how to make decisions, and I know how to accept them \u2014 just as I do with the CEO, the deputy CEO or a department head. The bonus, for me, is that I love being around them and I love the women they\u2019ve become. I couldn\u2019t work the long hours I do if they weren\u2019t around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who do you ask for a raise \u2014 Mom or Dad?<\/p>\n

All together: \u201cThe CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matatia: \u201cAccording to the contract, he can even fire us. Working with your parents is the hardest thing. You need them to value you not because you\u2019re \u2018their daughter\u2019 but because you truly do your job well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hava Zingboim <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alex Lipkin)<\/p>\n

In the office, do you call her Mom or Hava?<\/p>\n

Gross: \u201cI think I\u2019m the only one who calls her Mom. Even in emails, I write \u2018Mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganz: \u201cLet\u2019s put it on the table \u2014 I used to call them Mom and Dad. Then I was told it was weird. So I said, \u2018My mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingboim: \u201cWhat is this \u2018I\u2019ll ask Dad\u2019? Say \u2018my dad,\u2019 because \u2018Dad\u2019 became slang here. \u2018Daddy, come to Daddy,\u2019\u201d she laughs. \u201cBottom line: whatever you call me, I\u2019ll answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganz: \u201cI know calling her Mom isn\u2019t formal enough, but when I talk to her, I say Mom, okay? And when I talk about you,\u201d she turns to her mother, \u201cI say Hava.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matatia: \u201cI also used to say Mom, and switched to Hava \u2014 mother of all living.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re all on the religious spectrum, correct?<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cOn the spectrum, period.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does faith shape the way you build and run the business?<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cI\u2019m a person with very strong faith in the Creator, and I believe everything has a reason. Our lifestyle is religious, although personally, I\u2019ll admit that modest dress and head coverings never limited me. From a very young age, I was also in secular settings, so I stepped out of the religious bubble. That probably shaped me in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does it affect decision-making? Many times I could have taken things hard, or when something didn\u2019t work out the way I wanted, he always helped me understand and believe that everything is for the good. I don\u2019t know if that comes from a religious or a spiritual place, but I interpret it as faith \u2014 that there\u2019s something bigger guiding the path. Even if it\u2019s not what I imagined or not at the pace I expected, there\u2019s a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Beauty and fashion brands sell to us through sex. If you were shooting a campaign for the new product, would you veto seductive poses?<\/p>\n

Gross: \u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t connect to that, but it\u2019s not my decision. Beyond that, the language or at least the DNA of our brand is about strength, not seduction or sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cWhen you have science and results on the ground, there\u2019s less need to overshadow everything with something very sexual. I don\u2019t need to push sex to get you to buy. On the contrary, it bothers me. I have the real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hava, in interviews over the years, you\u2019ve spoken at length about your life story. You lived on the street as a teenager and later recovered from cancer. How did that shape your motherhood, and how did it shape theirs?<\/p>\n

Zingboim: \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt my childhood shaped my motherhood and who I am. I grew up without a mother, and that absence is very present in my life. When she died, I was already an adult, but from a very young age, she didn\u2019t function as a mother. She was very ill and not part of my life. From that place, I wanted to become a mother young. When I wake up every morning, I feel like a mother first, and I act from that place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cIt\u2019s not just toward us. She calls her cosmeticians \u2018my girls.\u2019 Before I joined the business, I thought, \u2018Sorry, I\u2019m your daughter, who are these other girls?\u2019 But her maternal warmth, which comes from her own lack, defines her personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingboim: \u201cWhen you lack something in childhood, you can let the absence define you and become that distant, detached mother who doesn\u2019t get close, doesn\u2019t touch, doesn\u2019t hug; or you can take that emptiness and fill it with goodness. I decided to be the mother I wish I had. My motherhood fills a very big void \u2014 a void I know today can never fully be filled. No parenting will replace not having had a mother. Today I enjoy my children, their presence in my life, and their children. There is no greater joy than being an involved grandmother who spends time with her grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

An hour ago, you said you leave the office at 11 p.m. When do you find time?<\/p>\n

\u201cWeekends are dedicated entirely to my grandchildren, and sometimes I see them during the week too. Some come in the mornings because their rabbit is in my yard. I know what each child likes, what interests them now. At the moment, the house looks like a playground that I update according to the grandkids\u2019 hobbies. Right now we\u2019re in a knights-and-dragons phase; before that it was cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

You were young when she first became a public figure 17 years ago. Was it embarrassing that your mother became famous at 40?<\/p>\n

Gross: \u201cMy friends just wanted three seconds with her \u2014 for her to look at their skin and give an opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cWe can\u2019t walk with her in the mall without people approaching her for a photo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zingboim: \u201cEven if we\u2019re in the middle of an intense personal conversation, people don\u2019t care. \u2018Excuse me, are you Hava?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201c\u2018Excuse me, can you diagnose my skin?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Gross: \u201cPersonal space isn\u2019t really a sacred concept in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cI think women connect to her because she proves there are no glass ceilings. Is something above us? Nothing. Someone invented this idea. You want to be a stay-at-home mom for a year? Go for it and be a stay-at-home mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a big privilege, staying home for a year.<\/p>\n

Solomovitz: \u201cIt was an enormous privilege, something I reached with my fourth child, nearing 40. What I\u2019m trying to say is that physically \u2014 there is no glass ceiling, and that\u2019s something we were born into. You say she\u2019s a larger-than-life woman, and she is. I\u2019m aware of what happens in the male business world and of equality issues. I\u2019m not saying it doesn\u2019t exist \u2014 I\u2019m saying that personally, I haven\u2019t experienced it. I was born to a woman who managed to do everything with her own two hands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a first profile published about her in 2009 in Yediot Ahronot\u2019s \u201cWhere\u2019s the Kid?\u201d column, cosmetician Hava…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,19,17,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-218612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115672961361722873","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}