Woman shares skin transformation after wondering ‘how anyone could find me attractive’

Olivia Bowen reveals her recent flare up of Psoriasis

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Kirsty Jennings, 29, lives with her partner, Rick, in Malvern, Worcestershire. She has only recently found a treatment for her psoriasis, which has always impacted her mental health. Now, she is a changed woman and much happier in her skin.

Psoriasis is a common, long-term disease with no cure.

However, it can be treated and goes through cycles, flaring up for a few weeks then subsiding again.

Kirsty first noticed her psoriasis when she was 17.

She told Express.co.uk: “At first I thought it was dry skin as my dad and brother both suffer from eczema and so I just kept chucking moisturiser on the dry patch.

“But when it quickly spread further on my elbows and then appeared on my knees and scalp I realised it was something else.”

The mum-of-one explained: “They say psoriasis is usually triggered by something, either a physical trauma or emotional stress.

“Mine was triggered just as I was moving out of my parents’ house. I guess I was quite scared at the prospect of fending for myself as I was still quite young.

“Once the plaques spread to my knees and scalp I immediately went to the doctor who diagnosed psoriasis and prescribed me steroid ointments and a scalp treatment that was very greasy.

“I was given Dovobet and Cetraben for my skin, and Betamethasone scalp application for my scalp.”

Kirsty’s psoriasis greatly impacted her mental health – she said finding out she had the condition “hit me pretty hard, especially when I realised it was something that would never be cured”.

The treatment she was using to calm the psoriasis wasn’t helping either.

Kirsty recalled: “I wasn’t too bothered about using the steroid ointments as they were easy to apply and effective.

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“However, the ointment for my head was very greasy and thick, and because I worked every day I was reluctant to apply it.

“The first time I used it I couldn’t wash it out of my hair and I had to spend the day at work dodging glances from people wondering why my hair was so greasy.

“I remember crying on the phone to the doctor begging to be given something else.”

She continued: “The problem with the steroid treatments is that you can’t use them for long periods of time.

“So, I soon entered the cycle of coming off steroids and experiencing my skin flaring up again almost immediately.

“With more steroid applications over the years my psoriasis spread and got worse when it came back after I finished a course of steroids.

“With every new flare-up new plaques showed on other parts of my body.”

When Kirsty experienced her “worst flare-up ever” in 2021 due to the stress of a new job, her mood plummeted and her mental health, as well as her self-confidence and self-esteem, was further impacted.

She went on to explain: “In the space of two weeks my psoriasis spread to my scalp, hands and finally my face, which was the more horrifying thing of all.

“At a total loss of what to use on my skin when I couldn’t use the steroids I tried just about every miracle cream advertised on the internet.

“At best all they did was keep my skin moisturised but other than that they did nothing at all.

“It was devastating for my self-confidence when my psoriasis appeared on my hands and face as you simply cannot cover that up.

“I found the endless staring very upsetting. People can be very cruel.

“During the early heatwave we had I kept myself completely covered up in fear of comments and stares. There were no bikini beach days or shorts for me.

“Once I braved a pair of knee length shorts and I had a woman in a shop comment on my knees about how disgusting I looked so I went back to wearing trousers despite the heat.”

Kirsty added that “even friends can be insensitive”.

“I’ve had some making comments about my skin,” she said.

“They didn’t mean it in a nasty way but it always hurt my feelings.

“In terms of my personal relationship my psoriasis has really affected me as it’s got worse and spread.”

However, Kirsty stressed that her partner, Rick is “amazing”.

“He knows how I feel about myself sometimes and always calls me beautiful and supports me,” she explained.

“He will also happily help apply creams or run a saltwater bath for me. Even so I often don’t feel confident in myself or my appearance and I often wonder how anyone could ever find me attractive.

“I know it sounds like a pity party, but psoriasis is much more than patchy skin. I would often just sit and cry when I saw my skin in the mirror.

“Suffering from this skin condition is emotionally very draining as well as being physically quote painful. Most days I’ll admit I feel depressed about my psoriasis.”

But last year, Kirsty found a treatment for her psoriasis that “has given me any hope of my skin improving without the use of steroids”.

Thanks to Instagram, the 35-year-old came across Oregon Skincare.

She said: “I saw someone I follow making a comment about the effects of Oregon Skincare on their psoriasis, so I immediately investigated.

“The more I researched the more comments I found. They were not adverts but comments from real people with psoriasis so I decided to try the products to see if they helped me.

“Within a week the redness on my hands and forehead had dramatically reduced. Within a month the difference was incredible.

“The added bonus was the Oregon treatment serum was not greasy or smelly. The company also make a shampoo too with the same ingredients in which crucially was not greasy on my hair and really helped reduce my scalp psoriasis.

“My scalp was thick with plaques and after the first wash with the treatment shampoo they loosened enough that I could gently pull them away.”

Kirsty added: “There’s a whole range of Oregon products but the serum is my favourite. It’s been with me constantly since receiving it.

“Since using the serum I’ve not used steroid treatments and have not felt the need to either which makes me feel very happy.”

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