A woman who suffered with chronic scalp psoriasis which made her head ‘itch’ and ‘bleed’ for more than 15 years has solved her issues after doctors failed to by creating her own ‘wonder shampoo’.
Natalie Fisher, 36, from Nottingham, first experienced an itchy, flaky scalp following the birth of her first son, Joseph in 2009.
Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes flaky patches of skin which form scales known as plaques, and many new mothers with the autoimmune disease – which causes skin cells to reproduce too quickly – to experience a sudden flare in symptoms around four month after delivery.
Natalie’s experience was so bad it caused raised, discoloured plaques on her scalp which would ‘crack and bleed’ and were particularly predominant along the hairline. The condition drove the mother-of-three to tears and she feared she might become a recluse and not set foot out of the front door.
The new mother went to the doctors, and they offered her a medicated shampoo, but this failed to work, and they said there was ‘nothing more that could be done’. For nine months, she tried everything she could to deal with the issue, but her psoriasis only went away when she fell pregnant for a second time, with her son Issac.
The condition soon flared up after giving birth to him and, again, cleared up when she became pregnant with her daughter, Edie, but returned and, for the past decade, she had to ‘learn to live with it’.
That was until Natalie, sick and tired of putting up with it, created her own shampoo and conditioner using natural essential oils such as rosemary, chamomile, clary sage, sandalwood, cedarwood, as well as nourishing ingredients such as argan oil, aloe vera, jojoba and coconut.
“Within a few weeks of Joseph being born, I started struggling with an itchy, sore scalp and then it just got worse and worse,” says Natalie. “I had never experienced any type of psoriasis before, so it was really shocking.
“My head would just itch all the time and then it started to crack and bleed, and I was in so much pain. My mum is a nurse, and she kept telling me to rub my head, rather than scratch it.
“I went to the doctors, and they prescribed me some medicated shampoo which I tried for a few weeks, but it didn’t work. With a newborn baby, it was a really stressful time – I tried every shampoo going but nothing made a difference. I even ordered a really expensive brand, but it felt like my head was burnt.
“It seemed like I was constantly scratching my head causing flakes to become more visible. It was a constant cycle. It got to the point where I wondered if I even wanted to leave the house because I didn’t want to go out as my head looked and felt so awful and it was really embarrassing. I have a pretty high pain threshold, but this level of discomfort over such a sustained period of time was unbearable.”
Natalie was ‘mystified’ as to why when she fell pregnant with her second and third child that the psoriasis would disappear but return with a vengeance within weeks of giving birth to both of them – and each time the condition grew worse.
“It was a complete mystery to me,” says Natalie. “I know women’s bodies go through various hormone imbalances when pregnant but when I fell pregnant with Issac and Edie the psoriasis would go away, my hair would grow thicker, and it was wonderful. After I gave birth it would come back and it got even worse each time.
“I tried scalp serums, creams and oils but nothing worked, and in the end, from conversations I had with my husband, it was just something that I decided I had to learn to live with it.”
With children now older, Joseph, now 15, Issac, 14 and Edie, 12, Natalie took the plunge and created Hed Honey, which is made in the UK and manufactured in Sussex.
Natalie says: “I started speaking to shampoo technicians and learning more about essential oils which was fascinating. I formulated which type of essential oils I wanted to include and Hed Honey was born. I created my first sample in January 2024 and after I washed my hair I knew it was a game changer.”
“From past experiences, I knew it could come back again, but I’ve kept using it and, for the past 10 or 11 months my psoriasis has not come back. It’s my miracle shampoo! Now I want to help other women who are struggling with this type of condition and for them to not feel like they have to live with it.”
Hed Honey starts from £15.99 and is only available to buy online
