How I'm Keeping My Facial Psoriasis Covered

I was born with psoriasis. My dad had it, and I got it, too. THANKS, FAMILY.

 

For those of you who don’t know, psoriasis is a skin condition in which your body produces too many skin cells. So, have fun when there’s a skin shortage and I have extra! MUAUAHAHA. 

 

I have a very mild case and therefore only get red and white scaly patches on my skin sometimes. I used to get ashamed and tell people they were just sunspots when they asked about them, but then I got a sense of humor about it and told them I was half-reptile. 

 

It never really bothered me when I was younger because I didn’t get it on my face or any spots you could see, and if I did it was only one or two visible splotches. But that was when I lived in Florida. For some reason, the bright, death-ray sun keeps most of the spots at bay.

 

But ever since I moved to New York, I’ve been getting the spots on my face, and the sun doesn’t make them disappear instantly because there just isn’t enough of it here. So, I’ve had to learn new ways to manage and conceal them. 

 

My cute little psoriasises. 

 

I’ve never liked using green concealer to cover pimples, but for these splotches it totally works because it counteracts the red really well. I’m using the E.L.F Studio Corrective Concealer in Erase & Conceal. I take the green shade and dab it on the skin patches with my fingers. 

 

Step 1: corrective green concealer. 

 

Then I take the light, flesh-colored shade in the palette and dab that on over the green. You have to dab and blend a few times or else this is going to look really green and bizarre under your foundation. 

 

After that, I like to cover it with Urban Decay’s Naked Foundation in 4.5. I find that the shade is a TINY bit darker than my complexion, but that makes it look dewier and it covers concealer nicely.

 

Necessities of a psoriasis cover-up kit. 

 

I like to set it with powder just to make sure it stays there. I use Youngblood Hi-Definition Mineral Powder to keep it all in place. 

 

 

Where did the spots go? Also I’m not wearing blush here because I wanted to show you guys the coverage. 

 

Here's a closer look. See? No more cute psoriasis. 

 

Now onto a much more unpleasing problem psoriasis-havers can sometimes get: dandruff.

 

I NEVER got this when I lived in Florida, so I thought I was very lucky because I knew a lot of people with psoriasis got it. But again, once I moved, things got gross. This past winter, my head was snowier than NYC. I absolutely HATE using any of the tar shampoos (the smell is terrible) and the Selsun Blue-type shampoos are too medicated and drying. 

 

I color my hair a lot and find that Head & Shoulders is too stripping when it comes to my dye jobs. But then I found Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy Damage and Color Repair Shampoo. When my scalp gets really bad, I use this about twice a week, and when my scalp is not shedding its skin, I use it about once every two weeks. It doesn’t strip my color as much as the other shampoos (it still has sulfates and medicine in it, but it’s not as bad as the others, and I see it as a trade-off). I don’t use the matching conditioner, though. I use whatever my favorite is at the time to replenish the moisture the heavy shampoo is taking. 

 

Do any of you guys have psoriasis? I know I have a really mild case, but it still sometimes irritates me when I see huge scaly spots on my face or flakes in my hair. Since it’s is incurable, I’ve found that these little tricks help me manage it and feel a little bit better about myself. How do you manage it? Want to start a reptile club?