Using Essential Oils to Help Treat Psoriasis
It’s hard to fully enjoy life when you are dealing with a chronic skin condition.
Every time you breakout in inflammation you risk increasing levels of stress and anxiety – which only increases the likelihood that you will suffer more skin challenges in the future.
It’s not fun, and it’s not fair.
You deserve to be comfortable in social situations and dating.
You deserve to be free from the pain of debilitating skin conditions.
You deserve to feel comfortable in your skin.
And you can be – psoriasis is pesky and persistent, but it is treatable. A thorough treatment regimen (that includes proper care with essential oil based treatments) can improve the health of your skin and reduce your psoriasis breakouts considerably.
By following the recommendations below and you will have a much better chance of beating your condition. And by all natural means.
You are not alone! This blog post and our community are here to help you.
**AN IMPORTANT NOTE**
Before undertaking any of the treatment regimens recommended below it is essential for you to understand how difficult this condition can be to treat.
While essential oils can greatly reduce the symptoms of your psoriasis, a complete cure is often more complicated. Your psoriasis could be caused by a variety of factors. Environmental stress, antibiotic use, heredity, chronic stress, food allergies or an under-functioning liver can all be potential culprits.
If you want a total cure, you will want to have a comprehensive treatment regimen.
After reading about the individual essential oils for psoriasis and the recommended application methods and mixtures below be sure to stick around for more natural, complementary treatments for your psoriasis.
Okay, on to the oils!
1.) Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender is generally regarded as the most versatile therapeutic essential oil. And for good reason. It’s remarkably restorative to the skin and helps treat all skin conditions, including abcesses, acne, allergies, boils, bruises, burns, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, sores, sunburns… etc. If it affects the skin, you can bet lavender will be of aid.
It’s calming and anti-inflammatory properties are quick to heal and restore psoriasis ridden skin. It soothes your dry, flakey skin and calms inflammation while rejuvenating and promoting new skin growth and healing.
Lavender blends well with most oils, especially citrus, florals, cedarwood, clove, clary sage, pine, geranium, labdanum, oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli.
2.) Tea Tree
Tea tree oil is a powerful, multifaceted plant healing resource. You can get a sense of it’s power from the picture of it’s flower above!
Tea tree is such a remarkably healing plant in large part because of its anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
When you use tea tree for your psoriasis you are preventing infection while also reducing inflammation and stimulating the immune system to support your skin health.
3.) Myrrh
Containing powerful healing properties, myrrh essential oil soothes chapped, flakey and cracked skin effectively easing the symptoms of eczema, psoriasis, rashes. It even reduces stretch marks!
Myrrh’s antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-fungal qualities help support your skin so that your body can effectively heal and restore new skin cells to proper functioning at a quickened rate.
Applying myrrh to your skin does more than heal your psoriasis – it acts as a preventative measure to prevent skin from developing stretch marks and prematurely aging.
4.) Cedarwood
An effective oil in balancin both dry and oily skin conditions, cedarwood also helps to cleanse the skin of any impurities. It’s potent diuretic properties make it a valuable oil to treat cellulite, fluid retention and the accumulation of toxins. And its astringent properties make sure that the skin remains tight and high functioning.
5.) Angelica
Angelica is an excellent detox oil, especially for the skin. Its diuretic properties support the clearing out and removal of waste and toxins from the body and skin. It brightens dull skin while helping to clear skin congestion.
It also helps boost the immune system, clear out cellulite and improve liver function. It is important for those who suffer from psoriasis to address the function of their liver.
5 DIY Essential Oil Based Psoriasis Treatment (w/ Blends & Application Tips)
1.) DIY Psoriasis Massage Oil Blend
This blend will help control symptoms and prevent infection.
Ingredients:
(Makes about 1/2 Cup)
- 30 drops borage seed oil
- 30 drops evening primrose oil
- 15 drops tea tree EO
- 10 drops bergamot EO
- 10 drops thyme EO
- 10 drops niaouli EO
- 1/2 cup grapeseed or sweet almond oil
Directions:
- In a 8 oz glass bottle combine your ingredients, adding your grapeseed or sweet almond oil last
- Shake to blend
Treatment:
In the bath
- Fill your tub with warm water
- While filling in a non-reactive bowl combine 1 tsp of your psoriasis massage blend with 1 cup of finely ground rolled oats
- Once your tub is filled add this mixture to the water and agitate it to disperse
- Soak in the water for 30 minutes
- Gently rub floating ingredients into your skin while soaking. Avoid scrubbing harshly
In a hand or footbath
- Add 1 tsp of your psoriasis massage oil blend to a basin of warm water
- Agitate to disperse oil
- Soak desired area/limb for 20 minutes
- Massage gently floating droplets into inflamed skin
For Massage
- After showering, while your skin is still damp, massage the psoriasis massage oil blend all over your body or just where your skin is breaking out
Topical Application
- Using your fingertip rub the blend gently over your affected areas several times daily
- If you feel any discomfort from the oil try increasing the grapeseed / sweet almond oil ratio
2.) DIY Thick Psoriasis Lotion Blend
This recipe yields a thick lotion loaded with nurturing and restorative oils.
Ingredients:
- 5 tsp avocado oil
- 5 tsp borage seed or evening primrose oil
- 15 drops tea tree EO
- 5 drops myrrh EO
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and apply at least twice daily to trouble areas.
3.) Symptomatic Relief Formula for Eczema and Psoriasis Blend
The following formula has been effective for symptomatic relief until the underlying cause can be corrected. Apply to affected areas daily
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces vitamin E cream
- 20 drops lavender EO
- 5 drops carrot seed EO
- 5 drops geranium EO
- 4 drops bay EO
Optional: Add 1 tsp castor oil for particularly damaged skin. Castor oil works to help reduce scar tissue, minor burns, insect bites and stings.
