Is Short Hair or Long Hair Best for Managing Scalp Psoriasis?

Being diagnosed with scalp psoriasis may prompt a lot of questions. You may wonder what the best treatment for your condition is, whether you should try natural remedies or over-the-counter medication and if it will, ultimately, ever get better.

Another thought may center on whether you should cut your hair, keep it manageable or otherwise let it grow.

Keeping my hair short

When I was first diagnosed with scalp psoriasis my solution was to cut my hair and keep it short. Why? Because it offered the best chance for me to be able to manage the condition as effectively as possible. I could easily apply the topical ointments, shampoos, creams and moisturisers without getting my hair bogged down in runny substances which made it greasy and intolerable.

There is also the fact that my scalp psoriasis nurtured very thick plaques. That meant that it made getting a haircut difficult. Firstly, because obviously when you have thick plaques the barber is unable to cut through your hair without taking strands out and making the plaques bleed. But also because there was an emotional toll too. Having thick plaques which couldn’t be cut made me feel sad and upset because hair styles I wanted I couldn’t and I couldn’t present myself to the world in the way which made feel strong, happy and confident.

So, for a number of years I kept my hair short. In other words, I shaved it all off. I went through reams and reams of medications, trying everything to make the plaques less thick and patches of redness go away. I found solace in applying my coconut oil each night which lifted the plaques and left my scalp soothed. But it was not a roaring success and did not eliminate the patches.

Seeing improvement

Indeed, some years later my scalp psoriasis did improve. Perhaps this was because my stress levels came down which inevitably feeds the breakout cycle, and because it was trial and error with different treatments.

I still have plaque psoriasis in my scalp but since starting biologic injections and keeping up with coconut oil, albeit not as much coconut oil these days, has meant my scalp psoriasis is so much better and irritates me very minimally. It means I can have the hair style I want without it causing me distress or preventing me from changing it in a way that suits how I want to present myself to the world. Don’t get me wrong, I still avoid any irritants like hair gel or other styling products, simply because I don’t want to inflame any patches or cause a breakout to occur.

So, what I am saying is that for me short hair worked best, but I know it won’t be a solution for everyone. I have also had to battle hairline psoriasis too so having short hair wouldn’t cover this and could cause embarrassment. It did for me. But I powered through. Whether you choose short hair or long hair, try and make a decision based on how you feel and what treatments works for your situation.

My decisions were largely guided by the treatments. I was so annoyed at having this condition that I just wanted to make everything as manageable as possible so it didn’t cause me distress. I have finally achieved that but believe me, the battle goes on.