Crade Cap

My son had terrible cradle cap and the only thing that worked for us was Olive Oil. I would rub olive oil all over his head about 5 minutes before his bath. I washed his head last so the oil could soak in and I massaged his head in a circular motion with his baby brush before washing with soap. Hope this helps!

You didn't go wrong anywhere. It happens. I used a little olive oil on my sons head before I shampooed it. The oil loosened it a little. Then I just picked it off until my son got too fussy. Both my boys had it. You can also buy cradle cap shampoo in the baby aisle.

My son also has cradle cap. Both of them did. My doctor told me to put baby oil on scalp and take a soft tooth brush and rub it around to remove the scales. then shampoo normally. My friend swears by head and shoulders shampoo and the toothbrush. Both have worked. Good luck

It's nothing you did or did not do! Some babies just have it.
My ped told me to use Selsun Blue and it cleared it up quickly. Good luck!

i see you've gotten a lot of responses, but i wanted to tell you that the stuff from disney with pooh on the bottle "gentle naturals" smells terrible!! i used it on my daughter and my husband could hardly stand the smell of her even after i shampooed her head 3 times! i should have done what we do in my hospital...mineral oil and a comb! works every time!! good luck!! and you did nothing wrong!!!

You didn't go wrong! Take it easy on yourself. It's common and children outgrow it. There are lots of home remedies involving various oils and a comb, but my ped recommended Selson Blue Shampoo - original. Just shampoo with a tiny bit of it (watch the eyes!) and it should start to heal up. DD had it for many months but the shampoo worked. It's a bit expensive, though.

Hi A R,

You didn't do anything wrong. This happens as a natural course for infants and/or children.

Here are some web sites:

http://www.amoils.com/baby-products/cradle-cap.html

http://www.mothernature.com/library/bookshelf/books/50/33...

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

I used the olive oil, and that works, but it is messy. I also bought Nuetregena T-gel. It is for adults, so you put about a dime size amount on your hand and dilute it with water before using on your child AND DON'T GET IT IN THEIR EYES. Leave sit for a minute, then use the baby comb or brush to get it off, then shampoo as normal.

My boy is now three and a half, and he still gets it. I read to try using chemical free shampoos, like Burts Bees, or shampoos with green tea extract, to help as well.

My son had cradle cap as well. We used baby oil. I would rub some on his head and wait a few minutes. I then took a baby brush or a soft toothebrush and went over his scalp in a circular motin. Then I gave him a bath. It took a couple of weeks, but it cleared up. Good luck!
L.

I had the same problem with my daughter. She had horrible cradle cap. My pediatrician told me to use Selsun Blue also but I was hesitant to use it. I think I used it once on her and it didn't do much. I was so nervous about getting it into her eyes and it smelled awful! I found a cradle cap lotion by Gentle Naturals especially for babies and it only took ONE application and it was all gone! All I did was scrub her head with it while she was in the bathtub, then while it was still in, used a fine tooth comb to lift all the scales and comb them out, then rinsed. After I washed her hair I used the comb again to get the rest of the scales that were left over and I never had to do it again. It worked WONDERS!!! I highy recommend it! You can find it in most drug stores or supermarkets. Good luck!

Hi! Both my boys had cradle cap for months. With my first, it slowly got better over time and he had a lot of hair so I couldn't see it. The second was another story. The ped. suggested using dandruff shampoo but I didn't want to use that on him, he has eczema and I was afraid of irritating that. A good friend of mine cured his cradle cap. She took veggie oil (doesn't matter what kind) and massaged it into his scalp. We let it sit for about five minutes and then with a fine tooth baby comb she combed out the scales. His head looked great and it did not come back. This was a very messy process and his hair had to be washed 3 times to get all the oil out but it was well worth the mess.

Best of luck, you did nothing wrong, it just happens to babies. :)

You have done nothing wrong my dear! It is frustrating though... My 5 month old daughter is having cradle cap full-blown and showed signs of it around 4 months... At her 4 month checkup, I asked the dr. and he recommended using Selsen Blue shampoo (just like we would use) and diluting it 40% - put on head and scrub gently with a brush while trying to leave on the scalp for about 5 minutes (which is quite the feat with my little squirmer!). We have done it the past week or so and it has helped tremendously. Check with your dr if you're concerned with using the shampoo (they actually have a Natural formula available, which is what we are using now for her) - I have also heard that using baby oil can help as well, but we haven't tried this ourselves for me to elaborate. Hope this helps!

My daughter had it really BAD and it was gross and smelly! I tried the olive oil and that didn't work (just made her smell like a salad!!) but finally found a good Tea Tree Oil Shampoo (check at your hair salon if you can't find some in the drugstore). Worked great and made her hair smell great!
Good luck

My little one is 3 months and has cradle cap. I read somewhere to put olive oil on her scalp and comb in through before bath time. It really helped, it goes away a little more each time we do it.

We used coconut oil for all our son's skin issues (cradle cap, baby acne, eczema, etc) - it cleared it up within a few uses, is quickly absorbed, you don't have to worry about their roving hands getting it in their mouths. Good luck :)

A.R.

