Teen Asks: How to Cover Up Psoriasis?

I got a very nice email today from a young woman who wanted to know how she could cover up her psoriasis.

“Help,” she wrote, “Isn’t it bad enough that I have psoriasis? Do I have to deal with everyone staring at me when I go out? What can I do?”

And, after reminding her that I’m not a doctor, I did suggest a couple of things based on my reading that might make her psoriasis easier to cope with.

First, I suggested that, where possible, she stick to long pants and long sleeve shirts, as this would probably address the majority of her appearance concerns. In places where clothing cover up was impossible, I suggested that following:

• Moisturize your skin regularly. This can decrease the redness and scaly lesions.
• Remove as much scaly skin as possible if you are going to use cosmetics to cover or hide your psoriasis.

You can get rid of scales by suffocating them (the medical term is occlusion) or drowning them (the medical term is hydration).

In occlusion, you would coat each lesion with a really thick cover of dense emollient cream. Cover the lesion overnight with plastic wrap. When you shower in the morning, the scales should rinse off.

In hydration, you soak for 10-15 minutes in warm water dosed with bath oil, and then use a soft cotton washcloth or towel to remove the scales.

If you are going to use a cosmetic cover up, never put this on open wounds, and try to use as little as possible. One brand of cover-up you might try is Dermablend, which works great for birthmarks, spider veins, and other things like this.