Psoriasin Products
A review of the Web advertising for Alva-Amco’s Psoriasin products.
Psoriasin psoriasis products are manufactured by a company called Alva-Amco Pharmacal Companies, Inc. The biggest problem I see is that their web site does not mention what the active ingredients are, at all, nor any of the possible side effects. The claims they do make are not completely blown out of porportion, but given the lack of ingredient information, they could have been, and may sucker in those people who know that coal tar or salicylic acid don’t do anything for them. An email request for the ingredients got a prompt reply:
Psoriasin Gel: The gel product is 1.25% coal tar, with a few emollients and other inactive ingredients. Thisl level of coal tar is on the low side, and may not provide satisfactory results for some.
Psoriasin Scalp: The scalp product is 0.66% coal tar in an alcohol base. This level of coal tar is very, very low, but using an alcohol base is new to me. It may be that the alcohol will deliver the tar “deeper” into the skin, but I know of no solid medical basis for this.
Psoriasin S/A Therapeutic Shampoo: The shampoo is 3% salicylic acid, which seems to be a pretty common dosage. It should be okay for removing built-up scale. Note that the shampoo is not advertised at the site.
Psoriasin Scalp: The scalp product is 0.66% coal tar in an alcohol base. This level of coal tar is very, very low, but using an alcohol base is new to me. It may be that the alcohol will deliver the tar “deeper” into the skin, but I know of no solid medical basis for this.
Psoriasin S/A Therapeutic Shampoo: The shampoo is 3% salicylic acid, which seems to be a pretty common dosage. It should be okay for removing built-up scale. Note that the shampoo is not advertised at the site.
Update, July 5, 2009: I have used Psoriasisn Gel, about a year ago. I probably used it wrong, though. The package says “vanishing formula,” but I always saw the classic yellow/brown of coal tar on my skin. Perhaps I didn’t rub it in enough, but that’s really hard to do when one is trying to treat the backs of one’s own hands and so cannot wash them right after application of the gel. So after a while, I got little gel “boogers” on my skin, kind of like semi-dried rubber cement (but which smell strongly of coal tar). Also, I found the alcohol used as a base for the gel to be really drying to my skin. Perhaps I should give it another try, on a different body part, sometime soon.