Category: Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Living with chronic illness—one day, one flare, one moment of grace at a time.

This category includes real-life experiences, treatment insights, and faith-filled encouragement for those navigating psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or long into the journey, you’ll find support, understanding, and reminders that your condition does not define you. You are seen, strong, and never alone.

Medical, Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Let’s Talk Hair Loss in Women

Brandi C

Let’s Talk Hair Loss in Women

20221011 231143

Let’s Talk Hair Loss in Women

Hair loss in women can be devastating. Let me rephrase that—hair loss in women IS devastating. No matter who you are or how confident you are in your own skin, it is a hard reality. Can people adjust, accept, and learn to love themselves through it? Yes, they can! But for me, that hasn’t been the case. My hair loss stems from Psoriasis, which has led to Psoriatic Arthritis.

What I didn’t fully realize was how bad it had gotten until I saw pictures of myself. My husband tried to sugarcoat it, saying, “It’s not that bad.” But let me tell you, it was that bad. And sometimes it still is. The real wake-up call came when I showed my mom, and her gasp confirmed how bad things had gotten. She wasn’t trying to be unkind—she was just shocked because I’d been hiding it so well.

20221011 234040

Stigma About Hair Loss in Women

The stigma around hair loss in women is huge. People often say, “Just get a wig,” but getting a good-quality wig is expensive. And at the end of the day, every woman just wants a head full of beautiful hair. My therapist suggested I try extensions, which would cost around $3,000 a year. As much as I’d love that, I don’t have the money—or the hair to attach the extensions to.

I did try a halo-style wig, but that didn’t work well either. If you don’t have enough hair to hide the band around it, the wig just doesn’t look natural. I tried Rogaine for women, but it was a waste of time and money. For a while, I avoided washing my hair until my hairstylist told me I had to wash my scalp at least once a week to help with natural oils. I wouldn’t even comb my hair for fear of it falling out in clumps.

20221019 130127

Rallying the Troops

The depression hit rock bottom when I could no longer hide it. In a truly loving way, my hairstylist encouraged me to keep going. “It will grow back. We’ll find you a really good wig. You’re beautiful.” Her encouragement was a lifeline. My sisters and my mom rallied together, and we made plans for a day trip to meet one of my sisters in Tennessee.

We’d done something similar before, just to spend time together, but this time had a different purpose: wig shopping. My sister found a place called Top This Wigs in Murfreesboro, TN. The store is private and appointment-only, which was exactly what I needed. The owner of the store, a woman whose husband had cancer, turned the business into a mission to help others.

When we arrived, my family dove into looking for wigs, and I stood there, overwhelmed with shame and sadness. They picked out a few for me to try on, and when I sat in the chair and looked at myself in the mirror, I broke down in tears. Surrounded by my Oak and sisters, they cried with me, prayed with me, and comforted me.

Eventually, I found one I liked, a “work” wig since my usual blonde hair with purple and pink highlights wouldn’t work for professional settings. But my sister and my Oak chipped in to pay for it, and the store owner gifted me the one I really wanted: a gorgeous purple wig that made me feel alive again. We all cried—again.

20221027 211726

Learning to Love Wigs

I still struggle with the change, but I’ve learned some things along the way. I bought wig grips to help keep them in place and followed tips from Chiquel on how to style them and care for them. They offer a lot of helpful videos on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram that helped me feel more confident in wearing them.

The purple wig has earned me lots of compliments, and my “work” wig was so well-made that no one knew it wasn’t my real hair. During the summer, I wear ponytails a lot because wigs get hot, and let’s face it—hot weather plus menopause equals a cranky woman! My hair is slowly starting to grow back, but I know I have my wigs as a backup when needed. My kids still get scared when they walk into the bathroom and see the wigs on their holders!

20230203 220412

Words of Wisdom

In the end, the love and support of my family have been crucial in helping me get through this difficult time. It may sound vain, but losing your hair can be deeply sad, and it’s okay to feel that way. Men lose their hair and often look distinguished; women lose their hair and are seen as haggard. I don’t like feeling that way, but my feelings are valid, and I’m allowing myself to work through them.

20230206 225516

Your hair doesn’t define you, but you are allowed to feel sadness and not be shamed for those feelings. People who haven’t experienced hair loss may offer well-meaning advice, but the truth is, they don’t understand what it’s really like. Sometimes, you just need to cry, grieve, and not feel guilty for being sad about something you can’t control.

Know that you are still beautiful, with or without hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes. Allow others to love you even when you don’t feel like it. My family has been my village, and I hope that everyone reading this has at least one person in their village to provide love and support through tough times.

20230205 233329

20230320 130755

Related Posts

Focus On the Step In Front of You

Medical, Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

My Story of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Brandi C

My Story of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

My Story of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

When I was 14 years old, my grandpa passed away. He was the first person I was close to who died, and it shook me to my core. My body reacted in strange ways, probably from the stress of it all. I became extremely sick physically, and I developed these weird patches on my shins. They didn’t itch, but they were raised and covered about 95% of my lower legs. I could shave my legs, and the bumps would temporarily flatten, but they would raise back up almost immediately.

Then, my hair started falling out in clumps. I had “knots” on my scalp, and chunks of hair would come out. My eyebrows and eyelashes fell out, too. My hair was bald at my temples and the itching on my scalp was unbearable. It felt like I had knots the size of peas or sometimes even lima beans. I could run my fingernail through the knot and still not feel it on my scalp.

