Coal tar is a relatively old fashioned treatment for skin conditions (it’s just a by-product of coal, one of the most common fossil fuels on earth).  But the fact that it’s been around a long time doesn’t make it any less legitimate as a treatment (I believe emergency room doctors still use charcoal consumption to treat ingested poison).  In any case, as is typical in the medical industry, scientists are always coming up with better chemical compounds.

At this point, the psoriasis industry seems to be slowly moving away from coal tar as a primary treatment for psoriasis and similar skin conditions.  Neutrogena, for example, has created a cleaner derivative of coal tar called “Neutar” for their T-Gel (an anti-psoriasis shampoo).

Other ways to treat psoriasis include salicylic acid,  UV rays and basic moisturizers.