psoriasis-prone skin
Psoriasis
We know how wearing psoriasis can be. Raised, flaky patches of skin that keep coming back, and the frustration of nothing quite feeling like it helps. It's also one of those conditions that can be extremely uncomfortable so we understand why finding something that can help ease your symptoms is a priority. On this page we cover the different types of psoriasis, what the research actually says about Dead Sea minerals, and which of our products can help
Our hero psoriasis products
Floatation Bath Salt Crystals
Dead Sea salt for the bath. A twenty minute soak that softens any scaly build-up so it lifts more easily, and helps with itching.
From £19.00
Defining Body Cream
Rich, luxurious cream that absorbs properly without leaving residue on clothes or bedding.
From £27.00
Hand & Foot Cream
For patches on the hands and heels that crack and split. Our bestseller, and the product behind Danielle's skin transformation below.
from £10.00
Glowing Hair Mask
Dead Sea minerals with argan and sweet almond oil. Ten minutes after shampooing puts moisture back into a dry, flaky scalp.
from £30.00
Healthy Hair & Scalp
The hair mask with a scalp massager, which lifts loose flakes without the scratching. Almost the same price as the mask on its own.
£32.00 (worth £42.50)
Getting the most out of our products
Many customers ask us whether there is an order that works better than others. All products can be stand alone but we find best results come from soaking first and sealing straight afterwards.
A routine could look like this:
evening · 15 to 20 minutes
Soak in warm water with bath salt crystals
Let the crystals dissolve before you get in. Warm rather than hot, because heat feels good on a patch and then leaves skin drier and itchier once you are out. The soak softens any flaky, scaly patches so they lift on their own instead of being picked off.
evening · straight after the bath
Seal it in with body cream while skin is still damp
Pat dry rather than rub, then apply generously. Damp skin retains more moisture than fully dry skin so now is the ideal time to moisturise
throughout the day
Hand and foot cream for skin cracks
Heels, knuckles and fingertips take a lot of the daily wear and tear but generally get the least attention. Keep a tube somewhere readily accessible so you can apply frequently.
every day
Even when skin looks better
Psoriasis settles and returns. People who find it most manageable tend to be those who continue to moisturise through the good weeks rather than starting again from scratch each time it flares up.
ROUGHLY HALF OF PSORIASIS SUFFERERS
Softening the flakes on your scalp
The Psoriasis Association suggests using an oil such as olive or coconut to soften scalp flakes before you wash, then brushing and combing gently to lift the loose ones rather than scratching them. Our hair mask is the step after this. Dead Sea minerals with argan and sweet almond oil, worked in for ten minutes after shampooing, puts moisture back into the scalp that washing takes out.
The Healthy Hair & Scalp set pairs it with a scalp massager, which lifts loose flakes more gently than fingernails.
which type do you have?
Not all psoriasis is the same
Psoriasis takes several forms and they can look so different from one another that people sometimes think they have something else entirely.
Plaque psoriasis
Around 90% of all cases, and the one most people mean by psoriasis. Plaque simply means a raised patch. Usually one to two centimetres across with a silvery-white scaly surface. Pink or red on lighter skin, and grey or simply darker than the skin around it on deeper tones, which is part of why it gets missed. Elbows, knees, lower back and shins are the usual places.
Scalp psoriasis
Affects roughly half of everyone with psoriasis. Patches around the hairline, behind the ears, on the forehead and the back of the neck, with flakes that can look like heavy dandruff except that they sit on raised skin rather than flat.
Nail psoriasis
Pitting, dents, ridges and nails lifting away from the nail bed, in 40 to 50% of people with psoriasis. It is often what a dermatologist looks at first, and it is the type most commonly mistaken for a fungal infection.
Flexural psoriasis
In the skin folds: the groin, under the breasts, the armpits and between the buttocks. Sweat and friction keep it smooth and shiny rather than scaly, so it looks nothing like the textbook picture and gets misdiagnosed as a fungal or yeast infection more often than not.
understanding psoriasis
Why does it happen?
Psoriasis affects around one in fifty people in the UK, somewhere near 1.3 million, and it can start at any age although it most often appears between 15 and 25 or between 50 and 60. It is not contagious, it has nothing to do with hygiene, and it cannot be spread from one part of the body to another.
Skin normally replaces itself over 21 to 28 days. In psoriasis the immune system drives that process to run in a few days instead, so cells reach the surface before they are ready and pile up rather than shedding. The raised patch is that pile of immature cells, and the silvery, scaly surface on top is what they look like once they dry out.
Because the immune system is driving it, psoriasis reacts to things that have nothing to do with skin. Stress, infection, alcohol, smoking, some medicines and even a cut or a scratch can set off a flare up. It is also why it so often occurs at the same time as other things going wrong.
Why Dead Sea minerals are different?
The Dead Sea is the one place in the world with a serious research record for psoriasis. People have travelled there for relief for centuries, and since the 1970s that has been studied formally under the name climatotherapy: the combination of mineral-rich water, filtered sunlight and dry air four hundred metres below sea level.
The reported results are striking. One trial found an 81.5% reduction in PASI, the standard measure of psoriasis severity. Another reported total or near-total remission in 73% of patients. Remission typically lasted between five and a half and seven months before psoriasis returned, and usually returned less severely than before.
Those figures describe people who travelled to the Dead Sea and stayed there for weeks but what they do establish is that these minerals have a measurable effect on psoriatic skin. Dead Sea salt holds roughly ten times the mineral content of Mediterranean seawater and is high in magnesium, potassium, calcium and bromide rather than mostly sodium chloride. Our bath salt crystals are that salt, with jojoba and coconut oil added for the dryness a long soak leaves behind. Our products all contain the highest concentration of these salts on the market and we team them with other ingredients that have a noticeable impact.
What else can help?
What helps alongside treatment is fairly standard stuff. Creams used generously, warm rather than hot water, and consistency even in the early stages when little appears to be changing and conversely, later when it seems to be under control. Psoriasis is managed rather than cured, and when you find the routine that works it's important to keep going with it. Albeit you can compromise on the frequency and intensity.
sources
1. Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis statistics. UK prevalence, the 90% plaque figure, scalp involvement and nail changes. papaa.org
2. Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance. The Dead Sea and Psoriasis. The climatotherapy trial figures, the remission durations, and the note that study quality varies. papaa.org/the-dead-sea-and-psoriasis
3. NHS. Psoriasis. Age of onset, how patches appear on different skin tones, and the list of triggers. nhs.uk/conditions/psoriasis
4. Psoriasis UK. The 21 to 28 day skin replacement cycle, the fact that psoriasis is not contagious, and the scalp advice on oils and gentle combing. psoriasisuk.org.uk
Psoriasis on the hands
"I had painful psoriasis on my hands with skin flaking and itching. My psoriasis almost disappeared after applying the hand cream regularly for five days. I recommend it to anyone with dry skin, eczema, or psoriasis flares."
- Danielle, Verified buyer
Ready to give it a try?
step 1
Select your products
The bath salts and the body cream are a good starting point, with the hand and foot cream if you have cracking in these areas. If you're going to try the whole routine our bundle gives you great value for money.
step 2
Receive your products
Delivered to your door in three days, with free UK shipping.
step 3
Get comfortable skin
Enjoy comfortable skin that feels and looks good without having to compromise on products that feel and look medicated.
questions
Psoriasis and Dead Sea minerals
There is more research on the Dead Sea and psoriasis than on almost any other natural approach. Trials of climatotherapy at the Dead Sea have reported real results for real people and demonstrate the benefits of the minerals for supporting this condition.