4.) Simple Vinegar Calming Scalp Treatment
For those of you who have particular trouble with your scalp you can rub the following treatment into your scalp multiple times weekly.
Ingredients:
- 5 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 ounces lavender water / hydrosol / hydrolat
- 10 drops lavender EO
- 10 drops tea tree EO
Directions:
- Combine ingredients
- Shake well
- Apply several times a week
5.) Simple Calming Bath Treatment
For a daily bath simply add:
- A few handfuls of epsom salt
- A few drops of your choice of the recommended essential oils that are listed above
Additional (Non-Essential Oil) Based Natural Treatments for Psoriasis
Cold Pressed Evening Primrose Oil Supplements
I’ve already included evening primrose oil in the topical recipes above. It is a great addition to any skin care product.
But evening primrose oil (EPO) is also highly beneficial for skin conditions when taken internally.
It is able to relieve skin conditions like psoriasis, acne, wrinkles, eczema, dermatitis & sunburn due to it’s high contents of essential fatty acids, vitamin E and vitamin C.
High DHA/EPA Omega-3 Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil (or to a slightly lesser degree, fish oil) is packed full of brain, skin and body enhancing nutrients. Particularly omega-3 essential fatty acids in the form of DHA and EPA.
In addition to the great skin health benefits you’ll get from cod liver oil, this nutritional powerhouse also supports:
- Weight loss
- Fertility
- Healthy pregnancies
- Energy production
- Brain functioning
- Skin hydration
Frequent supplementation with a high quality cod liver oil might be all it takes to clear out your skin conditions. This stuff is really that good!
Sun Exposure / Tanning / Vitamin D Supplementation
It’s been widely reported both medically and anecdotally that sun exposure and/or vitamin D supplementation improves skin conditions, and in particular psoriasis.
Many people who suffer with psoriasis get as much exposure to sun and humidity as they can when they can (within reason). I’ve even read of long time sufferers of psoriasis moving to tropical/humid locations and curing their psoriasis with continuous sun exposure!
You can read more about psoriasis and sun exposure / vitamin D here, here and here.
If you can’t get into the sun as often as you like consider supplementing with some high quality vitamin D to help reduce your symptoms.
Avoiding Food Allergens
Your skin will often reflect the health of your digestion. If your gut is inflamed, your skin and immune system will likely follow in the downward spiral. Food allergens are common culprits for a compromised gut.
Common food allergens that can contribute to psoriasis flareups include:
- nightshades
- eggs
- grains (glutenous)
- dairy
You might already know you have allergies to these or other foods. If you are still eating them make a sincere effort to stop and monitor how your skin reacts. Also consider adding prebiotics and probiotics to help support gut health.
Stress Reduction / Exercise / Sleep
I’ve saved what might be the most obvious recommendation for last. General health. If you don’t take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, reducing stresses in your life and being physically active you are unlikely to cure yourself of psoriasis.
As a rule of thumb, the skin reflects the condition of our body on the inside. If you are worn out, depleted and stressed out your internal functioning will deteriorate – and your skin will follow.
In addition, if you are stressed you are more likely to reach out for quick fixes and comfortable distractions like junk food. This will only exacerbate your skin condition!
If you really want to be free from psoriasis for good do your best to address your overall health.
Further Reading
Alright, almost done!
Although we’ve covered a lot of information covered in this post there is much more to learn about psoriasis.
I highly recommend that you borrow or purchase the book Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative by John O. A. Pagano today. This book should be considered the bible for natural psoriasis treatment. He really understands the condition from the inside out.
EDIT: Mr. Pagano has released a follow up healing psoriasis cookbook to complement his original book.
By investing in these books today you are taking a huge step to breaking the chains of this condition and living the rest of your life untethered by skin outbreaks.
Conclusion
Hopefully the information in this post has been helpful for you.
If you have any question, comments or recommendations of your own please make yourself heard in the comment section.
We would all love to hear from you!
9 thoughts on “5 Essential Oils for Psoriasis (Plus 5 DIY Mixtures & Application Tips)”
Thanks for sharing this information. I am new to the essential oils!
Is there a place where I can buy a ready to use oil blend for psoriasis as described in items 1 and/or 2 above?
Thank you.
Thanks for this! I am going to try #4 with ACV. Have a great week!
This was a so creative and useful information
in this article essential oil for psoriasis
Thank you for sharing
this information.
My daughter has eczema. Foderma serum is the only serum that works for her! I think you’ve just got to find what works for you. I’ve heard I need to try foderma and that and I have, my daughters skin flares from almost everything except this!
I have very sensitive skin and skin allergies, and my dermatologist recommended the Made from Earth Aloe Jojoba Lotion. Its wonderful, thick and creamy, and really soothes dry, damaged skin. If you’ve got psoriasis or exzema, this is for you! I’ve had a hard time finding a lotion that doesn’t make me break out in a rash. Love this!
What is a substitute for the bay so in the eczema psoriasis cream recipe?
Hi Ann. You can just leave it out:)
WIll some of the treatment recommendations sting my scalp? I have psoriasis in my scalp and is worsening. My scalp is starting to itch but my main issue is my tendency to keep scabbing off the dry skin. I try very very hard to control the scabbing. I know I need to look into my condition further. I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in the beginning of this year (2017). What would be best oil treatment for me to try to alleviate the scalp pain from scabbing ? I am concenrned of the stinging effect. Please, help! 🙁