I still have steroid creams somewhere in my medicine cabinet, but I have not used them in over three years. Instead, I use extra virgin coconut oil, and I wrote a comprehensive blog post called “How to treat psoriasis using coconut oil” and here is an extract from it explaining how to apply it.
It is pretty simple really:
- Buy a good quality extra virgin coconut oil brand. It usually comes in a glass jar, but it’s also OK to buy it in a strong plastic jar. I like the glass jar more as you will find out in point 2.
- I prefer to heat the coconut oil a small bit by placing the glass jar in a bathroom sink filled with hot water for 1 minute or so. You will see part of the solid coconut oil starting to melt.
- Some people say a small bit goes a long way, but I will apply liberal amounts on my skin or scalp especially in the really bad plaque psoriasis spots.
- I proceed to throw on an old t-shirt for 10 minutes in the morning time ( by the way this is all after my morning shower) and dab off any excess with the old t-shirt. I will remove the old t-shirt and then change into my work clothes.
I aim to apply the extra virgin coconut oil at least three times a day, but if I can, I will apply four times a day or if I feel my skin tightening.
However, the best thing about coconut oil compared to any other moisturizer on the market is the amount of time you can go without the skin getting very tight and dry. Even on my worse plaque psoriasis days on my torso, the coconut oil would keep my skin nice and supple for 8 hours while at work. It was a godsend.
As I mentioned earlier for best results;
- Follow a psoriasis-friendly diet such as detailed in this ebook
- Take the essential psoriasis supplements
- Keep the stress levels to an absolute minimum
- Try and get some sun on the skin
The last time I had an outbreak of psoriasis, I started to see a change from red to pink skin within three weeks but please note that I was putting coconut oil on four times a day and I was following the four steps above.
