What is Scalp Psoriasis?
Psoriasis occurs in any part of the body. When it persists over your scalp, forehead, neck and around your ears, it is referred to as Scalp Psoriasis.
Scalp psoriasis is a chronic skin condition, which means it persists for a long time. The symptoms will come and go in a cyclical pattern.
Some factors that trigger this chronic skin condition include:
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking
- Stress
Various studies show that Scalp psoriasis can also be linked to other health conditions, such as:
- Arthritis
- Obesity
- Insulin resistance
- Heart disease
- High cholesterol level
What are the treatment options for Scalp psoriasis?
Scalp psoriasis, like other types of psoriasis, does not have a conclusive treatment that can cure it. Yet, there are certain ways through which you can reduce the severity of the symptoms.
Usually, doctors prescribe topical and other medications to bring down the severity of the symptoms. They also recommend light therapy, for that matter.
In addition, there are some home remedies for scalp psoriasis that have the potential to lessen the symptoms of this skin condition.
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What are the home remedies for scalp psoriasis?
The following home remedies can help you treat the harshness of this chronic condition. They also help control the cyclical lesions that may arise over your scalp, forehead and surrounding areas.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a product that is available in your local stores. This helps suppress the itchy feeling on your scalp and inflammation.
Regularly applying it a few times a week highly reduces the symptoms. For some people, it may lead to skin irritation. In that case, dilute the apple cider vinegar with water in a ratio of 1:1 and then use it.
It is not advisable for those whose skin is cracked or bleeding.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a plant with exceptional skin healing properties. You can directly apply the raw extract from this plant to your scalp and skin around it, or you can apply a cream that contains aloe vera as its ingredient.
This helps minimise skin itchiness, scalp redness, inflammation and control the flaking in the scalp as well.
You need to moisturise the affected area regularly by applying aloe vera thrice a day, and you’ll see the effects in a month.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is one of the finest natural remedies to treat the symptoms of your scalp psoriasis. The oil comes in both refined and unrefined forms. Unrefined coconut oil is also known as virgin coconut oil.
For reducing the scalp psoriasis symptoms, apply unrefined coconut oil to your scalp ad leave it for 20 to 30 minutes. You can also cover your scalp with a shower cap until you wash it off.
Coconut oil helps moisturise your scalp, reduces inflammation, and kills infectious bacteria. This reduces scalp redness and psoriasis scales.
Epsom salt
People with scalp psoriasis experience high flares at some time. You may experience a sudden onset of symptoms such as scalp redness, skin scales, lesions, etc.
This can be irritating and uncomfortable. However, you can minimise the symptoms and flares by taking a bath with Epsom salt in it. Epsom salt is also known as sea salt.
For this, dissolve Epsom salt in warm water and soak your head in it. This helps reduce lesions and inflammation.
Glycerin
Glycerin, also known as glycerol, is a substance made from vegetable oil or alcohol. It is often used in skin moisturisers and other creams. It is thought to retain moisture in your skin. Hence it can be used to lessen scalp psoriasis symptoms.
Glycerin helps to soothe your skin after cracks and rashes.
You can use glycerin in the form of soaps, creams or lotions. Although there are no conclusive studies to confirm the effects of glycerin on scalp psoriasis, it is generally safe to use, and many people have reported its effectiveness.
Ginger
Ginger is known for its antimicrobial properties. This helps avoid bacterial infections in rather affected skin.
Ginger is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties. This comes useful in treating the symptoms of scalp psoriasis.
For this purpose, take a small piece of ginger, put it in a pot of water and boil it. Add a little honey and lemon to it and drink it regularly.
Shea butter
One thing you need to be cautious of if you have scalp psoriasis is to keep moisture in your scalp and surrounding area. Shea butter is one of the best home remedies you can rely on for that purpose.
Shea butter contains substantial amounts of vitamin A, vitamin E and triglycerides. This helps keep moisture in your scalp and nourishes it as well.
It eliminates dead skin cells, thus helping to reduce the psoriasis scales on your scalp.
You can use it by melting the butter, applying it to your scalp and gently massaging it. You can leave that on your scalp overnight.
You can also use a hair conditioner that contains Shea butter as an ingredient.
Witch hazel
Witch hazel is considered one of the effective home remedies for treating scalp psoriasis. Because of its antioxidant properties, it becomes effective against inflammation.
