American singer Cyndi Lauper has opened up about her ‘awful’ health condition, which she’s been hiding for years – and even resorted to extreme measures to keep it under wraps
Cyndi Lauper has revealed her agonising battle with a hidden ‘awful’ health condition that she suffered in silence for years.
The 71-year-old legendary singer, known for her trailblazing pop anthems, opened up about the lengths she went to keep her psoriasis a secret from her fans, including spray painting her skin for TV appearances and having special outfits designed for shows. Lauper, who appeared on the Graham Norton Show on Friday night (January 31), was diagnosed with plaque psoriasis in 2010, and she endured an arduous journey towards finding a specialist who could manage her symptoms effectively.
Plaque psoriasis, as the NHS explains, is a common form that causes dry, scaly skin patches, particularly on areas like elbows and knees, often accompanied by itching or soreness. “It wasn’t just a rash for me. It’s my whole body,” she candidly explained to Prevention. “When I was just living with it, it was flared [up] on the back of my arms. I thought, ‘Here’s a good idea, I’ll wear shirts that open in the front so I don’t look like Mother Cabrini, all covered up’… Then, of course, [the psoriasis] moves.”
Lauper confessed to using spray paint as a cover-up for her condition before TV appearances until she finally sought medical help. She has previously shared how she deals with severe flare-ups of the condition: “When psoriasis gets really bad, it’s really hard to get up again,” acknowledging there was a time when the condition covered most of her body, describing it as “looked like someone threw boiling water on me.”
The star discussed her attempts to hide her psoriasis under high-necked clothes, turtlenecks and long sleeves, admitting she looked like a nun. In her quest for other solutions, she found that makeup only worsened her skin texture and turned to self-tanner in an effort to “look normal”. Lauper also spoke about incorporating mesh netting into her stage outfits to hide her affected skin, reports Birmingham Live.
She has spoken about being debilitated by her psoriasis, likening herself to the Elephant Man when discussing her struggles after partnering with the National Psoriasis Foundation. She revealed: “My immune system got a little wacky, and it took my strength away. My skin was so inflamed, it could not regulate hot and cold, so I had the chills all the time.”
You can catch Cyndi Lauper on the Graham Norton Show at 10.40pm on BBC One.
