How to Manage and Care for Facial Psoriasis
If you have been diagnosed with psoriasis on your face, you will want to take special care in its management. The skin on your face is thinner and more sensitive to psoriasis treatment than the skin on the rest of your body, and may be more difficult to treat.
The most common areas you will see facial psoriasis are:
- Upper part of forehead
- Eyebrows
- Hairline
- Skin below nose
It is harder to conceal it psoriasis on your face, and so most patients are naturally eager to bring it under control as quickly as possible. There are several medications and home remedies you can use to achieve this.
Medications
You and your doctor will have to work together to find a treatment plan that works for you, as different people have different responses to medications. Topical therapies for facial psoriasis include:
- Low-potency corticosteroids
- Synthetic vitamin D
- Retinoids
- Ultraviolet (UV) light (phototherapy)
If topical medication doesn’t help, you may need to try medications that are taken orally, injected, or infused.
Home Remedies
There is a number of things you can do at home to improve your facial psoriasis symptoms, too.
- Soak your skin with a wet compresses – Wet compresses can help rehydrate very dry skin and soften plaques so they come off easier. Doing this regularly helps with the itching and redness of the lesions as well. Be sure you use tepid water; hot water can aggravate the condition. It is good to moisturize with a heavy emollient afterwards to keep skin from dryness.
- Moisturize your skin – This is important especially after soaking. Moisturizing helps reduce inflammation, makes the skin more flexible, and keeps plaque scales from forming as much. The greasiest moisturizers are great for locking moisture into the skin. Look for ingredients like lactic acid. Petroleum jelly is a cheap alternative or you can purchase thick moisturizers like Eucerin or Aquaphor.
- Humidify your environment – Dry skin is what a psoriasis sufferer needs to avoid. Use humidifier indoors at all times.
- Beware of certain medications – There are some medications that can worsen psoriasis for some people. Antimalarials, beta blockers, and other medications are a few to look out for. Any time a doctor prescribes you a medication for anything, ask if it will make your psoriasis worse.
- Be choosy with your soap – Avoid soaps that will dry your skin. A milder soap will keep your face from becoming irritated and itchy. Try Basis, Nivea Cream Bar, or other fatty soaps. There are cleansers available that are soap-free, so this may be a better option yet. Aveeno has a cleansing bar that is soap-free. Just look for a formula for dry skin. You should still follow up with a moisturizer to keep your skin supple and moist.
- Use skin products with caution – There are things you need to be careful with. Psoriasis and hair dye is a very uncomfortable combination due to the harsh chemicals of the dye, so you need to take precautions or avoid hair dye altogether, especially if you have open lesions. When your psoriasis is under control, choose mineral-based makeup.