Craddle Cap

Use regular ol' dandruff shampoo, the kind with pyrithione zinc in it. The cradle cap can actually appear anywhere on the body, and can look different, depending upon where on the body it is. This was recommended to me by my son's pediatrician. In fact, her started getting it on his body, and for quite a long time I used dandruff shampoo exclusively, both for his head and his body.

Good luck

My son had this problem before (he's 7 month now). I tried everything, but all didn't work. Finally I put cetaphil cream on his head whenever his head looked dry. And it worked. You can buy this cream in cosco. It's larger size and cheaper.
Good luck!

S.,

This is what my doctor told me when my now 5 year old was a baby: Try not to worry about it. It doesn't itch. It doesn't bother baby. It just looks ugly, and bothers us parents more than it does baby.

I flaked and scraped it off my son's head, but couldn't do as much with my daughter because her hair was thicker. He will outgrow it, just be patient.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Our pediatrician said the best thing to do was use adult dandruff shampoo. He assured us it was perfectly safe. There are two different kinds of adult dandruff shampoo, so read the label. The zinc one is the stronger one.

If you are really against that idea, then you could always try saturating baby's head in cooking oil, wait 10 minutes or so, then gently scratch it off, then wash.

We used baby oil and a fine tooth comb =) We just put the oil on her head and let it sit for a little bit, then combed her hair and it just kinda flaked off. The tricky part is getting the oil out of your sons hair =( We just washed it a few times when we gave our daughter a bath. Good luck!! Hopefully it won't last long, ours didn't =)

It sounds harsh but brush it off. I was told by my midwife you can make a baking soda paste, apply it then brush it off. I never did the paste but I definitely got more aggressive at scrubbing his head. He had it bad at 2 mos. but it has disappeared for the most part. (He's 11 mos now.) I hear it can hold on for a whole year.

Good luck!

Breastmilk on the head works wonders! You can also try olive oil or tea tree oil and leave on for several minutes. Then lightly brush the flakes off with a soft toothbrush. Don't worry, though, your little one will outgrow it.

S.,

One good way is to rub coconut oil on his scalp at night and then bathe him in the morning. The oil is solid when cool but will become oily when warmed in your hands. Make sure it's organic. Hope this helps!

-K. (mom of 2-month old son)

I used to use baby oil. Let it sit on the scalp for awhile and then comb it out. There is an oatmeal remedy, but I can't remember it. Try looking online. There are lots of methods. Both my son's had it, but I read that it doesn't harm anything so I stopped trying to get rid of it. It didn't bother either one of them. But your son is young and I would definitely try something.

I have had good results from rubbing teatree oil on cradle cap. It is natural, which is what I prefer, so that feels like win/win to me! Blessings to you and yours! :)

I rubbed olive oil on my son's head about half an hour before his bath and brushed it with soft brush. Not only it worked, also his hair got shiner. Hope it helps.

My hairdresser suggested that I buy a nail brush cleaner and use the soft brissels on baby's head if your observing craddle cap. After a few weeks, hopefully you'll see some improvement.

S.

Burt's Bee's Apricot Oil!! This stuff works wonders!! The cradle cap should be gone within a few days of applying the oil (apply once or twice a day.) :-)

S.

Hi S.,

I use baby oil or Vaseline. Put it on their head at night with a baby hat that ties under their chin. Next morning, shampoo. And repeat again that night. It worked for me.

Good Luck,
C. M Hamlin

There is a cradle cap shampoo (Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Treatment - 4 oz) at the Target/Fredmeyers/babies r us or most retailers. It works really well. I had tried the baby oil and comb routine for 2 weeks without any luck of clearing it all up. My friend recommended this and sure enough by the end of the week it was all gone. I loved it. Good Luck.

With newborns it's totally natural and as they get older, it's drying skin or irritation in many cases. If you are using a regular baby shampoo, I would encourage you to switch to something like Earth Mama Angel Baby Shampoo. It's organic, chemical free shampoo that many parents have reported healed up their children's "cradle cap" after a week or so. Any child can develop an allergy to any chemical, enzyme or food with repeated exposure, so it's very possible it's a reaction to something in existing products being used.

The good thing is it doesn't itch or bother them and will usually resolve itself in a few months if you choose to do nothing too.

cradle cap is excessive oil built up on the scalp, so you don't want to add more oil. use dandruff shampoo, like head and shoulders or selsun blue. you can use it a few times a week, careful not to get it in his eyes. my youngest son had health problems as an infant, so we saw a lot of pediatric doctors. every single one of them told me to use dandruff shampoo for his cradle cap, and it also helps with baby acne. it really does work.