Advice for scalp psoriasis

Jan 28, 2013

Teresa P.

My hair and skin have always been very healthy, but a few months ago I noticed flaking on my scalp near my hairline.
I didn't think much of it at first, but as time went by it got a bit worse. I thought it was dandruff in the beginning and it was never really itchy. I watched it carefully and started using dandruff shampoos, but they didn't work and the flakes started changing in size from small to larger ones. My husband has psoriasis on his leg and after really checking it out I found my scalp looked the same way his leg did.
A friend told me why this probably started and it made sense. I moved from the East coast to California about 2 yrs ago and it's very dry out here, so that's what might have brought it on.
I have no insurance to see a dermatologist right now and would like to know what I should use to treat this with.
I'm lucky my hair color is strawberry blonde, otherwise everyone would be able to see this as well. It's mostly in the front near my hairline and goes back about 2 inches at the most. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jan 28, 2013

Hannah C.

Try using a medicated shampoo called polytar. you can get it at the drug store. I have psoriasis and have been using it for years. after a while you should only need to use ot once a week. good luck xx

Jan 28, 2013

Teresa P.

Thank you very much Hannah, I will definitely try this out. After awhile i'll post a status update saying whether it's better or not..and I really think it will be!

Jan 28, 2013

Amy E.

I was also going to suggest a shampoo containing tar. My mum suffered with psoriasis on her scalp and the tar shampoo worked great.

Jan 28, 2013

Pamela F.

mine is really bad and the shampoo did nothing for it.by all means try and see but the best thing is hydrocortisone cream from the dr. its greasy and difficult to apply and u need to do it wheb ur not planning to go out for a while coz it makes ur hair look greasy but its the only thing that truely works

Jan 29, 2013

Teresa P.

Thank you all so much. I'm going to go right down the line and try the tar shampoo first. I think I may have some vitamin B12 here so i'll try that if the shampoo doesn't work. It's not severe thankfully, but I don't want it getting any worse than it is. Thanks again for the tips Amy, Pam, and Stephany.

Feb 18, 2013

Karina N.

I suffer from the same thing. I'm using New Shampoo bar from Lush and it was helped a lot. I stopped shampooing daily. and use almond oil on my scalp from time to time. its helping. but my scalp isn't perfect.

Feb 18, 2013

Sckye Y.

Agree with Hannah, polytar works great. I'm just not a big fan of the smell... I think I'd like to try Karina's tip on the lush bar. Thanks!

Mar 24, 2014

Teresa P.

Wow, am I late replying here! Thank you ladies, it's gotten much better after using the tar shampoo. I didn't have a severe case of it, mostly around my hairline area so I didn't need the cream Pam. Thanks for the tip though, it's always helpful to have different options. Karina, I really want to check this Lush shampoo out..and soon! And Sckye, I'm definitely not a fan of the tar smell either but it did work! xx