There’s a lot of stigma surrounding psoriasis — but this chronic skin condition is much more frequent than you might think.
The disease causes inflammation in the body, leading to the formation of red, itchy patches of raised skin coated with a silvery-white scale, also known as plaques.
The visible symptoms take a mental toll on people living with psoriasis — Joni Kazantzis’s account for Elle is particularly eye-opening. And, while there are numerous blogs explaining the condition — including Joni’s — this disease remains largely misunderstood.
Thankfully, among the many people who are opening up about life with psoriasis are a slew of celebrities whose platforms serve as a means to raise awareness and remove some of the stigma. Read about their experience below.
Kim Kardashian
Ever since her first psoriasis flare-up at age 25, Kim Kardashian has been very open about her condition on social media. The beauty mogul got the hereditary disease from her mom, Kris Jenner, who started seeing symptoms when she was 30, per Good Housekeeping.
“I am the only child my mom passed her autoimmune issue to. Lucky me, lol,” Kardashian opened up on her sister Kourtney’s lifestyle blog.
Aside from the typical skin rashes associated with psoriasis, Kardashian has also experienced joint pain and psoriatic arthritis. According to Glamour, the E! star has tried every conceivable treatment, including "every ointment, cream, serum, and foam you can possibly imagine and everything from the dermatologist," per her Poosh confession.
Luckily, the 40-year-old has learned how to deal with the autoimmune condition over the years.
"I’ve become extremely comfortable with my psoriasis. No matter where it is on my body, sometimes I am fine with showing it off and other times I don’t want it to be a distraction, so I cover it up with body makeup," she wrote on Poosh.
“If you have psoriasis, you can’t let it ruin your life or get the best of you. You have to do what you can to make sure you are comfortable but not let it take over.”
LeAnn Rimes
Unlike Kardashian, who’s been battling psoriasis for only 15 years, LeAnn Rimes has lived with the condition all of her life. The singer was diagnosed at the age of 2, and at one point in her childhood, 80 percent of her body was covered in lesions, per Insider.
"As I became a performer, I went to great lengths to hide my psoriasis," Rimes told the National Psoriasis Foundation in 2009, saying she would cover up her outbreaks with long dresses and pants. "Performing on stage when I was experiencing a flare was difficult. My skin would crack and bleed, causing pain and discomfort."
After a life-long struggle with the disease, the 38-year-old "Coyote Ugly" hitmaker is done hiding her psoriasis. Last year, the artist published a couple of naked photos showing the outbreaks on her back, hips, and thighs.
“You know when you say something you’ve been holding in for so long, and it’s such a sigh of relief? That’s what these photos are to me. I needed this. My whole body — my mind, my spirit — needed this desperately.”
Stassi Schroeder
Another celebrity who has been extremely candid about her psoriasis on social media is Stassi Schroeder. The Vanderpump Rules star often shares makeup-free selfies and is not shy about discussing her condition.
"I developed psoriasis six years ago," she wrote in a 2018 essay for Today. "It’s annoying. There’s really no way to control it and it comes and goes whenever it pleases. It’s like a douche-y boyfriend. You know what I mean? Right now, if you wiped away all of my makeup, you would see red patches all over my face."
According to Schroeder, the best advice when dealing with the disease is to not stress about it.
“The advice I would give to anyone who has psoriasis is to let go of any anxiety about it because there’s nothing you can do. If you stress about it, it’s only going to make it worse because it’s brought on by stress a lot of the time. And what’s the point? You’re just going to be miserable.”
Cara Delevingne
Just like many other people out there, supermodel and actress Cara Delevingne suffers from stress-induced psoriasis. The 28-year-old experienced her first flare during Fashion Week 2013 and her symptoms returned over the years.
“It only happened during Fashion Week! Which is, of course, the worst time of the year for me to be covered in scabs," Delevingne told W magazine.
Before a runway show, the Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets star would cover her body in thick layers of makeup to hide her psoriasis.
"People would put on gloves and not want to touch me because they thought it was, like, leprosy or something..," she opened up to The Times in 2015.
"It wasn’t a good time, I was, like, fight and flight for months. Just constantly on edge. It is a mental thing as well because if you hate yourself and your body and the way you look, it just gets worse and worse."