This plant, when applied, soothes your skin by removing excess oil while maintaining hydration. It helps in reducing redness, itchiness, and suppressing other associated symptoms.
You can either apply it directly on your scalp by rubbing it over or mix it with aloe vera gel, tea tree oil or menthol.
However, some people may experience adverse effects from witch hazel. Make sure your skin doesn’t react in a harmful way and then use it.
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, with its probiotics, is very helpful when it comes to treating the symptoms of scalp psoriasis. It is a good moisturiser that keeps your scalp from drying. This helps reduce the psoriasis scales.
It also has attractive exfoliating properties. This removes dead cells from your scalp and even removes bumps caused by this skin condition.
For effective treatment, apply yoghurt to your scalp, leave it for half an hour and wash it off with a mild shampoo. For this matter, you can also apply curd in the same way.
Baking soda
Using baking soda is a quick and effective way to treat scalp psoriasis. Take a glass of water, add a tablespoon of baking soda and stir it well.
Now take a cotton pad or cotton cloth, dip it in the mixture and apply it to the itchy scalp. You will see the relief of itchiness in a day or two.
You can also pour the solution of baking soda on your scalp if you experience intense itching and inflammation.
Coal tar
Coal tar is produced as a byproduct of the processing of coal. It may seem like an extra product in that process, but it has amazing properties that aid your skin in many ways.
It reduces your scalp itchiness and inflammation. It is also effective in reducing the scaling of your scalp.
It cannot be used in raw form. Instead, you can benefit from it by using products that contain coal tar as an ingredient. Some products are shampoo, bath solutions, ointments, soaps, creams and lotions.
Dead sea salt
As the name suggests, dead sea salt is nothing but the salt collected from the Dead Sea. The dead sea is known for its high density and rich minerals. Those fortunate enough to soak themselves in the Dead Sea experience clearer and better skin than before.
Hence, naturally, salt from the dead sea is best suited to treat scalp psoriasis. Dead sea salt is rich in magnesium, Sulphur, potassium, calcium and bromide. Most of them are known for their attractive skin benefits.
To benefit from it, you do not have to go all the way to the Dead Sea. You can purchase dead sea salt from your local store. You can also use products that contain dead sea salt as an ingredient.
You can use dead sea salt by mixing it in a tub of water and taking a bath in it. You can also apply shampoo that contains dead sea salt in it.
Oregon grape
Oregon grape (Mahonia Aqui folium) is a plant with medicinal properties. Its bark, root-like stem and roots are extremely effective in treating scalp psoriasis.
It is useful for treating scaly skin, itchiness, skin redness and eczema (atopic dermatitis), among other issues.
The extract from this plant fights bacterial and fungal infections. It also reduces the rapid production of skin cells, which leads to psoriasis scales.
You can apply the cream that contains Oregon grapes as an ingredient to the affected areas of your scalp and other skin areas.
Oatmeal bath
We all know oats have many health benefits when consumed. But what many of us aren’t aware of is that it has properties that can counter the symptoms of psoriasis, in general, and scalp psoriasis, in particular.
An oatmeal bath comes very effective in treating skin itchiness, redness, inflammation, etc. But make sure you don’t use oatmeal flakes for a bath, as it even clogs your drainage.
For this purpose, you need to grind the oats into a fine powder so that they can dissolve in warm water. If you find this process tiresome, you can purchase over-the-counter colloidal oatmeal that will readily dissolve in water.
Now, soak yourself, including your scalp, in the warm colloidal mixture for some time. The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in oatmeal replenish your skin. This helps relieve your scalp irritation and other symptoms.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids have promising effects on scalp psoriasis. It is found to reduce symptoms such as skin redness, itchiness and swelling.
Omega-3 fatty acids, when consumed orally, help reduce most of the symptoms of scalp psoriasis. People with psoriasis are prone to cardiac ailments. But omega-3 fatty acids are found to be effective in reducing the risk of cardiac problems as well.
You can intake omega-3 fatty acids via supplements such as fish oil supplements. You can also rely on some food items that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as:
- Salmon fish
- Mackerel
- Walnuts
- Flaxseed oil
- Chia seeds
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is widely popular for its attractive properties that can heal and replenish your skin. With its rich antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, tea tree oil can be one of the best home remedies for treating scalp psoriasis symptoms.
It is found to relieve skin redness, itchiness, scaling of the skin, and so on. However, undiluted tea tree oil may not be suitable at all times. You can dilute the oil with some other carrier oil, such as coconut or olive oil.
