Kim Kardashian Opens Up About Her Psoriasis Struggles on SHE MD Podcast

Kim Kardashian recently shared a deeply personal struggle during an episode of the SHE MD Podcast, opening up about her long battle with psoriasis. The reality star revealed how a particularly severe flare-up of the autoimmune disorder affected her preparation for this year’s MET Gala. Psoriasis, as described by Johns Hopkins Medicine, is a condition “characterized by inflamed, red, raised areas that often develop into silvery scales on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back”, per John Hopkins Medicine.

According to HuffPost, Kardashian remarked, “There was a spot really close to my eye, and it would just burn a little bit. And I remember I had the Met ball coming up that week and it was covering my face… It’s only this one spot that will itch… And it will really, really itch when it does.” The flare-up caused significant distress for Kardashian, who admitted, “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.”

When asked if her psoriasis was stress-related, she replied, “I’m trying to think of what I was going through at that time…There’s a lot I could [say]…I fell asleep with tar patches on my face and homeopathic creams…I was literally drinking my tar teas, I was doing everything I could possibly do at that time.”

Despite the severity of the situation and the pressure she felt, Kardashian’s makeup artist played a crucial role in helping her face the night. She recalled, “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.” Kardashian shared, “Sometimes I get super insecure about it and I put body makeup on.

And sometimes I’m just like, I really don’t care…(but for Met Gala) I was doing everything I could possibly do at that time.” Reflecting on the broader impact of psoriasis, Kardashian revealed that the Met Gala was not the only time she struggled with the condition. According to People, in 2022, she also experienced a significant outbreak of psoriatic arthritis.

“Psoriasis broke out over my body and I got psoriatic arthritis, so I couldn’t really move my hands… 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,” she shared in an interview. Kardashian has been open about her journey with psoriasis since her first flare-up 13 years ago. “My journey has been very different from my mom’s, but I see so many similarities as well.

She had it on her scalp and all over her body, and I’d see it all the time and remember her going to the tanning salon to try and ease it. Getting UV rays directly on the spots really helped my mom… When I was 25, I had my first psoriasis flare-up. I got a common cold, and since psoriasis is an autoimmune condition, this triggered it. It was all over my stomach and legs,” she explained in 2019.