The 10 Best Psoriasis Home Remedies
If you’re a bit like me and a little bit hesitant in always reaching for the steroids to treat your psoriasis, there are a few natural remedies that have been known to relieve some of the pesky skin condition’s symptoms.
I’ve picked ten psoriasis home remedies that you could try, of which many you may have in your home already, or they’re easily accessible from your nearest grocery store.
The 10 Best At-Home Psoriasis Remedies
1. Coal Tar
Coal tar is right up there as my favorite home remedy to treat psoriasis. I find that, for me, it takes a lot of the redness and the dryness away from psoriasis, and leaves my skin feeling less tight and restricted, especially on the back of the neck.
In fact, coal tar is known to slow the rapid growth of skin cells, which is the premise of psoriasis and reduce the itching and scaling.
All I do is drop a few capfuls of coal tar into a warm bath and take some time out of my day to relax and let it work its magic. If you haven’t got time on your hands to lie around in a bath for 15 minutes or so, then apply it directly to your skin (in small doses) and just wipe it off gently with a flannel while you’re in the shower.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is one of those remedies that you’ll need to apply — and it may not always be very comfortable (look out for an occasional sting).
This one’s said to be a good psoriasis home remedy if you tend to suffer from scalp psoriasis especially. If you do want to try apple cider vinegar as a remedy for your scalp psoriasis, you’ll need to mix the apple cider vinegar with water to dilute it, and then apply it to the rash a few times per week. It’s not an instant fix, but it is said to take away a lot of itching and irritation.
3. Fish Oil
Fish oil is one of those things that’s supposed to be a miracle for your skin, but regarding psoriasis, it’s more interesting that omega-3 is known to reduce the risk of heart disease, which is something that people who suffer from psoriasis are at higher risk for. However, that rejuvenating skin potential is still helpful for psoriasis sufferers.
If you’re considering taking fish oil supplements to try and get rid of your psoriasis, you may be in it for a bit of a long haul. It could take several months for your skin to respond to the oil and start getting better. You’re probably better off adding more fish and salmon to your diet.
4. Evening Primrose Oil
Evening primrose oil has been used for a long time to treat eczema. Considering that’s also a skin condition, it makes sense that evening primrose oil could help to alleviate the pain and appearance of psoriasis.
The use of evening primrose oil is a consuming process. It comes with the idea that you can treat psoriasis from the inside out. You can get evening primrose oil in capsule form to make the consumption process as easy as possible. And maybe throw in your fish oil supplement as well as that’ll help you get the essential fats you need for excellent skin rejuvenation.
5. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is a wonderful plant that’s full of hydration goodness. What more could dry, flaky psoriasis need to feel a bit better than plenty of moisturizers? The gel inside the aloe vera can be applied to your skin where the psoriasis is present. It’s known to help the flare-up subside considerably when applied several times, keeping the affected area nice and hydrated.
Regarding trying to prevent psoriasis, using aloe vera as a regular moisturizer can also help keep it at bay. Make sure you keep applying it every day, especially as you go through those drier, cooler months that can be a lot harsher on your skin.
6. Turmeric
It’s one of those wonder foods that everyone raves about, and the trendy baristas put in their lattes. Turmeric is also well known for its anti-inflammatory qualities. Since psoriasis is a skin inflammation, giving turmeric a chance as a psoriasis home remedy is worth a shot.
It’s been used throughout Asia for more than 2000 years as a healing spice, quite notably for skin inflammations. There are a few ways to use turmeric to kick-start the healing process, and that includes making a drink out of it, rubbing it into your skin, or taking capsule turmeric supplements.
7. Tea Tree Oil
This is one of the treatments that sounds like it’s useful for all the symptoms of psoriasis. It is claimed that tea tree oil removes the flaky skin cell layer, reduces itch and redness, as well as softening any plaques you may have. It could also be useful for any psoriasis scars you’ve been left with.
There are a variety of ways that you can use tea tree oil for your psoriasis, and here’s a few:
- Dilute tea tree oil with water and apply to affected areas.
- Add a few drops to your bath.
- Mix it with your shampoo or coconut oil and apply to hair when you’ve got scalp psoriasis.
8. Vegetable Shortening
Due to its highly greasy nature, applying vegetable shortening to your psoriasis flare-ups can act as a moisturizing agent to soften those sore, flaky patches of psoriasis. You can use the vegetable shortening to the affected areas, and then keep it covered for an extended period (at least a couple of hours) to get those dry areas coated.
If your psoriasis is particularly severe, it’s a good idea to repeat this process a few days a week (at least).
9. Epsom Salt
Now, for this one, it is a good idea to set aside some proper time and have a decent soak in a bath. All you need to do is add Epsom salt to your bath water and just soak. It helps to soften the flaky skin and reduce redness. If you can repeat this process every day while you have a terrible psoriasis flare-up, it’s likely that it will fade away a lot faster.
The other good thing about the Epsom salt option is that it’s forced relaxation time, and since stress is likely the reason behind why many people get psoriasis, hopefully, it doubles as a prevention method as well.
10. Baking soda
Last, but not least, is baking soda. This one’s considered a slower option. You won’t see or feel results straight away — although you may notice reduced redness in a shorter amount of time — however, your skin won’t return to normal for a couple of months.
You’ll need a cup of baking soda, and set aside to half an hour for a bath. Add the baking soda to your bath and relax. You’ll need to have a shower after the bath just to make sure you rinse off any excess baking soda. And this method can also have a bit of a sting to it, so don’t add extra baking soda – no matter how severe your psoriasis is.
In Conclusion...
Although these psoriasis home remedies are not 100% perfect methods of controlling your psoriasis, they are great at home remedies to be able to keep your psoriasis at bay — even if you’re just trying to take a break from the steroids.
You may need to experiment with a few of these psoriasis home remedies to find one or two that work well for you. You may just stumble on something else that works for you that hasn’t been mentioned here — or ever before!