A new mum has claimed she’s been able to cure her ‘painful’ psoriasis with breast milk, saying it’s even worked wonders for her hubby’s skin as well.
Ashley LeMieux, 36, said her psoriasis got worse during pregnancy, leaving her skin incredibly painful and ‘always’ hurting.
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The condition also affected her ability to move her fingers, meaning the author was often unable to write.
After sharing her woes on Instagram, others suggested a bold natural remedy - telling her to rub her own breast milk into her hands.
Having done so for just four days, she said her psoriasis looked better than it had done in years, convincing her of breast milk’s ‘healing’ properties.
The mum of one, from Phoenix, Arizona, said: "I'd been talking about having psoriasis on my Instagram stories and so many people responded and told me to put breast milk on my hands.
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"They said it would heal the cuts and help the inflammation so I thought 'why not?'"
She continued: "I used it [breast milk] for a week and within four days my hands looked better than they have in two years. I thought 'oh my god wow, this is amazing'.
"I was putting it on every morning and night. I'd pour it over my hands then soak them in a bowl a little bit and let it sit on them.
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"I used frozen breast milk and I'd thaw it so when it went on it was really cold. It felt really smooth.
"Immediately after I put it on my hands, they just felt so much softer. The texture of the breast milk was really soothing. It took the redness and inflammation down almost immediately.
"It's completely cleared it up now, which is amazing.”
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Ashley, who has a one-month-old child, said psoriasis runs in her family.
"I got it a couple of years ago and then it got worse during pregnancy,” she explained.
"It kept getting worse and then the past couple of months were really bad, I could hardly bend my fingers which is a problem as I'm writer.
"When I was pregnant, during an ultrasound, the ultrasound tech grabbed my hands and said 'oh my gosh your hands look just like old lady hands'.
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"I'm only in my 30s but my hands were very cracked, wrinkly, and rough. They were hard.”
She went on: "Anytime I'd try to wash them, it felt like a million needles. My hands always hurt.
"I was always really embarrassed too because I'd be going to LA for work meetings and people would want to shake hands.
"I'd always have to figure out a way where I didn't have to shake them because I didn't want them to see it. It'd hurt if they touched my hands too. I felt very, very embarrassed.
"At this point I had nothing to lose, so it was worth a shot."
Ashley was so impressed by the results that she now applies it once a day in a lotion made from breast milk mixed with beeswax and coconut oil, also freezing some of it into a silicone ice roller to ‘de-puff’ her face in the morning.
Her husband Mike has been using it on his hands to counter dry skin from cold weather, finding they’re now the ‘softest’ they’ve ever been.
Ashley said: "It has beeswax and coconut oil melted together and then I added a few drops of vitamin E oil and three ounces of breast milk.
"The breast milk doesn't smell too good so I also add in a few drops of lavender essential oil. It makes it smell better.
"I mixed it all together and now the breastmilk lotion has hardened up and I keep it in little jars.
"I'm applying the lotion once a day. I don't know the science behind it but I just know that the milk is full of so many healing properties.”
She added: "A doctor said to me 'look what it's done for your hands - now picture what it does to the inside of your baby. I thought it makes so much sense to me.
"When I put it on in the morning it helps my redness and puffiness go down pretty quickly.
"I've noticed the effects just from the last two days. It's just really cool."
Ashley has since shared her tips on TikTok, with her videos racking up more than 1.8 million views and 300,000 likes.
Others agreed that breast milk could be ‘absolutely amazing’, with one saying: "My son is 11 months old and still can’t have dairy, I used his frozen breast milk on my face when I got breakouts, worked great."
Another said: "Every time my babies scratch themselves I would add breast milk and it would be better in like hours."
Jess Hardiman