Patchy, scaly skin from psoriasis isn’t just itchy and annoying, the constant worry about your appearance can also cause your mood to take a hit and leave you feeling anxious or upset. That’s where the power of essential oils can help bring significant improvements to your spirits and possibly even help ease other symptoms too.
What Is Psoriasis?
This uncomfortable skin condition can cause skin on any part of your body – even your scalp – to flare up, resulting in silvery, scaly, and even reddish tinged skin. Psoriasis is the excessive buildup of skin cells because your body replicates them too quickly.1 It is believed to be triggered by stress, injuries to the skin, infections like thrush or strep throat, or due to genetic or autoimmune causes. Even medication can set off psoriasis in some people – quindine, antimalarial medicine, and lithium are typical offenders.2
The Benefits Of Essential Oils
Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils can be very beneficial when it comes to treating psoriasis. These oils used in a diffuser or in an oil massage diluted with carrier oils can bring you that much needed comfort and relaxation. Even a couple of drops of essential oils added to your bathwater can help. Blood pressure medication is one of the triggers for psoriasis for some people, and if that’s the case with you, the calming effect of inhaling essential oils might also help you keep that blood pressure from skyrocketing3 For instance, lavender and chamomile are considered particularly good for you if you have psoriasis and find mention by the National Psoriasis Foundation as well.4
Try These Oils
Lavender Oil For Treating Your Mood
If you’re worried about how your psoriasis is interfering with your appearance and possibly your personal or work life, then anxiety may follow suit. Thankfully, a few drops of lavender oil in your diffuser or bath or even an aroma pillow tucked under your head might help. This essential oil is a mood stabilizer and sedative, calming the nervous system.5
Chamomile To Soothe You
Besides calming the mind, chamomile has been found to have anti-inflammatory and soothing effects when used on skin.6
Rose Oil For Its Antiseptic Power
Essential oil of rose doesn’t just smell amazing, it is also antibacterial and antiseptic.7 Using it can help soothe and calm skin that’s irritated due to psoriasis.
Rose oil also help counter depression and eases stress8, which is of importance because some antidepressant medications can also trigger psoriasis. If you are able to ease symptoms of depression and stress with the essential oils, it may allow you to switch to a different medication or help your doctor ease you into a milder regimen that doesn’t cause a flare up.
Bergamot Oil For Its Antibacterial Action
Bergamot oil is suggested as a treatment for psoriasis. It is antibacterial, antiseptic, and soothing and is known to help improve skin condition after an infection. It also eases anxiety and stress.9 As one study showed, when broadband UVB phototherapy was combined with the use of bergamot essential oil in treating patients with psoriasis, it resulted in a reduction in the number of UVB doses needed as well as the duration for which the treatment needed to run, to achieve the same results as when just phototherapy sans bergamot oil was used.10
Tea Tree Oil To Boost Immunity
Since this skin condition is triggered by infections as well as medications for some illnesses, you would do well to avoid catching these in the first place. It could mean the difference between a major flare up of psoriasis, or keeping the condition in check.11 Tea tree oil is antimicrobial(antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal) and anti-inflammatory, and can help clear infection and boost immunity. The National Psoriasis Foundation mentions it as one of a three or four essential oils it believes can be beneficial to someone with psoriasis.12 It is, however, best used as a vapor to be inhaled rather than on the skin directly as it can be an irritant for some.13
Avoiding Insect Bites
Insect bites don’t just injure your skin if you end up catching malaria from a mosquito bite you might need to take antimalarial medicines. And as is now established, certain antimalarial medication including Quinacrine, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and Plaquenil, can result in a bad flare-up of psoriasis about a fortnight to three weeks after being consumed.14
Lemon Eucalyptus Oil
Ward off bug bites and keep those mosquitoes away by using lemon eucalyptus oil as a natural repellant. One study found that it offered about 95 percent from insect bites for a period of 3 hours making it a viable alternative to artificial repellants.15
Thyme Oil
Thyme essential oil can be used topically to keep away mosquitoes. One study claims that the oils can give you as much as a 91 percent protection rate.16
Citronella Oil
Citronella is a popular ingredient in mosquito repellants and as one piece of research found, its topical use can offer you 2 hours of complete protection against mosquito bites.17
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