Alice's Story

Alice's psoriasis made her feel insecure throughout her teenage years and she used to wear lots of makeup to cover it. Now she has come to accept her psoriasis and shares her makeup and confidence tips on Instagram.

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It all started when I was 13, my scalp was always itchy, bleeding and flaky. I thought nothing of it and continued to go on using anti-dandruff shampoo, assuming that was what was wrong with me. It wasn’t until I was 17 and was having an ear examination when the doctor said to me “I can’t give you this medication because of your psoriasis” I’d never heard of psoriasis and assumed it was the name of a bone in my ear... The doctor then explained to me that it was a skin condition which I suffered from on my scalp, ears, face.

Over the next year or so my psoriasis spread to my arms, stomach and back while getting worse on my face. I saw numerous dermatologists, it didn’t help that it was at a time when I was moving away for university so I couldn’t keep one doctor.

Then for the next two years I switched medications countless times, even to steroid based creams. It wasn’t until this summer where I worked outdoors while the UK was struck with a heatwave that my psoriasis cleared completely. At this point I realised sunshine was the best medicine, but sadly living in the UK, the weather isn’t always the greatest.

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I found it very difficult when my psoriasis got very bad on my face as throughout my teenage years I was very insecure. It got to a point where I would plaster makeup on my face to hide it. Recently, I’ve come to terms with my face and that the redness of the psoriasis comes and goes. I have set up an Instagram to share my experience with psoriasis and which makeup works best to cover it without making it irritated. Hopefully, those using makeup will one day be able to take the leap and go bare faced too!

Read more real-life stories from young people living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.