My 21 month old daughter had cradle cap really bad. I have no idea how to get rid of it. I am sure I am more bothered by it than anyone else but does anyone have some suggestions?
Update: I am going to the store tomorrow to buy something just not sure what yet lol I will let everyone know what works. Thanks ladies!
Lemon juice. When my son gets cradle cap I take a little olive oil, rub it in, put him in the bath comb the flakes out, then I put lemon juice on the affected area and let it sit while I bathe the rest of him. After a few minutes I carefully wash his hair. By the next day or day after that, it's ALL gone! :)
Head and Shoulders has a dry scalp formula. I used that on my son's stubborn cradle cap. I used the absolute least amount I could and was very careful not to get it in his eyes!
My twins had the same problem. We stopped using the combination hair/body wash that they make for babies/toddlers, and switched to a shampoo/conditioner combination by Suave. It was gone within a week. Their hair no longer feels like hay after their baths either, it's nice and soft. I think it's about $3 a bottle.
Our pediatrician told us to use Head and Shoulders/Selson Blue on our kiddos. That knocked it out really quickly too. :)
Walmart and Target both carry a cradle cap treatment that is made by gentle naturals. It is in a light mint green bottle with a mint and purple label. I only had to use it once on my son. I just put some on his head and rubbed it with a nail brush then shampooed as normal. Worked like a charm.
My ped said to massage with extra virgin olive oil for few minutes and then scrape gently with the baby comb and give a hair wash with head and shoulders (she said any anti dandruff shampoo) immediately...I did it regularly and it worked.
Head&Shoulders-make sure it doesn't get in the eyes
Mustela's newborn cradle cap foam shampoo worked wonders on my toddler.
Rub a little baby oil on it, then use a soft baby comb to comb the scalp. My son would just lay and let me do it. I think it felt good. A friend of mine told me there is a shampoo, maybe mustela brand? That's good too, but spendy.
My little one had terrible cradle cap as well. She actually had it going down her forhead almost to her eyebrows. Really bad. When she was 6-8 months old, we were finally perscribed a steroid to get rid of it. We took it reluctantly, but it worked. In hindsight, itchy eczema-y skin was one of her symptoms of lactose intolerance as she got older. She was always very itchy.... she also had loose stools. Something to consider.
My boys had that and the best thing I found was to rub some baby oil in their hair and let it sit for awhile then take a small comb and brush it out. It might take a few treatments but it is very mild and easy to do. Good Luck.
I think when my first kid had it I rubbed vaseline on his scalp and then gently scraped it off.
Put Olive oil on it. Let it soak for about 30 minutes (watch out for furniture - it will stain). Then use a comb it comb pull out the scales. The oil loosens the the scales and then they come off easier. Then wash her hair well. You may need to repeat in a few days but eventually you should get to the bottom of the buildup. Also it is good to know that it comes from over productive oil glands on the scalp. try washing her hair less often or with a more mild shampoo.
Another vote for the Gentle Naturals in the green bottle. My son and daughter both have eczema and recurrent cradle cap and after a couple of treatments with this it is all gone. I still haven't used up my original bottle. Let it sit for a while and then either comb or use a soft toothbrush to loosen the scaly parts. Depending how much hair she has it might be a little messy and I have also used the Neutrogena T shampoo on my son who is older. That worked well, but do be careful when you rinse.
Hi S.,
Well, what did you find? We have some awesome, 100% natural, oils and hair care products. It seems that a couple of months is needed to help your girl grow through the cradle cap issue. www.youngliving.org/407018.
Selsun Blue. It works great. With every wash you can see an improvement. This was what my pediatrician recommended. Every little while we get a build up again and it works every time. Just remember it's not tear free so watch the eyes :)
take her to the pediatrician, they can prescribe this foam stuff that you put in their hair after a bath and it works quick. i only had to use it on my daughter like 3 times before it went away completely.
my sister used a nail brush (with the soft bristles) and aveeno baby wash on her kids and on my son to get rid of it. if that doesn't work, yeah the dr has something for it.
I used Neutrogena T-Gel and it works amazingly well. It smells really bad and isn't tear free so you have to be very careful. You put the shampoo on and let it still for a few minutes, then, I used a small plastic flea comb from the pet store and gently combed out the flakes. I only used it a couple times and the cradle cap went away completely and never came back. Any other stuff I tried never worked and I never wanted to put olive oil in my kids hair!!
Are you using Johnson&Johnson's baby shampoo? If so stop immediately. Go to a salon that specializes in cutting kid's hair and ask for a shampoo that won't cause scalp problems. My son had horrible "cradle cap" but it turned out to be the baby shampoo causing it. The woman at Kid's Hair had me switch him to a tear free formula they carried and it was fantastic, no more scalp problems.
Rub baby oil into her scalp and let it sit for a while. Get a fine tooth comb and gently comb it out. It may take a few applications to get it all out. If you can put some in before bed and let it sit overnight and then try in the morning.
We used the cradle cap stuff from Target (comes in a green bottle with Disney characters on it). It made our son's hair greasy but got rid of the cradle cap. The cradle cap kept coming back though until we stopped using the Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. We switched over to Aveeno and our son's been fine ever since.
They actually make a 'cradle cap gel' -- I found it at Walmart. Not sure of the brand, but it was in a blue colored squeeze bottle. Otherwise, baby oil works pretty well too. Leave it on for a while, then wash it out, pick off the gross stuff. :o) Good luck!
This may sound gross, but my husband has a beard like Homer Simpson, and in the evening when he would cuddle our boy he would gently rub his chin on our son's scalp. When my boy developed his first case of cradle cap, we found out because there were flakes on my husband's chin. LOL. My husband continued doing this, and our boy had no trauma from having his scalp rubbed and combed. We still laugh about it.
Good luck.
My 10 month old has cradle cap as well. My Ped. suggested using a dandruff shampoo 2 times a week and scrubbing/letting it set for a few minutes before washing it off. Then, when her hair is still wet, I brush it to get any of the flakes off. It seems to be working. Be careful not to let any of the shampoo get in the child's eyes, though.
Oil may work too, but depends upon how much hair she has. My daughter has a lot of hair and the oil was just too much of a mess for me to deal with.
Good luck and God Bless!
H. :-)
