Kim Kardashian says psoriasis flare-up was ‘covering her face’ before Met Gala

‘There was a spot really close to my eye, and it would just burn a little bit,’ Kardashian tells podcast

Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala in a vintage Bob Mackie dress famously worn by Marilyn Monroe (Getty Images for The Met Museum)

Kim Kardashian has recalled how a psoriasis flare-up was “covering” her face before the 2022 Met Gala.

The 43-year-old reality star spoke candidly about her skin condition during an episode of Dr Thaïs Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney’s SHE MD podcast, which aired on July 16. As noted by the Mayo Clinic, psoriasis is “a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp”. Symptoms can go through cycles of flaring up for a few weeks or months, to “then subsiding for a while”.

During her appearance on SHE MD, Kardashian discussed some of the flare-ups she’s experienced, referring to one itchy rash she had on her face before the Met Gala in 2022.

“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,” she explained. “I remember I had the Met Ball coming up that week and it was covering my face.”

When Hanley asked if the psoriasis on Kardashian’s face before the fashion event was “stress-related,” the Skims founder wasn’t too sure.

“I’m trying to think of what I was going through at that time. There’s a lot I could say,” she explained. “But I think I manage my stress pretty well, so it’s shocking to me. Because I’ll be going through some really intense times, and nothing [no flare ups].”

The Kardashians star explained that when she attended the 2022 Met Gala – where she wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress – her makeup artist covered up the rash on her face.

Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala (AFP via Getty Images)

“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,” she continued.

She also confessed that she tried to minimize the flare-up on her own before the event. “I fell asleep with tar patches on my face and homeopathic creams. I was literally drinking my tar teas,” she said. “I was doing everything I could possibly do at that time.”

This isn’t the first time that Kardashian has opened up about her psoriasis. In July 2022, she first revealed that the diet she went on before the Met Gala gave her psoriatic arthritis, a form of arthritis that affects people who have psoriasis.

During an interview with Allure, she explained that while she usually had a plant-based diet, she followed a new regime for three weeks before the event, which included eating meat.

“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 said.

In January, the SKKN By KIM boss also gave fans a glimpse of her experiences with psoriasis on her Instagram Story. “How crazy is my psoriasis right now, guys?” she wrote in the caption of her post, which included a video of a large red rash on her leg. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I gotta figure this out. This is crazy.”

After acknowledging how “painful” her symptoms were, she emphasized that she wasn’t sure what was causing the flare-up at the time.

“Not sure what my triggers are. I haven’t changed my diet. I’ve tried everything!” she added. “I usually just have this spot, but now I can tell it’s going down my leg and up my leg and all up my thigh. So, I just know it’s time to figure this out… Just wanted to share my journey with you guys #psoriasissucks.”