PSA: Psoriasis has a mind of its own, and is hard to control. Like a naughty teenager.

Our friend Bree knows this all too well — with life being centred around knowing her triggers, and avoiding them at all costs. This doesn't stop her from spreading SO much psoriasis awareness, every day. It's her ethos.

It can be hard to track down this gal. A 22-year-old from WA, Bree is a free spirit who's obsessed with travel. She's pretty inspiring — last year she had a 'f*** it' moment and uprooted her whole life to see the world. Psoriasis NEVER stops her from livin' to the fullest.

Being told she had this autoimmune condition as a little girl made sense, coz her Dad had been dealing with it too. It didn't stop many misdiagnoses before finally landing on it though. Drainer.

Growing up, Bree was super conscious of what others thought of her skin. Now, she makes the active decision to focus her attention on her OWN thoughts, while continuing to love herself.

2021

This warrior has always put herself online, to spread awareness and show off her incredible spots. We first chatted over DM's in 2021, during a flare-up full of large, raised red plaques.

She learnt pretty quickly that A LOT triggered her (cries). So, overhauling everything was the only answer. Ie: cutting out foods that flared her riiiight up. Alcohol, sugar, gluten and lactose to name a few.

Tbh, mindfulness and consideration were key through it. This meant constantly thinking about the foods fuelling her bod, being mindful of daily actions to not trigger the skin, and keeping up with movement that felt good. It was the only way to get through.

“Once, I had a doctor ask for permission to show my skin to some medical students (I wasn’t even there to talk about my psoriasis). Through came five students, all looking at me and talking. I went for a sore throat and walked out with a piece of paper referring steroid creams.”

2022

We quickly became internet pals. So, she flew to Melbourne in 2022 for our community photoshoot. Can we take a moment to admire how incredible it turned out?

Whilst in town, Bree even had people stop her on the street, asking what was up with her skin. A common occurrence, everywhere she goes tbh.

“I love to tell people about psoriasis. The more questions asked, the more I can educate others about flare ups.”

2023

But oh boy, her life changed last year. After going through an awful breakup (aka: extreme stress), her skin flared up like nobody’s business. But this time, it was different. Things that used to help her skin heal, stopped working.

Going out in the sunshine used to be so helpful. Now, any areas that had sun exposure would break out in angry plaques. Grrr.

Bree visited us in April 2023, while in the thick of it. Her plaques had turned into more raindrop-type papules, like guttate psoriasis. It had spread down to her stomach, too.

Sooo, she’d gone from living it up in South East Asia with minimal flares, to a HUGE battle ahead of her. One year on, she’s still fighting.

Now

Bree has spent A LOT of time learning to love her spots — and truly wouldn’t have it any other way.

She’s just finished her first year of solo travel and loved it so much, she's onto the next continent (with stops in Melbourne along the way to visit us).

It has been incredible to keep up with Bree's life, positive outlook, and genuine passion for spreading awareness.

Bree’s advice to live to the fullest: