Puerto Rican creator The Real Veronika joins Neutrogena to empower Latinas and normalize adult acne

Puerto Rican content creator The Real Veronika has recently partnered with Neutrogena to launch the brand’s newest adult acne collection, Neutrogena Evenly Clear, aiming to raise awareness and normalize experiencing breakouts even in adulthood.

As a Latina content creator whose viral “adulting” humor resonates with hundreds of thousands of Gen Z and Zillennial viewers, her videos and audio clips adapted into animations are a relatable voice of modern adulthood, particularly for young Latinas navigating work, confidence and real life experiences.

Even though her content is mostly comedic, she’s learned that her dedicated fan base across social media is also being educated by her videos. Now, she is hoping to empower people and help them speak up for themselves no matter the situation.

What makes her stand out from other content creators is her authenticity and willingness to openly talk about everyday struggles many adults face, including adult acne and the post-acne marks that can linger for years after treatment.

Adult acne is often framed as a teenage issue but Neutrogena is bringing awareness to the reality that sometimes that is not the case. “I think it's important what Neutrogena is doing because acne is not just centered to children or to teens, acne sometimes follows us right into adulthood,” The Real Veronika said.

For her, being part of this partnership is everything as it gives her the voice to tell her story and journey with acne. She shared with CALÓ News that as a teenager she struggled with acne, and while it disappeared for a few years, it slowly made a comeback as an adult. “Neutrogena is solving an issue that has been a problem, but there hasn't really been something out there to specifically target it,” she said.

The Evenly Clear Collection is targeted for individuals with oily, acne-prone and combination skin. What stood out for Veronika about Neutrogena’s latest products is that it was very lightweight. 

“There's a lot of products out there that they kind of just hang out on your face. With the Evenly Clear line, your skin absorbs it, but it also doesn't linger. I'm a matte girly, so I like matte makeup, matte setting spray and matte lipstick. It's important to me to not look oily and glossy and all that, and that's one good thing about this is that I can put on that gel moisturizer and keep my skin hydrated,” The Real Veronika said.

In many Latino households, skincare conversations aren't always open or informed. In a community-based photographic study, clinical acne was found to be highly prevalent among Latina women with 32% being affected. For The Real Veronika having acne as a teen wasn’t such a big deal, she took it as a puberty phase that would eventually go away.

“A lot of things in Latino households were just like, ‘that's just the way it is, we'll get used to it,’ and I am very happy that we are going into an era of, ‘no, that's not just the way it is, let's figure things out.’ We did not grow up talking about these concerns, there was really nowhere for me to turn to look for an answer,” she said. “It was just more here, just just try this. Oh, that didn't work, try this and that's more of what it was rather than, hey, let's try and actually figure out a solution to this problem.”

The Real Veronika believes that growing up there was a lack of education when it came to treating her acne. Oftentimes she found herself trying different products every other day because they didn’t work. They would even blame her for eating chocolates or high-sugar drinks as the reason for triggering her acne. “The root of the problem is deeper in your skin and all that, the oils that your skin is holding, but we didn't know that back then. We were very uneducated about these things.” she said. Now that Veronika is an adult dealing with breakouts, she’s learned that treating acne is a process that takes time and patience.

One of her goals has been to use her platform to represent the Latino community in her videos and in campaigns that align with what she truly believes in, as she feels her community is still very underrepresented. 

“The fact that they can look at me and say, she's not one of these girls from the telenovelas that has perfect porcelain skin. She looks like me, she speaks like me, her skin is melanated like mine, she understands what manchas are. It's very important for me to be a real representation of an everyday Latina,” The Real Veronika said. “I have very textured skin and it's improved, thank God, but it's definitely something where they can look at me and they'll be like, OK, wait, she doesn't advertise and partner with just anyone. She looks like me, she sounds like me, and she believes in this product, so it is very important to me to be responsible with what I'm putting out there for my followers because I know that's what I needed growing up.”

The Real Veronika also shared with CALÓ News how crucial it is to see culturally relevant language in the mainstream beauty industry that can resonate with her Latina audience. She said that acknowledging words like “manchas” or “manchitas” which is used to refer to post acne scarring. Using relatable language helps bilingual women feel seen and understood, especially when studies show that 48% of Latina women experience hyperpigmentation.

“Skincare doesn't just have one language. Skincare doesn't care what language you speak, just use it and let's work our way towards better skin. So it is absolutely very important to use words like that and to tap into other people who can benefit from this product,” The Real Veronika said. “I know it seems so minuscule, but it is so important that people feel not only included, but they feel like, OK, this brand actually acknowledges that I'm here, so let's see what they're all about.”

Showing her realness on social media has gained her positive feedback from her followers. “I get a lot of comments and messages, thanking me for just being authentic and that is so important in an era where everything is either AI or where everything is heavily filtered,” she said.

The Real Veronika also shared some words of advice for any young Latina content creator who is currently struggling with acne. 

“It's OK to have textured skin, it's OK to have acne, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Thanks to Neutrogena creating this Evenly Clear line, we have a solution to something that we probably never acknowledged, since we were younger,” she said. “Hopefully it works for you, and you can be on your way to clearer skin, but it's not the end of the world, it's just skin and something that we all, at some point or another have struggled with. You're not alone on that island of acne, just embrace it and let's work towards a solution versus lingering and wondering why this is happening to me.”