The products themselves took a few uses before I saw or felt a real difference, but I did notice immediate relief from the extent of the itching soon after I incorporated them into my hair-washing routine. On Susie’s advice, I also carried a little bottle of the tonic around with me, which I applied onto a cotton pad and pressed into my scalp whenever the urge to itch occurred, which worked wonders – although I might have received a few funny looks on the Tube.

The only downside is that I used up the products fairly quickly and, because they’re not available to buy online, I decided to try a different coal tar-based shampoo in the hope that it might help. And it did.

So, for the last few months, I’ve been using Polytar Scalp Shampoo to wash my hair. At first, I applied it to damp hair and let it sit for 10 minutes before washing. After a few weeks, I switched to double shampooing and leaving it for two or three minutes before rinsing out, and now I use it once a week even if I don’t feel like I need to – and I cannot tell you how much difference it’s made.

I’m no longer mindlessly scratching, I don’t have as many flakes (although there are still a few, which I think is potentially just a dry scalp rather than any irritation) and I’ve started wearing black again. I know this is something I’m going to have to contend with for the rest of my life, but knowing that there is a solution when things get bad is a huge relief.

The best products to help ease scalp psoriasis symptoms

“I saw a trichologist after 3 years of suffering with scalp psoriasis, and this is everything I learned”