Dressing Comfortable Yet Freely With Psoriasis

This is not a fashion advice piece nor a style recommendation. It's a great blog focusing on the practical side of dressing when you have psoriasis on your skin. There is a wide variety of clothing and materials to choose from. They can include different colors, patterns, cuts, and designs. Yet, do you know what’s best for your sensitive and dry skin?

Finding psoriasis-friendly fabrics

In order of suitability and comfort, my choice of materials include: Cotton organic, Silk and Rayon also known as viscose. Both cotton and silk are natural fibers since they come from either plants or animals and are also hypoallergenic. Most of these would not have been treated with harsh chemicals, unlike synthetic fibers.

Excellent absorbers of our body moisture, clothes made from cotton, and silk help to keep perspiration away from our skin. This helps keeps us from feeling any irritation that may be caused by an accumulation of sweat and bacteria.

Whereas we are advised to stay away from chemically produced fabric materials. It could include nylon, polyester, spandex, and rayon which fall somewhere in between the spectrum. Intended to mimic how silk feels, rayon uses plant products that are manufactured through purification processes. This is to become cellulose fiber before being spun or woven into the fabric. Might have antibacterial properties but if your skin is highly sensitive even to semi-synthetic fibers, avoid this altogether as well.

Dressing comfortably for work

Back when I used to work in an office, constant exposure to the air conditioner dried out my skin very quickly even if my skin was moisturized through out the day. My lunch break was the only time my skin took to breathe outdoors. As the day passed, scratching my plaques was very noticeable and that would worsen my condition.

Over time, deciding to wear clothing that would cover my psoriasis was a chore. I wasn't trying to hide them; just wanted to keep myself from bleeding and scratching.

Long pants, skirts, or full-length dresses were great for protecting my legs and a three-quarter sleeved blouse always did the trick for my elbows. Otherwise, throwing on a cotton cardigan was a good alternative too.

Finding clothing to wear to the gym

Sometimes, performance while exercising can be important to some of us. It’s usually something we don't want to compromise on. While the majority of sportswear today focuses on a skintight fit or designs that expose too much skin; it is still possible to get a good workout in comfort.

First, learn how to find the right fit so that you can move around without worrying too much about chafing. Pieces that are slightly loose will always be better than tight ones. Here, cotton is still your best bet.

Second, wear a top with breast padding for that support and not a sports bra since removing the bra after your workout can be quite traumatizing for your skin when your body is sticky. You can try wearing loose-fitting underwear as well, like boxers; the best feeling ever. Those tight clothes just rub us wrong and cause us to flare.

Finding comfortable styles that work for you

As psoriasis warriors, it is in our best interest not to let the disease define how we choose to dress. Instead, it becomes more self-empowering when we know how to choose fabrics and styles that help us manage it better.