What is scalp psoriasis?
It can be confusing to differentiate between dry scalp, dandruff, and psoriasis. For an accurate diagnosis, we recommend visiting an expert, however there are some telltale signs to self-diagnose at-home.
For starters, if you have a tight and itchy scalp, dry flakes of skin on your hair and your hair feels drier than usual, you most likely have dry scalp. If your scalp feels and looks oily, and there are flakes that are small white or gray scales, chances are you’re dealing with dandruff. If you have red, itchy areas on the scalp with silvery-white scales, and uniform areas of darker, redder skin that is visibly a different colour from your scalp, that is a sign of scalp psoriasis. This is especially true if you remove the skills and see bleeding points on the scalp. Other common symptoms of scalp psoriasis include a tight uncomfortable scalp sensation, burning or soreness and hair loss.
Scalp psoriasis can be frustrating and tough to treat. Unfortunately, there’s also no cure for psoriasis of the scalp; but there are certainly ways you can manage your condition as best you can and take away the itch.
De-stress
A psoriasis flare-up can be stressful. Feeling stressed, however, can make your condition worse. Finding ways to destress can do wonders. Here are some ways some people with psoriasis are effectively reducing stress in their lives.
- Meditation
- Exercise
- Get outside help
Your skin is a reflection of your gut
Research suggests that psoriasis is a condition that may be characterised by a leaky gut. Leaky gut occurs when the tight junctions between the cells that line your small intestine loosen, creating holes in which is commonly known as ‘leaky gut’. This then allows undigested food particles, bacteria, toxins and antigens into your bloodstream and can cause an immune system reaction.
So how can you treat your gut? While many of the Grahams Natural treatments are topical, our Mega Oil works to nourish your body from the inside out. Containing 100% natural oil ingredients including Omega 3, 6 and 9, our oil works to treat gut issues that can contribute to skin disorders and overall health issues.
Mega Oil contains the following ingredients: Flaxseed Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil, Safflower Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Pumpkin Seed Oil. We have chosen to use only seed oils as many people with allergies cannot tolerate fish oils that are predominately used for EFA's. These seeds give our Mega Oil a delicious nutty flavour.
Mega Oil can be consumed straight from the bottle, or added to your favourite foods from pasta, rice, vegetables, salads, yoghurt or fruit.
Here’s a quick, easy and delicious way to include Mega Oil in your morning smoothie.
Healthy Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup honey yoghurt
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 2 bananas (sliced and frozen)
- 1 tablespoon of mega oil
Directions
- Power up your morning with this fruit-veggie smoothie. Prepare the banana by slicing and placing it in a freezer bag. Freeze the banana overnight.
- In a blender, combine the almond milk, honey yoghurt, baby spinach and frozen banana and blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a tall glass.
- Now the fun part! Stir in the Mega Oil until smooth and ENJOY!
Don’t scratch that itch
We get it… it can be super tempting to dig into those itchy spots, but it’s so important to avoid irritating your scalp. Also, when shampooing, try to avoid rubbing, scrubbing, and scratching your scalp. This will make your psoriasis worse, and potentially cause bleeding or even hair loss.
Follow a low inflammation diet
Research has yet to confirm a definite link between diet and psoriasis flare ups, but many people with psoriasis find eliminating certain foods and drinks offers relief from symptoms. Although there is yet to be research confirming a direct link, it can’t hurt to limit or cut these foods from your diet and see if your symptoms improve. Here are some food and drinks that get mentioned often by people as possibly causing their psoriasis flare-ups.
- Alcohol
- Junk food
- Red meat and dairy products
- Nightshade plants (e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers)
- Citrus fruits
- Gluten
- Condiments (e.g. tabasco sauce, curry, vinegar, paprika, ketchup, and cinnamon)
Use your hair tools gently
Anything that stresses your scalp, from blow drying to aggressive combing, can aggravate your psoriasis. When brushing your hair, try to be as gentle as possible as forcefully removing the scale often loosens your hair along with the scale; leading to hair loss. Also, try to air dry your hair when possible. If you must blow dry your hair, make sure you don’t use the hottest setting as your scalp is already very dry, and blow drying will only make this worse.
Use the right products for your hair
When dealing with a skin condition on the scalp, it’s important to make hair care product swaps to reduce inflammation and remove impurities to balance out the condition of the scalp. We suggest opting for products that are free from sulfates, phthalates, and parabens. These ingredients are drying, which causes further irritation to the scalp. Instead, look for scalp-loving ingredients like colloidal oatmeal. Oatmeal can help reduce itching and swelling, all while hydrating the skin.
Our recommendation: Grahams Natural Scalp Relief Shampoo. This steroid and coal tar free shampoo gently cleanses, soothes and hydrates dry, flaky, itchy scalps providing effective, complete care to the scalp with Colloidal Oatmeal, Niacinamide, Allantoin, Green Tea extract and Piroctone Olamine.
Your Ultimate Scalp Psoriasis Treatment Pack
Grahams Natural Scalp Care Pack is everything you would require to help to get your scalp psoriasis under control. It will help to reduce your flaky scalp. It is formulated to soothe dry, itchy and sensitive scalps while hydrating your hair. It gently cleanses, removing dirt and build-up, while hydrating the scalp and restoring the hair's luster.
This targeted natural scalp pack includes: Scalp Relief Cream and Scalp Relief Shampoo.
HOW TO USE
- Massage the shampoo into the hair and scalp working into a lather. Rinse thoroughly.
- Apply the cream to the affected area and massage gently. The hair can be wet or dry when applying the cream to the scalp. The cream can also be left on the scalp overnight as a mask, and washed out the next morning with the scalp relief shampoo.
Tip: when applying the Scalp Relief Cream, part your hair to expose your scalp so you can target plaques directly. Repeat this sectioning piece by piece so you can treat your scalp without getting the cream all over your hair.
