Conveniently my friend and I live on a beach. Not so conveniently my friend has psoriasis outbreaks so bad she is embarrassed to walk outside the house to enjoy it out of fear someone will spot a blemish.
We had to find a solution before the summer slipped away! Although some people with psoriasis may look forward to the summer time as a remedy to their uncomfortable skin condition, some find it to be the most embarrassing three months of their existence; Case in point, my dear friend, Dara.
I would like to share some easy remedies we have experimented with and found success in dodging those embarrassing blemishes while still enjoying some fun in the sun.
For her protection and comfort - and my personal enjoyment of the beach- we negotiated a way to get us both there to enjoy it together. After a bit of research, Dara agreed to invest in some light colored linen (or cotton) cover-ups to keep her cool and covered, and it also served as a masking device to her bad skin spots.
While Dara normally goes to the beach looking like a sun mummy dressed head to toe in bulky clothes, she actually looked super chic in her cute linen cover up and we even got matching basket hats for good measure. She also discovered through speaking with her dermatologist that there is such thing as a special cover-up make up to hide her blemishes. What if there is a beach volleyball game going on with some single good-looking blemish free men? Dara couldn’t possibly miss out on that opportunity because of a psoriasis breakout! Therefore, being ever the opportunist, she obliged and got the dermatologist approved make-up, and she joined the volleyball game. Unfortunately, Dara has yet the find the man of her dreams at the beach. But on a fabulous side note, her skin looked flawless and her psoriasis was the last thing on her mind at the beach.
Although volleyball tends to be the high point of the day at the beach, when we are finished laying volleyball and ready to bum it under the umbrella, Dara makes sure to rinse off in fresh water and re-moisturize under the umbrella. This helps her feel cool, comfortable and most importantly, moisturized. And although studies show that sun exposure to psoriasis can be beneficial, it is important to keep your skin healthy by using sunscreen and not spending more than 30 minutes in full sun exposure at one time-and that goes for everyone-psoriasis or no psoriasis.
So don’t sit in doors for the rest of the summer drying up in the AC. Get out there and enjoy the sun by using some of Dara’s cover-up techniques to keep you looking stylish and feeling comfortable and confident in your skin.