Kim Kardashian shared how psoriasis particularly affects her and showed up before a major Met Ball.
Kim Kardashian’s iconic Marilyn Monroe Met Gala look was almost ruined due to a major psoriasis flare-up.
During an interview on the SHE MD podcast with hosts Mary Alice Haney and Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, the SKIMS founder shared how this skin condition particularly affects her. "It's only this one spot that will itch," she said. "And it will really, really itch when it does."
According to the National Institutes of Health, psoriasis is a chronic disease in which the immune system becomes overactive, causing skin cells to multiply too quickly, leading to scaly, inflamed patches of skin.
Kardashian, 43, has been open about her struggle with psoriasis. "When I started to get a little bit desperate was when it started to cover my face, and there was a spot really close to my eye, and it would just burn a little bit,” she told the hosts, alongside guest rheumatologist Dr. Daniel Wallace. "I remember I had the Met Ball coming up that week, and it was covering my face.”
Haney asked if the flare-up was stress-related, saying, "I can imagine that something's causing that. Had that happened before on your face?"
"It hadn't, no. I'm trying to think of what I was going through at that time. There's a lot I could say," Kardashian replied.
Kardashian has previously spoken about experiencing an outbreak of both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis while preparing for the 2022 Met Gala, when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s famous dress. "Psoriasis broke out over my body and I got psoriatic arthritis, so I couldn't really move my hands," she told Allure, attributing the flare-up to her diet. "I had to go to a rheumatologist who put me on a steroid. I was freaking out. I cut out the meat again, and it's calmed down."
At the time, she had just finalized her contentious divorce from Kanye West, who was publicly feuding with Kardashian’s then-boyfriend Pete Davidson. Despite this, she didn’t think stress was a factor. "I think I manage my stress pretty well, so it's shocking to me," she told Haney and Aliabadi.
Fortunately, thanks to her makeup artist's skills, no one noticed her psoriasis on the red carpet. "We did put on concealer. And I remember him vividly saying, ‘It's so crazy that your makeup is holding really well on it.' So he wasn't concerned," she recalled.
Apart from adjusting her diet, Kardashian said she used tar patches and homeopathic creams. "I was literally drinking my tar teas," she shared. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, dermatologists have been prescribing coal tar for more than 100 years to treat psoriasis, and it is considered safe for long-term use.
“Sometimes I get super insecure about it and I put body makeup on. And sometimes I'm just like, I really don't care,” she told the SHE MD hosts about her flare-ups. But for the Met Gala, she said, “I was doing everything I could possibly do at that time.”
The reality star took to her Instagram Story in January, sharing videos of her "painful" flare-up of the skin condition.
"Not gonna lie this is painful," the mother of four captioned a video of the red patches of skin on her legs. "Not sure what my triggers are. I haven't changed my diet. I've tried everything! Psoriasis sucks."
In the clip, she says, "How crazy is my psoriasis right now, guys? Like, all up my leg. I don't know what's happening, but I've got to figure this out. It's crazy… I just know it's time to figure this out."
Luckily, she was able to see a bright side despite the uncomfortable condition.
"Wait, am I tripping or is my psoriasis in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day?" she joked, laughing. "Lucky me, I have a heart-shaped psoriasis for Valentine's Day."
Kardashian has been candid about her psoriasis struggles in the past, occasionally linking them to stress.
On the season three premiere of The Kardashians in 2023, she referenced the skin condition while discussing ex-husband Kanye West's antics, saying, "Tell the father of my children to stop acting up, and then I won't stress out and get psoriasis."
Since their split in early 2021, West has moved on to "wife" Bianca Censori, whom he is not legally married to.
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