Cradle Cap - Winchester, VA

Like one other lady on here, I swear by dandruff shampoo! Nothing else worked like it. As she said, be extremely careful not to get in the eyes. That was the only bad part of using it.

I think cradle cap comes from not assimilating certain foods a baby eats. My baby gets it when he eats cereals or nuts. He gets eczema when he eats eggs. When he avoids these foods, his skin is perfect.

When he has cradle cap, I put vaseline or some think cream on it 10 mins before his bath and just before, use a comb to remove the softened flakes.

Make a very diluted mixture of melaleuca (or high grade tea tree oil-at least T36-C5)) oil and olive oil. leave it on for a few minutes and then wash with hair wash. we use a natural ingredient hair wash and body wash with my son.

Hi H. ~ my youngest had awful cradle cap, we did the baby and comb, but it kept coming back until we washed a few times with head and shoulders shampoo (dr. recommended) it worked wonders!! (you can purchase the travel size which is cheap and more than you'll need). To not get it in his eyes I did it on the couch and just took a towel to wipe the shampoo out and rinsed in a container of water. H. this is helpful!! Best wishes and prayers ~ J.

When my little one was 2 months the doctor said she had cradle cap and recommended using regular adult shampoo like Suave. It worked!! Just be careful it doesn't get in her eyes.

Hi H.,

My daughter didn't get cradle cap until she was 18 months old-I found this stuff at Target (by the baby shampoo's) called gentle naturals (its in a green bottle with winnie the pooh on the front) it costs about $8.00 though but it worked great. You put it in their hair for about 15 min and then use a comb to comb out the loose flakes. I've used it once and she still hasn't got cradle cap again. H. that helped, I do know that there are some natural remedies that don't cost that much $ that you can try as well. Good luck! C.

My son is 5 and still sometimes has a problem with this. Try Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo or the formula one from paul mithchell careful of eyes as this is not kid friendly!! Also we would put baby lotion on his head and just comb it up. His head would be very red and irritated and sometime clumps of hair would come out to but it eventually went away. It looks worse than it really is but I know for me it was embarrasing to always have the hairdresser saying something to me about it, but there is nothing we can do to stop it they just have to grow out of it. Good Luck

Hi H.,

I cut and paste this out of The Baby Center website:

How should I treat my baby's flaky scalp?
You don't really need to do anything, but if it bothers you, try shampooing more frequently and gently brushing your baby's scalp with a soft brush or a terrycloth towel.

For stubborn cases, some parents find an oil remedy helpful. (The oil helps to loosen dry flakes.) If you want to give it a try, rub just a small amount of a pure, natural oil — such as almond or olive oil — on your baby's scalp and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Then gently comb out the flakes with a fine-toothed comb or brush them out with a soft brush.

Be sure to follow up by washing your baby's scalp with a gentle baby shampoo — the last thing you want to do is leave oil on his head, which could clog the pores and cause the flakes to stick. You might try leaving the shampoo on for a few minutes before rinsing, to help cut the oil.

It might help you. My son had this late like your child and I just literally picked it off while he was asleep. I tried brushing it but it didn't work. H. you find some solution but if not it will go away at some point it sounds
like.

My son had cradle cap for a while and my best friend suggested when bathing him have a baby brush for the tub and after putting the shampoo into the baby's hair give a gentle scrub with the brush. It worked wonders for my son. H. it works for you.

S.

When my eldest had it as a baby, I found a method that used something you would already have and it worked great the first time. You just coat her head with either vegetable or olive oil, let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then use a very fine tooth comb to remove the "chunks" that the oil has softened. Then you wash her hair as normal. When I did it, i massaged my daughter's head for a while while the oil was on it and she loved it...i had no problems getting her to stay still. Good luck!

Hi H.. My daughter had the same thing for the longest time! What worked for us was mineral oil. I massaged it into the dry areas and then combed it out with a comb. My daughter is pretty bald, it might not work as well if your daughter has longer hair. Good luck.

K.

My daughter too had cradle cap. I read an article in one of my parent magazines that said to put mineral oil on it and lightly scrub it with a toothbrush and allow it to stay on their head for 5 minutes. I've done it twice now and her cradle cap is almost completely gone. Now it's weird because the stuff seemed to come off like scabs for a little while but it didn't seem to bother my daughter. Good luck!

I've used coconut oil on my daughter's hair and it's improved drastically. I would pour a bit before giving her a bath, then shampoo (rinsing many times to prevent future cradle cap), and I'll comb her hair to make sure most, if not all, flakes are gone. Coconut oil smells good, and is really healthy for the skin as well. It also keeps her curls tight and healthy looking. I have started to use it on my hair as well.

Hello I have 2 kids, a boy (7) and a girl(2), both of them had BAD cradle cap. My son had it so bad that his hair fell out when the patches dryed. The best thing i found that worked, and thier doctor suggested, is Selsun Blue. I know it might sound harsh but It worked great! Just make sure it does not get in your babies eyes. You don't need a lot just a small amount and within time you should see improvment. I tried everything from baby shampoo to the shampoo made expecially for cradle cap. Nothing worked except for the Selsum. And once its cleared you only need to use it when and if it comes back. Try it... it worked. Good luck. J.

My pediatrician suggested rubbing a little baby oil on the area to help get rid of the cradle cap. It worked.

My son had cradle cap till he was almost 2... We didn't do much of anything except pick a bit of at a time!

When my kids were little i purchases a soft nail brush and baby oil, i would shampoo their hair then pour on the baby oil and brush very lightly then rinse and lightly shampoo again everytime i bathed them. It worked for me

My son and my best friends daughter have had the same problem with cradle cap. I found that rubbing baby oil on their head after a bath will help, also using a soft baby brush after baths works well too.

H. that helps you