You can also use products like shampoo and conditioner that have tea tree oil in them as an ingredient.
In the case of intense itching and inflammation, you can apply tea tree oil, after having diluted it, on the affected areas of your skin.
The symptoms of scalp psoriasis can be reduced greatly by consuming turmeric daily.
Try to intake turmeric in any form, such as powdered or fresh, by adding it to your daily cooking. You can intake 1.5 grams to 3 grams of turmeric per day to visibly see the effects.
Turmeric
Like tea tree oil, turmeric is also rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory. Psoriasis is a health condition that makes the skin cells proliferate on the surface of the skin. It is an autoimmune condition that causes mild to severe skin itchiness, redness and rashes. In some extreme cases, psoriasis also makes your skin bleed and cracks it open in infected places.
Vitamin D
Last but not least, vitamin D has considerable effects on treating scalp psoriasis. It helps suppress symptoms such as the scaling of the skin, inflammation, etc.
You can get abundant vitamin D from the sunlight. Apply sunscreen with an SPF of more than 30 and expose your scalp and body to the sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes. The ideal time for this is the early morning when the sunlight is mild.
You can also intake vitamin D foods such as:
- Oily fish
- Egg yolks
- Fortified foods such as cereals
- Dairy products
- Orange juice
- Cheese
To sum up
Scalp psoriasis is a persisting skin condition. With currently equipped technologies, this skin condition has no permanent cure.
However, with various home remedies, you can highly reduce the symptoms of scalp psoriasis.
Before practising any home remedies, make sure that the particular remedy doesn’t cause any side effects to you. If you develop any adverse health effects, contact your doctor as soon as possible.
FAQ
1. What does apple cider vinegar do to scalp psoriasis?
Apple cider vinegar helps in reducing scalp itchiness and inflammation. Those who experience skin irritation can use apple cider vinegar after diluting it with water in a ratio of 1:1.
2. Does baking soda help scalp psoriasis?
Baking soda comes to your rescue if you have an itchy scalp. To reduce the itchiness, apply diluted baking soda with water using a cotton pad on the affected area.
3. Can you use olive oil for scalp psoriasis?
Yes, olive oil can be effective for treating scalp psoriasis. The omega-3 fatty acid in it helps you relieve the intense symptoms of scalp psoriasis. It reduces skin itchiness, redness, swelling, etc.
4. Does honey work for psoriasis?
Honey, especially manuka honey, is good for treating the adverse effects of psoriasis. Compared to normal honey, manuka honey’s antibacterial properties are double-fold. It helps in reducing scalp psoriasis symptoms to a great extent.
5. Should I wash my hair every day if I have scalp psoriasis?
Hair washing helps you retain moisture on your scalp. But do not use shampoo for hair washing frequently as it tends to drain all the natural oils and moisture in it. However, it is not required that you wash your hair daily. Wash it periodically so that you retain the moisture on your scalp.
6. Is Vaseline good for psoriasis?
You can apply Vaseline as it contains an ample quantity of glycerin in it. It helps you to retain moisture in your skin by not letting it dry too much. It also relieves you of discomfort if you develop cracked skin due to psoriasis.
7. Does coconut oil help to get rid of psoriasis?
Coconut oil is a good natural remedy to treat the symptoms of psoriasis. You can apply unrefined coconut oil to the affected areas, leave it for around 30 minutes and wash it off. It may not completely eradicate psoriasis but greatly reduces the symptoms
8. Is Kanuka honey the same as Manuka honey?
Manuka and Kanuka honey are named after their source trees from which bees extract them. Manuka honey is the honey extracted by bees from Mānuka trees (Leptospermum scoparium), whereas, kanuka honey is extracted from the Kānuka trees (kunzea ericoides).
Both are good remedies when it comes to treating psoriasis. However, manuka honey has slightly more beneficial properties than kanuka honey.
9. Is Royal Jelly good for psoriasis?
Royal jelly is extracted from the queen cells of beehives. It is commonly used as an ingredient in various skin creams and other products. It is said to have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce the severity of the symptoms of psoriasis.
10. Which vitamin is best for psoriasis?
Vitamin D helps suppress the symptoms of psoriasis such as the scaling of the skin, inflammation, itchiness, etc. Sun is the best source of vitamin D. Other sources include oily fish, egg yolks, orange juice and dairy products.
