Psoriasis is a common skin condition where the body produces too many skin cells. As the skin cells pile up on the outer layer of the skin, they get red and inflamed. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, nearly half the people who have psoriasis, have it on their scalp. There are a lot of ways to treat psoriasis of the scalp including topical treatments, medications and UV rays.
Topical Treatments
For mild to moderate cases of scalp psoriasis, a shampoo that contains either tar or salicylic acid can help relieve the symptoms of the condition. Tar-based shampoos can help treat the legions and slow your body’s production of skin on the scalp. They are not designed to clean the hair. Salicylic acid is what is known as a peeling agent and can help get rid of the outer layer of affected scalp.
Medications
When scalp psoriasis becomes moderate to severe, it’s always a good policy to try several different treatment methods until you find one that works. But, generally, this may require that you take systemic medication to help with the problem. Systemic medications work through the body as opposed to targeting the specific location of the psoriasis (in this case, the scalp). They can be taken either orally or as an injection and come in two forms, tradition systemic medications like methotrexate, oral retinoids or cyclosporine and newer treatments called biologics (t-cell blockers and tumor necrosis factor blockers).
UV Light
The sun’s light can have a healing effect on scalp psoriasis. You can get UV rays on your scalp either from going outside or from going to the doctor and getting UV therapy. If you are going to pass up UV therapy and instead try your luck by bouncing some natural sunlight off your scalp, keep in mind that hair protects the scalp from sun. The best thing to do is to either part your hair in rows so that scalp is exposed, or shave your head entirely.