Hair Dye and Scalp Psoriasis: My Experience

Changes aren't always easy, but lately, I've been feeling like I need to do something to upgrade how I look and how I feel about myself. An easy decision would be to change my hair and try something new. Too terrified to commit to a haircut, I wanted to experiment with new hair color.

If I'm being honest with you (and me, a little bit), dying my hair is something that I have avoided for years. I was afraid that it would irritate and flare my scalp psoriasis. I decided to put my fears to rest, and on Thursday, I went to the store to purchase some hair dye.

Choosing a hair dye is overwhelming!

When I first went into the beauty supply store to find a hair dye, I was so shocked to see all the different brands, colors, and types of hair color. I saw permanent, semi-permanent, color-corrector liquids, even colored hair spray, etc.! It was a bit overwhelming at first.

I started to feel a little afraid about whether or not the hair dye would irritate my scalp. I convinced myself that everything would be fine since my scalp was not actively flaring. I selected a semi-permanent hair dye to try first.

Once I got home, I did more research into hair dye and psoriasis. After a few minutes of Google searching, I proudly decided to go through with it! The first step was washing my hair.

How I avoided triggering my scalp when dying my hair...

I used my tar shampoo first, which helps manage my scalp psoriasis. I only used a small amount. After lathering my tar shampoo, I let the shampoo sit on my hair for a while before rinsing. Next, I followed up with a regular shampoo, but I mixed some coconut oil in as well to add some moisture to my scalp.

After lathering and rinsing, I towel-dried my hair and added the hair dye. After the hair color was added, I let it sit for 30 minutes. In the beginning, I felt a little discomfort right behind my ears, where I was experiencing some flaring. This feeling subsided after a short while.

Once the 30 minutes were over, I rinsed the color out of my hair and applied conditioner. The next part surprised me so much but made me so happy at the same time!

Psoriasis didn't hold me back.

I dried my hair as I usually would find that the hair dye worked out perfectly, and my scalp felt fine! This was such a relief and gave me so much confidence because hair color had been something I felt like I could not do for years due to my psoriasis!

In the end, I am happy, I made an informed decision when I felt the time was right to try hair dye. It feels good to no longer feel like my psoriasis is holding me back from trying new things with my hair, such as using hair color.