WEEK #9: ITCHING FOR NEW SKIN

Again, I'm not going to review the Alphosyl shampoo just yet as it's not as easy to determine it's effectiveness as quickly as it is with moisturisers & shower/bath products. The products on review this week didn't particularly help my psoriasis & were mainly chosen on a budget basis as I'm spending a significant amount of money on skin stuff now.  I do realise that a lot of people have already given Aqueous cream a no-no but thought I would try it out anyway as I've not used it before and it was cheap and I would like to exhaust all product options before choosing the ones I'm going to use on a regular basis. 

AQUEOUS CREAM 500G : 4/10

So I think it should be compulsory for all moisturisers to come in these tubs. I LOVE being able to completely smoother my skin in moisturiser and tubs allow that to happen easily. The first night I used this I thought I had found the one, I felt so comfortable after applying it & slept right through...and the the night after I was back to having my midnight itchfests. My skin generally felt softer and my psoriasis patches smoother but I've also read that aqueous cream merely seals in the moisture already in your skin rather than applying any moisture for your skin to drink up. Also the smell was very medical and clung to all my clothes. Definitely not one you'd want to be applying at work. It's also not that cheap despite what I said earlier, considering that one tub lasted just under a week if you apply moisturiser at least three times a day like myself. 

(£4, BOOTS)

SANEX SENSITIVE SHOWER GEL 500ML: 5/10

Not a product I have strong feelings about. It wasn't moisturising but it wasn't irritating & didn't dry my skin out. It smelt nice and for value for money I can't fault it. I'd definitely use it if I was in a position where I had to get something readily available in a supermarket. I was initially enticed by their dry skin adverts so I'll probably have a try of some of there other products. 

(£1.59, BOOTS)

DIPROSALIC OINTMENT: 6/10

I'm fully aware of the aversion to steroids and I completely understand why. When your psoriasis is widespread like mine it's entirely impractical to cover each dot in steroid cream whilst avoiding your normal skin so I just stick to using it on my lower arms & lower legs when I'm trying stuff out. Diprosalic (I think) is quite a potent steroid and I was applying twice a day. It's probably no surprise then that I did notice a tiny improvement. My spots reduced in redness but this was usually accompanied by new little red dots appearing. I also don't like to use the same steroid ointment for more than two weeks due to side effects. Judging by my use of it I think it would be ok for short term use intermittently (i.e. use for two weeks then have a break for a week or so then resume using it). For most people though steroids really are not a solution but an emergency fix, and even then they're not that effective unless your psoriasis is severe. 

(PRESCRIPTION)