My sister had this with her one son. There are several things that you can try. You can massage olive oil into the scalp and then rinse out with a simple shampoo. or Gentle Naturals by Disney by Dell Pharmaceuticals. This product is actually for Cradle Cap.

Good Luck.

A. C. - Hanover, PA

Rub a little olive oil on baby's scalp before you wash the hair, then brush it with a baby brush. I doubt you've done anything wrong, its just one of those things that sticks around- think exzema of the scalp. My son is 3 and I still have to work on his scalp sometimes.

I rubbed a lil olive oil on my daughters scalp, and took a washclosh and massaged for a few min, then rinsed it. Washed her hair a few times with baby shampoo, and rinsed. Then applied curel lotion mixed with aquaphor ointment and massage that into her scalp. Worked wonders.

You didn't go wrong! You can use the head and shoulders sensitive shampoo. It works, usually the first time. We always went with the store brand and it works just as well.

Good luck!

Make sure it is really cradle cap. One of my sons needed Tegrin to clear up his scalp as a baby. Interesting, when the temps get cold, he needs it yearly. He is 16 now and the same old fashioned method still works.

The down side is your baby doesn't smell like baby shampoo:(
M.

We used a thin layer of vaseline that we spread on my daughter's head before her bath. We let it sit there until the end of the bath then rinsed it off when we washed her hair. Then we used a cradle cap comb. the Worked like a charm.

Rub with olive oil before giving a bath. Then wash the hair. THe olive oil takes the cradle cap right of.

My son had *severe* cradle cap. I don't know if your son has a lot of hair, but mine did (which made it all the more gross). The best thing we did was shave his head with clippers. That pretty much took care of it. Other than that I did the head & shoulders, oils out the waazoo, and perscription medication. None of it worked, and one day it went away and the poor boy could have a head of hair. Good luck, it is SOOOOOO not your fault!

You didn't do ANYTHING wrong. Some babies get it some don't. I did practically everything the same with my two and my daugther never got it and my son did. Believe it or not my pediatrician recommended Selsun Blue - it really smells and do NOT get it in their eyes but it works! GODD LUCK!

You did nothing wrong- some babies just get cradle cap and others don't. My 4 1/2 month old daughther has had cradle cap on and off since she was about 2 months. I use the Gentle Naturals Disney product that's especially made for cradle cap. I follow the instructions and it seems to work. I just massage it on her scalp while she's in the bath. Then, I comb her hair as much as she will let me to loosen the scales. Finally, I give her a good hair wash with the regular baby wash. Because she had the cradle cap really bad and she has a TON of hair, I had to repeat the applications several times before it looked better (it looked like it was snowing when I combed her hair after her baths!!!) I just had to use it again tonight after about 4 weeks not needing it. I don't know how much hair your son has, but my only complaint about the product is it makes the hair really greasy and it takes a few shampoos for the hair not to look and feel greasy after using it. I'm sure it's b/c the product has to be oily to loosen the scales. Good luck!

put baby oil on it and gently brush with a baby brush to remove loose flakes

Good Day Momma!

First of all "you did not go wrong!"

Cradle cap comes from the shampoo or soap that you use to wash their hair. It is shampoo or soap left on the scalp. Use warm water and rub gently until it goes away.

Have a Blessed Day!

I. B.: Mom of 4 and Grandma of 1.

A R- My son is two now but when he was a baby I had the same problem. I am trying to rack my brain for the name of the product I used (that really really worked) but all I can remeber was that it came in a green bottle (small) and it had winney the pooh on it and somewhere in the name was natural something or other. Sorry to be so vague and I wished I could remeber exactly.

My son had cradle cap and when I asked the doctors, they recommended using a dandriff shampoo for 3 or 4 washings. It cleared it right up. Just be careful not to get the soap in their eyes.

Hope it helps.
K.

With my daughter, we tried to do some of the things listed, but it kept coming back. The pediatrician said that it will continue to come back until it goes away, so I just left it alone. I figured, if its not hurting her and its just going to come back anyway, why fuss with it? Once her hair grew in more, you couldn't see it anyway, and sure enough, one day it was just gone.

Use your energy to cut those finger nails that NEVER STOP GROWING... :)

Good luck.

Hiya! My son had so much hair when he was born, people were asking me if I he had a wig on... so needless to say we had some issues with his head/hair. The pediatrician told me to use a very small, soft toothbrush when I shampooed his hair. I don't know how much hair your baby has, but I would gently scrub his scalp kinda while brushing the hair... Hope this helps, good luck!!!

simple just apply a small amount of baby oil - massage - comb out with small tooth comb - Good luck

You haven't done anything wrong! :-)

My daughter (my 1st) never really had cradle cap, but my son had it BAD for months!
We used olive oil on it. We just took olive oil & massaged it in really well & let it sit on there for 10 or 20 min & then shampoo'd it out.

I think really, it'll just go away when it goes away. You're not doing anything wrong though, I bet.
Hang in there!