Kim K has a Psoriasis Flare on Her Face

Recently Kim Kardashian tweeted "wait why am I now I'm getting psoriasis on my face." Kim K first revealed her condition on her show Keeping up with the Kardashians back in 2011. In light of the confession, a few of my non-psoriasis friends have reached out to me with more questions about the disease. One friend asked if psoriasis can actually appear on the face. He had his reservations on Kim's claims. The answer is yes, psoriasis can appear anywhere where there is skin. In a survey conducted by the National Psoriasis Foundation through Citizen Pscientist, 6% of people with psoriasis reported having the disease on their face.

Why it's a problem!

The face makes up about 4% of one's total body surface so it doesn't make up for much. But the quality of life for a person with a small amount of psoriasis on the face can be affected just as severely as one who doesn't have psoriasis on the face but is covered on other parts of their body. Your face is the first thing everyone sees when they meet you.  Tikeyah V. a 20-something year old has psoriasis which mostly appears on her face explains how it feels, "....The past few months of my journey with psoriasis have been significantly difficult. This is because more recently my flare- ups have mainly been on my face. In a world where everything seems to be based on looks and outward appearance, I feel it’s quite obvious why this has been extremely hard for me..." I've even had my own bouts of face psoriasis which occurred a few years ago. I used moringa seed oil which helped my condition on my face improve significantly! Check out my review here.

Treatment challenges

Psoriasis on the face have some unique challenges. For one, people with psoriasis can't use the same topical treatments on the face that are used for the rest of the body. Creams for the body are usually too strong to use on the face. Another challenge is unlike your body which you can cover with clothes, it's hard to cover psoriasis on the face. You can use makeup, but this doesn't change the flaky texture of the plaques which may still be seen. Eric H who has psoriasis states concealer for the face is not an option, "...It mainly affects my face. So I’ll get patches on my lips, around my nose, my right eye, on my forehead, and on my hands. But the hardest part is the fact that it’s on my face and I can’t cover it. And I’m a guy, so it’s not like I can wear makeup..."

So what do you do if plaques of psoriasis start to appear on the face:

Contact your dermatologist office to let them know about the flare. The good news is you might not have to set up an appointment. Once you tell your doctor about your flare they will most likely prescribe something for your face without having to see you.

Don't pick your psoriasis as tempting as it might be! Leave your plaques alone. If you pick you could worsen your condition, create blisters, or get an infection in the area.

Be selective on the products you choose to put on your face. Don't use things with alcohol which can irritate your psoriasis. Talk to your doctor about over the counter treatments too!

Moisturize as much as you can! There are a variety of over the counter face moisturizers you can choose from.