Breaking The Stigma // How Women Living With Psoriasis Are Redefining Beauty & Confidence

Globally 2-3% of the population is affected by psoriasis, with females experiencing early onset of the condition compared to males.

For long, Psoriasis has been a social stigma and specially for women who have suffered a lot. Be it skin, showing red scaly spots or scalp with flakes, women have struggled to hide them and suffered with low esteem, and poor social life. Be it workplace or home, they have struggled to be what they are and have constantly tried to hide their skin. Frequent visit to doctors and not expecting a full cure, has added to the problem.

Not anymore.

As the awareness and acceptance has increased over the years, more and more women are coming forward and showing off their psoriasis without any hesitation and are redefining beauty and confidence. Be it life style hacks like wearing loose fitting clothes, wearing more of satin or silk in case of flakes from scalp or judiciously choosing  part of the body to expose , the approach is to accept the skin “as it is”. While some have found that just openly admitting “psoriasis” has been a game changer, because it gives confidence to accept reality, many others have chosen to do away with the stress of multiple creams and lotions and let the skin as it wants to be. There is a growing realization that too much over the counter creams and lotions may not be helpful  and it is better to leave the skin to breathe on its own. The emphasis is more on “loving your skin” rather than “fixing your skin”. Now women don’t feel stressed, before visiting salon or spa, but openly talk to their service provider about the nature of their psoriasis and how it is not a contagious condition. The frank confession itself has given lot of relief and confidence to all those pretty women.

Major part of the “living with psoriasis” lies in understanding its triggers and avoiding it. Stressful situations, major life events, food fads, physical illness, all act as trigger and needs to be understood. Food habits contribute in many ways, as a balanced diet with veggies and salads provides much needed antioxidants which helps keep skin in good condition. Avoiding hard skin scrubs, unfriendly clothing, over the counter combination creams, also goes a long way in keeping psoriasis flares under check. Also its important to emphasize the need of timely and appropriate medical help in condition of acute flares which can cause significant morbidity and compromised quality of life.

LeAnn Rimes, famous  American singer, songwriter and actress said to a news magazine. “This is finally my time to be honest about what psoriasis is and what it looks like”. Like her many public figures have shared their story about shrugging off the inhibitions and rediscovering their beauty and confidence while accepting psoriasis as the part of the life.

Bree Pease, social media influencer and activist openly claims how “being minimalist” has changed her life as a psoriasis patient. She advocates being confident and beautiful with what skin you have  and apply minimal things to hide. Through her Instagram, she shares her journey to inspire confidence and encourage others to embrace their skin proudly. Bree is dedicated to redefine beauty and ensure that all women with psoriasis feels seen, empowered and supported.

Finally, thanks to continuous scientific research, now newer novel Biological treatment options are available which work at gene molecular level and can stop psoriasis from manifesting itself on the skin . These newer treatment options are bringing a hope to long term cure and will go long way to restore beauty and confidence to the women living with psoriasis.

And to conclude, lets salute all the women who have endured psoriasis with grace and courage and have declared  “I may have psoriasis but my psoriasis doesn’t have me”

// Dr Rakesh K Mishra, Specialist Dermatology, Aster Cedars Hospital & Clinic, Jebel Ali