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If you have psoriasis, it sometimes feels like you’d do anything to relieve that never-ending itch. The chronic skin condition happens when your skin cells multiply too quickly—leaving you with thick, scaly patches called plaques. While you may find yourself scratching at all hours of the day, itchiness can be particularly noticeable when you first wake up in the morning. This is why a morning routine for psoriasis can be essential.

Besides itching, psoriasis can come with other uncomfortable symptoms like skin and joint pain, nail issues, or inflammation—depending on the type, per the Mayo Clinic. While there’s no cure for the condition, there are topical treatments, oral meds, and other therapies you can try to reduce flares. These along with home remedies can really help, too.

“The morning is a great time to form healthy habits for psoriasis,” says Y. Claire Chang, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Union Square Laser Dermatology in New York City. “Establishing a morning routine helps create consistency,” Dr. Chang says. “It is easier to remember when you first wake up rather than when you are busy and interrupted during the day.”

Treating psoriasis, like many other health conditions, requires consistency and self-care to help you feel your best. Read on to learn how to manage your psoriasis with healthy morning habits.

8 things to do every morning for your psoriasis

1. Take a shower

“Showering in the morning can be particularly beneficial to individuals with psoriasis to hydrate the skin and soften the psoriatic plaques,” Dr. Chang says. The warm water can “help gently remove scales without causing trauma to the skin,” she adds.

What’s more, “showering helps prepare the skin for application of topical treatments and moisturizers,” Dr. Chang says. Damp skin can more easily absorb things like moisturizers and other topical treatments.

Here are a few of Dr. Chang’s tips to get the biggest skin benefits during shower time:

Keep your shower brief and use lukewarm water. Long, hot showers can dry out the skin.
Use the right skin care. Avoid harsh or scented soaps. Instead, incorporate products with oatmeal to soothe the skin, bleach to kill bacteria, and/or moisturizing oils to hydrate the skin.
Apply products right away. After showering, gently pat dry, and apply topicals immediately to damp skin.

2. Apply moisturizers

“Moisturizers are crucial in delivering hydration to the skin and helping to protect the skin barrier,” Dr. Chang says. While moisturizing on the regular is a good general rule for everyone, it’s especially essential for folks with psoriasis.

“Those with psoriasis typically have higher transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and lower skin hydration,” Dr. Chang says. In people with psoriasis, using emollients (the ingredients in moisturizers that soothe dryness or irritation and protect the skin’s outer layer) can improve skin barrier function, according to a small July 2021 study in Life (Basel).

Moisturizing in the morning has big benefits. Here are just a few, per Dr. Chang:

It helps maintain skin hydration throughout the day to reduce symptoms of dryness, flaking, and itching
It helps create a protective barrier from common environmental triggers including pollutants and irritants
It may help you stick to a skin care routine (you may forget or get too busy once the day gets going)

“While prescription steroid and vitamin D analog creams are considered first-line treatments for psoriasis, effective over-the-counter (OTC) moisturizers and topicals are also available to be used in combination with prescriptions,” Dr. Chang says. But with so many skin care products on the market, it can be confusing to know which ones are best. The key to improving skin health when you have psoriasis is using the right topicals. In other words, what’s in the products makes all the difference.

The next time you take a trip to the drugstore, look for products with these ingredients:

Moisturizing ingredients: “Ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin are effective in maintaining the skin’s protective barrier,” Dr. Chang says.
Soothing ingredients: “Colloidal oatmeal, aloe vera, and niacinamide may help calm inflammation and reduce symptoms,” Dr. Chang says.
Ingredients that soften psoriasis plaques: Not only do ingredients like urea and salicylic acid soften psoriasis plaques, but they also improve the skin’s ability to absorb other topical agents, Dr. Chang says.

TIP

Apply skin care products to moist, damp skin. This “enhances absorption of the topicals” and makes them more effective, Dr. Chang says.

Dr. Chang’s OTC skin care product recommendations include the following: