Soap for Psoriasis: How Your Psoriasis Could Respond to Soaps
A psoriasis flare-up is stressful enough without having to worry about what soap to use when you’re showering. However, it is an important consideration to make as certain types can irritate and aggravate already inflamed and sore skin.
First, we'll discuss the differences in using regular soap and a soap that is psoriasis-friendly, soap vs. lotion (i.e., a body wash), psoriasis and exfoliation, and soap options worth looking into.
Are Everyday Soaps Good for Psoriasis?
There are many different types of soaps for sensitive skin from your everyday brands like Dove, Palmolive, and Nivea. Depending on the level of sensitivity that your skin has, these soaps may be just fine for you.
However, it is advised to use your everyday soaps on other parts of your body not impacted by a skin condition, or during the times where you’re not dealing with a flare-up.
From personal experience, I’d avoid using anything that isn’t purely natural based (or prescribed from your doctor) on areas that are affected by psoriasis or eczema.
Many of your everyday soaps use ingredients that aren’t purely natural, and since there’s no direct link to what causes or interacts with psoriasis or eczema, I’d be hesitant to apply non-natural ingredients to the already irritated skin.
What’s the Difference Between Soap for Psoriasis and Lotion for Psoriasis?
It’s very much a personal preference between whether you use soap or lotion. Soaps tend to be able to contain more exfoliating qualities than lotion does, but the stronger types of products tend to be available in the lotion style, for example, pine tar lotions.
Is Exfoliating Soap a Good Idea When Dealing with Psoriasis or Eczema?
With psoriasis and eczema, you’re dealing with incredibly fast skin production, leaving you with layers of skin that have been produced and flake away quickly.
It can be a good idea to remove these layers of dead skin, but the way you do it should be taken into consideration. You don’t want to use a harsh exfoliator; you just want something very gentle – which is where the concept of natural remedies comes in.
There are many scrubs that you can make yourself at home, otherwise, you can find some ready-made products with natural exfoliation.
Also, consider only exfoliating around once a week. You don’t want to irritate your skin any more than it already is, so just giving it a freshen up occasionally will be fine.
Soaps for Psoriasis: What Are Your Options?
Let’s talk about the types of soap that are good for psoriasis and eczema. As someone who deals with flare-ups of this nature on a regular basis, here’s a selection of soap types that I use to minimize the pain associated with psoriasis and eczema.
Olive Oil–Based Soap
Olive oil has the ability to keep skin nice and moisturized thanks to the fact that it features monounsaturated fatty acids. Using an olive oil–based soap can prevent your skin from constantly flaking and calm down the redness that you experience while suffering from psoriasis or eczema.
The great thing about many olive oil-based soaps is that they don’t have a powerful odor like other psoriasis soaps can have.