That became my new normal. Over time, my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes grew back. However, my legs remained scaly. Sometimes, my scalp would flare up and the patches on my body would get worse, but I learned to just deal with it. My hair became so thick that I would get headaches when I put it in a ponytail.

Over the Years

Eventually, my legs cleared up, and I didn’t have any patches on my shins anymore. Occasionally, small spots would pop up here and there, but nothing major. My scalp no longer itched as badly, but I still had excessive dandruff. My hair began to thin, but I thought it was due to postpartum hair loss that never came back.

Instead of staying on my shins, the raised patches started appearing on my arms, upper thighs, and even my face and eyelids. I was confused because no one would tell me what it was. There were many times I visited my doctor and asked for help. Once, as an adult, I went to a dermatologist, but since I didn’t “actively” have any patches at the time, she dismissed me and made me feel stupid. So, I just treated it with Triam cream until it went away. For my scalp, I used T-Gel and other medicated shampoos.

About 4 Years Ago

My scalp kept getting worse, the patches kept spreading, and now my feet hurt so badly that I could barely stand up. It was strange, but true. My shoulders, hips, fingers, and knees started to hurt, too. I have a high tolerance for pain, but the pain in my feet felt like being punched in the nose and wanting to immediately throw up. That’s how it felt every time I stood up.

I went to a podiatrist who gave me a steroid shot in my foot and told me I would be fine. #Liar.

I continued to press on with massages, hot water, special shoes, and chiropractic care, but nothing changed. My PCP literally said, “I call bullshit on what you’re saying.” Those were his exact words. So, why continue to tell people something is wrong when no one listens?

For About 6 Months

I developed patches on my inner thighs, and they spread everywhere. It covered both my thighs, groin, and stomach area. Also, it looked like I had been scalded with hot water. It was hot, raised, itched a little, and kept spreading. I called my same PCP, who said I would be fine and that it would go away.

#Liar, and he is no longer my PCP.

I tried everything: alcohol (which burned), calamine lotion, A&D ointment, oats, you name it, I used it. My feet were getting worse, and my scalp felt like fish scales. I started using a metal comb to scratch my scalp until it bled just to relieve the itch. Afterward, I would stand under the hottest shower I could find and scald my scalp to get some relief.

My hairstylist tried to help by giving me anti-itch/soothing shampoos and conditioners, but nothing worked. I even stopped using conditioner and coloring my hair, thinking it would help. #ItDidNotHelp.

Eventually, I Got an Answer

I found a new PCP who looked at my scalp and said, “I have no clue, but it looks like white powder and you’re losing your hair. You should be fine.” Then, I went to another PCP, and he said, “Oh, wow, that’s bad.” Super helpful, right? I tried explaining the pain I was feeling, especially in my feet, but also in other parts of my body. I couldn’t sleep, my head always hurt, my vision was blurry, and the pain was overwhelming. The rheumatologist I saw said it was all in my head and that I was wasting her time. #HatefulWoman.

Finally, my son-in-law told me that if I didn’t do something, he was going to take me to see a doctor himself and use his words with the PCPs.

I finally found a dermatologist who was willing to listen. He was in a town about an hour and 45 minutes away from me. I was skeptical, but when I arrived, the office was calm and everyone was kind. I met the doctor, who looked about 12 years old. In my mind, I thought, “Great, another person who will tell me I’m fine.” But I was prepared with my list, ready to dump everything on him in 15 minutes. Honestly, I just wanted someone to hear me.

That doctor sat and listened to everything I had to say. I sobbed. The pain was so intense, I was exhausted because I couldn’t sleep, and my scalp was so bad that I would have done anything just to be heard. He told me that my labs weren’t normal and that he was considering two possible diagnoses: lupus and psoriatic arthritis. Just knowing he was taking me seriously was such a relief. He took a biopsy of my scalp and said the results would be back in 14 days, and we would have a definitive answer.

36 Years and 14 Days Later

I finally got my answer! The dermatologist called and confirmed that I had psoriasis. I had to return for a follow-up appointment to discuss next steps. When I went back, he told me that not only did I have severe psoriasis, but I also had psoriatic arthritis. That’s why my feet hurt, my joints were swollen, my vision was blurry, I couldn’t sleep, and I felt constant pain. It all made sense now.

Praise God.

He started me on a low dose of methotrexate, and within two months, I began to feel better. My feet stopped hurting, but my scalp was still in bad shape, and my hair loss was at its peak (thanks, chemotherapy). I remember the doctor asking, “How do you feel?” No one had ever asked me that before. I was honest and told him that I felt so much better. He asked if I felt “normal,” and I compared it to being able to breathe out of both nostrils at the same time. We both laughed. But when I said I wasn’t sure what “normal” was, he increased my methotrexate dosage.

3-Month Check-Up

The methotrexate made my liver enzymes skyrocket, so I had to stop it immediately. The doctor put me on Humira (a shot) every two weeks. Now, I feel much better. My feet don’t hurt anymore. I still have some pain when I’m stressed, tired, or on rainy days, but it’s nothing like before. My scalp is improving, and the Clobetasol he prescribed is a game changer. It’s a steroid liquid that I squirt and massage into my scalp.

I’ll be sharing progressive pictures of my scalp in future posts. It’s not pretty, but I want people to know that they can feel better with the right doctor! Don’t settle for people telling you that you’re fine or that it’s all in your head. Listen to your body. For the most part, I’m better. On the days when I’m not, I keep moving. I drink water, rest, do exercises that are easy on my joints (I swim), and take care of myself. It’s okay to do nothing sometimes.

Related Posts

Be a Warrior, Not a Worrier