Clare Rees

‘I noticed a real difference within two weeks and now I've been clear for two years’

Clare Rees, 43, a secondary school teacher from Aberdare, South Wales

I got my first psoriasis symptoms at 14 when I was studying for exams. It was just a small patch on my back at first, but then it got bigger and spread around my torso and on to my elbows, the backs of my legs, on my scalp and behind my ears.

At first, I wasn’t too concerned and just assumed it would go away. I didn’t go to my GP at first – I went to the library. There I reached the conclusion that I had psoriasis, and that psoriasis was an incurable skin condition. I felt very deflated and upset. I had to face the fact that I was going to have to manage this skin condition forever. 

While I was at university it got worse. I tried to cover up most of the affected areas with clothes, but I was very self-consious about my scalp and the backs of my ears. I was given all the usual steroid creams but they didn’t work. I bought lots of lotions and natural treatments, but they didn’t really work either. I thought maybe it was stress or diet related and sometimes it would get better, then get worse for no obvious reason. It felt like it was  a constant battle.

I knew that the sun was good for psoriasis, but I’d be reluctant to wear shorts or short-sleeved tops – and I would never wear anything black because of the unsightly flakes of skin from my scalp. I hated it. Even at my wedding I was worried about what sort of dress to wear. I didn’t want to cover up completely, but I didn’t want to show my psoriasis either. Happily I needn’t have worried - it calmed down for my wedding day.

I have two daughters and when I was pregnant with them, the psoriasis went away. But after the girls were born, it came back worse than ever and in new places. I had light treatment, too, and that helped for a while, but then the plaques crept back. I gave up using steroid creams and tried to accept my condition. Then in 2018, my father read an article about Soratinex in a newspaper. My husband, Gavin, bought me a set for around £70 and I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s give it a go’.

I started using it morning and night and saw a difference almost immediately. The plaques began to lessen and I noticed the red skin beneath start to calm down. My skin felt much smoother and each patch started to fade and disappear. My scalp was the most difficult to treat and I used the products at night. That was two years ago and apart from one minor flare up, I’ve been completely clear. I feel much happier and so much more confident. Only the other day, I was thinking how nice it will be in the summer to wear shorts and short-sleeves in the sunshine without worrying about anyone seeing the patches of psoriasis.

I’ve recommended Soratinex to other people I know with the condition, and I’m hoping it works for them too. I suppose it seemed expensive initially, but now I just need a little of the gel and cream for maintenance. I have spent about £200 in two years to have clear skin. I used to spend much more than that on all sorts of lotions and potions. Then there were the prescriptions from the doctor for countless steroid creams and expensive light treatment – and they didn’t even work. Soratinex certainly did for me.