theSKIN x Ramón Pagán

@ 2025-11-18 09:55:04 -0800

If you’ve ever fallen down a skincare rabbit hole on TikTok, you’ve likely met Ramón Pagán (aka @GlowByRamon), the cosmetic chemist and esthetician translating skincare science into something we can actually understand. With his signature blend of lab-coat logic and glow-lover charm, Ramón makes ingredients feel accessible, not intimidating. We caught up with him to talk bridging the lab and the bathroom shelf, what makes a formula work, and why skin health should always come before perfection.

You’ve built your platform on breaking down formulas people actually understand. What drew you to facile’s approach, and how does it line up with the kind of science-backed simplicity you’re always preaching?

"facile" says it all: making it easy to understand what the product will do for you, and how to build a routine around the products. Simple ingredient highlights, comprehensive formulas.

Facile’s mantra is “minimal effort, maximum benefits.” What does that philosophy look like in your own routine — the small, consistent steps that keep your skin (and sanity) in check?

Making a product easy to use and facilitating the desire to use the product to promote consistency and thus see results is how this manifests in my routine. The Clear or Destress serums are easy to throw into my AM or PM routine, and it's one simple product with a multi-directional approach at helping me target my concerns to easily achieve my skin goals

There’s a lot of confusion online between what’s “clean,” what’s “clinical,” and what’s just good marketing. How do you personally define a well-formulated product?

A brand can always spin a good story to make a lackluster product seem good and effective, but how can it prove that? Do they have clinicals to support their claims? Investing in this extra step to really PROVE that a product works shows me it's a good product.

You’ve tested more serums than most people will in a lifetime. What makes a formula stand out immediately to you? Texture? Ingredients?

I personally value a sensorial experience. The texture of the product is more dependent on its benefits to me: I love a hydrating serum that's somewhat syrupy, and I want my antioxidant serum to be very thin and lightweight, but those are personal preferences. I love a really COMPREHENSIVE serum, though. A lot of bang for your buck, and attacking concerns from multiple directions.

Facile’s derm-developed approach means every formula starts with skin health first. Why is that so important, and how does that change the way a product performs over time?

Instead of attacking a problem aggressively with harsh actives, and really aggravating and irritating the skin, it's more beneficial to your skin to support skin health first (supporting and ensuring a healthy skin barrier), to see better benefits from your products and routine.

Which facile formula surprised you the most? The one you didn’t expect to feel, absorb, or perform the way it does for under $40?

The Clear Exfoliating Serum is my favorite, mainly because I get no irritation from using it, which is surprising for a multi-acid focused exfoliation serum. 

As someone who mentors the next generation of cosmetic scientists, what’s one misconception about skincare you always try to debunk for your students (and followers)?

The misconception of "toxic" ingredients and the negative impact of apps like YUKA. Because it is more "specialized" knowledge, I try to explain the role and function of cosmetic regulations and legislation, how ingredient toxicology works, and how they play a role in determining concentrations for ingredient safety to ensure consumers will not be harmed.

What current “skincare buzzwords” actually hold weight, and which ones make you cringe a little?

Truth be told, I just see what micro-trends get pushed via social media and the associated buzzwords, and those make me cringe, especially since they're just reimagined wordings for existing concepts in skincare and beauty. Any trend that promotes good sun safety is one I can get behind, though.

With so much content around “perfect” skin, you’ve always emphasized healthy skin instead. What does healthy skin actually mean to you, and how can people tell when they’ve reached it?

Healthy skin is skin that's taken care of: cleansed, moisturized, protected. Clear, perfect, and flawless skin are concepts that have a lot of mental health implications when you have chronic skin conditions. Supporting healthy skin, normalizing acne, redness, and fine lines and wrinkles are values I think are important because constantly striving for unrealistic beauty standards can have damaging results.