Oil

Kind of giving a hint of what I go through. The easiest spot to take pictures is the area behind my ear, so that's why I show that area. My favorite and best days are the day after my oil treatment. The areas are pink and tender, but there is no build-up and itch. Ah the relief!

2 days later the buildup begins. So I use my Dermarest to break it up.

As you can see from Day 4 the buildup is still there but feeling some relief from the Dermarest. Just looking forward to my next treatment.

I'm switching up my shampoo because the other smells good, but no relief. I feel like it makes me itch more.

Common Ground

Kind of funny how people connect now. I posted some pictures of my flare ups on Instagram and because of that 5 different people contacted me suggesting what helps them or asking me questions. Kind of nice to know I'm not alone in this torture.

Not sure what it was but last Monday...HUGE flareup! My skin was SOOOOOO itchy! So that night I took a 30min apple cider vinegar bath soak and washed my hair with Dermarest. Night and Day! My head wasn't too scaly and only mildly itched. { insert thankful thoughts }
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JUICE CLEANSE
Next weekend I am going to start a juice cleanse for 3 days. I heard that will help kind of restart my body. Do not think of signing up for BluePrint because I have the recipes. 3 days at BPC would cost me $240 bucks when you add shipping.....I'm sorry I just can't do that! $65/day equals $11 per bottle!

Right now I am prepping for it, which will make it easier.

3 Days before – If you eat meat, you should phase it out now - lightly steamed or poached fish, with veggies and a salad of course!

2 Days before - Green salads should be your staple at this point. If you’re craving some more sustenance, you may choose a bit of plain brown rice, or a yam or sweet potato.

1 Day before - Raw or lightly steamed vegetables, e.g. spinach, broccoli; try and avoid the more starchy veggies like carrots, beets, squash etc. You may also have a raw green leafy salad with some vegetables.

I'm trying out all the drinks in the meantime to get my taste buds ready. In case you were wonder...the juicer I have and LOVE is Breville Juice Fountain Plus!!! It is the easiest tool ever to use and cleanup is a snap!
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In this link I have created is a PDF doc for the drink recipes, a grocery list for the 3 days, and a schedule.

-> JUICES PDF DOCUMENT <-

Did I ever mention how I love having a William-Sonoma outlet in town. Their big 40% off sale was this weekend so I bought several kitchen tools for practically NOTHING! Finally replaced my broken cheap tongs for nice compact tongs ($6)and melted cheap spatula for nice ones spatulas ($6), splurged on a lettuce knife ($2) and collapsible colander ($7){Note my original price is already lower due to it being an outlet}.

Journey

Kind of a repeat of my other post, but this is more for format preference for future posts....

This journey that I'm on is quite a life changer. I don't think I can explain how my scalp feels during a flare up any better than this......imagine you have a itch that doesn't go away ( like how your skin feels when wearing a cast in the middle of the summer. How your skin gets so dry it's begging to be touched.) and heaven forbids you touch that spot bc you will pay! Big time! Not only will it itch more, you might draw blood, and have even more buildup causing a greater itch. Never ending battle. Sometimes I'm not even realizing I'm itching, or I feel like everyone is staring at me only making me itch more and paranoid. The flakes only make it worse...having a black work chair only makes me check it out every time I touch my hair in fear I have thousands of flakes on the back. But now that I know I can get it under control.

So how? How to you cure something with no cure?

Test and trial. The reason why were not going the medication route first is because my dermatologist wants me to try the over the counter methods first until my body stops reacting and I get immune to them. The medicated route includes RX shampoos, lotions, shots, and Ultraviolent light treatments which all equals to very pricey. I'm even going to try some natural routes I've been reading about.

What's in my stock at the moment?

Organix Tea Tree Mint shampoo and conditioner. I use these on the days I'm not using the T-gel shampoo. Smells so minty and doesn't weigh my hair down.

Neutrogena Extra Strength T-gel shampoo. Stinky Stinky Stinky but great relief. I still use additional conditioner ontop to help with the smell.

Dermarest Psoriasis Medicated Shampoo Plus Conditioner. I haven't tried this yet, but I want to see if I like this or the Neutrogena brand better.

Tea Tree Oil. Soak my scalp once a week and sleep in it over night. A pain to get out, but I do feel some relief the next day. Heard with time it makes the scalp feel even better.

Apple Cider Vinegar. Soaks, rinse hair with it after oil treatments. Makes my hair very soft and apparently it helps with growth. Only time will tell.

Fish Oil pills. 2x day. Learned the tip to freeze the pills, which will help with the fishy taste. That way it thaws in your stomach instead of your mouth and throat (have to force myself to take these huge things without gagging!)

Diet?

Yes, the diet is affected. This will be the hardest and most difficult thing to change but I need to be on a Pescetarianism diet. What's that? Because I sure asked lol and definitely DONT ask me to pronounce it (hard enough time pronouncing psoriasis lol).

Pescetarianism is the practice of a diet that includes seafood but not the flesh of other animals. A pescetarian diet shares many of its components with a vegetarian diet and includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs, and dairy, but unlike a vegetarian diet also includes fish and shellfish.

So that means no more chicken, read meat, and he wants me to even stay away from all carbs. Although I still can have brown rice and couscous.

Future?

I guess from now on I'll try give monthly updates on my progress/issues. Notice my pages at the top that will kind of help direct.

Solved

I finally have an answer. I would say over the past 3 years my scalp has been EXTREMELY itchy. What I just thought was a dry scalp wasn't really the answer. Then I noticed about a year ago behind one of my ears there was this raised rough patch that I couldn't explain. And wearing black shirts is a nuisance because if I run my hands through my hair there's flakes. But no matter how much Head and Shoulders I used it couldn't help it. Quite annoying and frustrating and embarrassing at times.

So I went to the dermatologist...drumroll.......I have Scalp Psoriasis. Thanks immune system!! I have a mild case, but I have it. I have to use Coal Tar Shampoos, which by the way STINK, 2 times a week! And at all cost avoid scratching (have to take an antihistamine to help aid) because it only makes it worse and try to remove stress from my life. ha good one right remove stress...yeah I'll get right on that buddy?! Oh and did I mention I have to do this forever....blows!

What my scalp looks like if I miss a T-gel shampoo day.

What my scalp looks like after using just the T-gel shampoo.

So how do I treat my psoriasis?

• Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo Extra Strength
• Normal conditioner to try and mask the T-Gel smell (ends only)
• Shower in cool water (which is SOOO hard because I love hot showers)
• No more hair dryers and if necessary on cool setting (which for my thick hair would take a million years to dry on cool so I air dry)
• Constantly washing my hair brushes after each use
• Tea Tree oil treatments (every 2 weeks, only on weekends bc it makes my hair sooo oily)
• Apple cider vinegar rinses after oil treatments and weekly 30min bath soaks with the 2cups of cider too
• Fish oil pills 2x a day

I am happy I have an answer and ways for some relief, but managing it can be consuming. Right now we are trying the non-script natural route, so hopefully I can keep it under control. Luckily I'm only affected on the back of my head, ear to ear and down. You would be surprised how many people actually affected by this disease, so it's good to know I'm not alone in my pain.

Don't I look just adorable soaking in my oil?! Lol I'll probably create a page to discuss my journey and product reviews. Live and learn process but I hope to escape from the constant itch and pain.