Scalp Psoriasis: Top tips for managing your pso!

Scalp psoriasis is the bane of my life.

The flakes regularly fall from my head, made more evident by the fact I dress in all black everything. It’s itchy and irritated most of the time, no matter if my hair is up or down. The redness evident around my scalp and forehead, almost crown-like.

My scalp is the area of psoriasis I probably struggle with the most. It never fully heals, it’s continuously irritable, and I can never quite get the medication or product close enough to the patch on my scalp. Hello greasy, product-filled hair.

Sound familiar?

I recently asked on Instagram what you wanted to see more of on the blog and overwhelmingly you asked for a post on scalp psoriasis.

Below I am going to detail some products and tips along the way. They aren’t the holy gospel on how to deal with scalp psoriasis, but they help me out on the worst days.

Minimal washing, minimal heat, and minimum product

How often do you wash your hair? I know with psoriasis, especially on the scalp, you want to remove flakes and keep the scalp flake free. However, I have found that the more I wash my hair, the worse my scalp psoriasis gets. Now, I try to wash my hair twice a week – a maximum of three times if I am using scalp treatments during a bad flare. By reducing the number of times, you wash your hair per week you are reducing the amount of product you are putting on your scalp and in return, possibly irritating your psoriasis patches. If hair hides your scalp patches, it is much harder to see if it is aggravated by specific products or not.

When you do wash your hair…

For the times when you do wash your hair, I can not recommend Balmonds (previously Pure Potions) Natural Shampoo and Conditioner enough. The products are incredibly gentle on the scalp, and the smell is incredible. No tar smell which comes with a lot of psoriasis scalp products instead you get a sweet, fresh, citrus scent. The shampoo and conditioner are mild, unperfumed, entirely soap and SLS-free, cruelty-free and vegan! The products are at the higher end of the scale price wise. However, a little goes a long way, and they are definitely worth the money!

Scalp oil is your new best friend

I honestly don’t know what I did before scalp oil. It gives my itchy, irritated scalp some much-needed relief during massive flares. Usually, I like to pop the scalp oil before bed. I put on quite a lot of product a really let my hair and scalp soak in the oil. Then I pop on a shower cap or hair wrap, go to sleep and wash the product out the next day. This not only helps with the irritation of my patches but also helps with flakiness.

Someone recently suggested I warm the oil in the microwave before I apply to my scalp for extra relief. I haven’t tried this yet but will let you know when I do. Please remember to test the heat of the oil before putting it on your scalp – don’t want you to scold yourself.

Those are my top tips for managing scalp psoriasis. Let me know yours in the comments below!

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