23 answers

Any Remedy for Severe Baby Acne and Dry Scalp?

Hi moms,

My son is 1 month old today and I'm loving being a mom. I need some help though (in more ways than one :). My son has really bad acne all over his face (predominately on his forehead and cheeks). I've been using Dreft for his clothes so I don't think it's a rash but I'm not really sure. They look like red pimples some big and some small and some that have a whitehead. He also is suffering from a really dry and scaly scalp. I've been told it's not cradle cap (by my sister-in-law who has three girls) but I'm not sure. I've looked online and most articles recommend leaving the acne alone but I was wondering if there are any other remedies you've tried that would help soothe his poor skin. Thanks in advance for your help!

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

November 21st Entry:
So unfortunately the tiny bumps on his face got worse and I noticed some on his neck, chest and arms. I went back to the pediatrican and he told me that he has seborrheic dermatitis (in infants this is known as cradle cap). His scalp has just a couple of dry spots but he mentioned that the cradle cap had spread to other parts of his body and was the cause of the tiny red bumps. He suggested I use either a cradle cap shampoo or Selsun Blue for his scalp. He suggested I use Aquaphor or Cetaphil lotion for the rest of his body. He also suggested I try hydrocortisone cream on his face and body to get rid of the bumps. I put some on last night and noticed a difference today. He still has the bumps but they are now flesh toned vs red. I'll keep you all posted on any future progress. :)

November 14th Entry:
Thank you so much for all your great advice! I love this website :) I ended up buying Cetaphil for his face and have noticed a little improvement. I probably need to keep it up for the next couple of weeks.

I tried baby oil on his scalp since I had some available and left it on for a couple of minutes like you all suggested. Then I used the little baby brush they gave me at the hospital to massage his head. Oh my! The flakes came right off. It looked like I had poured a bag of shredded cocunut on his head as all the dry skin flaked off. I think I'm going to need to do it at least one more time but boy did it help! My husband even noticed that his hair felt different and looked different.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

Featured Answers

Hey M.! Hope this helps. Try Aveeno bath for baby (you will find it in the same area as other baby wash products), the soap and lotion. Due to the expense I used it on my daughter only on the effected area. So I would wash her head/face/ and even bottom when it has a diaper rash with the Aveeno and use the regular stuff else where. Then for lotion time I would use the Aveeno lotion only in those same areas. Continued use was the key for my daughter. Also, I know that some people/pedi doctors advice to baths approx every other day. But since my daughter was born we have given a bath most days, even a quick sponge down. A bath always seemed to help when her skin flared up. Her skin has never had a reaction due to frequent baths. I watch my friends baby frequently and he has had much worse skin issues, and not much seems to help,she has stopped putting lotion on him, except when she thinks he really needs it, and that has helped a little but not much so it is possible that home remidies may not work, but give those products a try and give his skin a little extra care, like maybe more cleaning, like I had to do, and it may just work! Good Luck

dry, scaly scalp sounds like cradle cap. If you rub baby oil in about five minutes before his bath and then wash it out it should start clearing up.

More Answers

HI M.,

Try aquaphor a couple of times a day. Use it on your son's scalp and the baby acne. I would try it for a day or two before you start using a more severe product. I love aquaphor for diaper rash too! Good Luck!

It very well could be a allergic reaction to what you are bathing your baby in. I work with a company that has all natural baby products and also a oil to put on dry scalp. We have had alot of great results when you start using natural products instead of all of those with chemicals. If interested you can give me a call at ###-###-#### or email ____@____.com. Thanks, K.

Hey M.! Hope this helps. Try Aveeno bath for baby (you will find it in the same area as other baby wash products), the soap and lotion. Due to the expense I used it on my daughter only on the effected area. So I would wash her head/face/ and even bottom when it has a diaper rash with the Aveeno and use the regular stuff else where. Then for lotion time I would use the Aveeno lotion only in those same areas. Continued use was the key for my daughter. Also, I know that some people/pedi doctors advice to baths approx every other day. But since my daughter was born we have given a bath most days, even a quick sponge down. A bath always seemed to help when her skin flared up. Her skin has never had a reaction due to frequent baths. I watch my friends baby frequently and he has had much worse skin issues, and not much seems to help,she has stopped putting lotion on him, except when she thinks he really needs it, and that has helped a little but not much so it is possible that home remidies may not work, but give those products a try and give his skin a little extra care, like maybe more cleaning, like I had to do, and it may just work! Good Luck

my babies had the same thing. i din't want to just 'leave it alone' because it looked raw and uncomfortable. my doctor told me to use head and shoulder and a baby brush for the cradle cap, that worked after one application. for the acne, cetaphil, cetaphil, cetaphil. use the soap every other day and the lotion/moisturizer 2 times a day. worked like a charm. have a great day!

What kind of soap are you using to wash him? All three of my children had something like this. Their pediatrician suggested that I switch the soap and lotions I use to the Baby Magic brand. He said that they are not as harsh on a baby's skin. Also, he said to get some of the Dove (the plain kind with nothing in it) body wash and use that every other bath and use Cetaphil lotion and it worked wonders when I changed. I also used the Neutragina T-Gel stuff for the dry scalp. It only takes a little and make sure it does not get in the baby's eyes. It only took me using this once to clear up the dry scalp. I used it on the next bath just to make sure and continued to use it a couple times a month and they did not have dry scalp again. I did buy the off brand of the Dove, Cetaphil, and T-Gel stuff to save some money and they worked just fine. I hope this helps you.

4-6 weeks is when baby acne pops up - it's totally normal and should go away within a few short weeks (scared me crazy when mine was his age and i was getting her pictures done - ack). However, if it doesn't or causes other issues a doctor can give you a cream. On the dry scalp a hospital nurse gave me the cure after I'd dealt with this for 7 months - hair conditioner (regular hair conditioner, not a specialized baby kind - I used garnier fructis). Shampoo is designed to dry out the oils and what you need is to moisten the oils so the flakes can break loose (thus the baby oil recommendations, it just didn't work for me) and then you can wash with shampoo to get the excess oils off, but I would wait until the next day so the scalp can maintain the right amount of moisture and not dry out again too quickly. She told me to put it on her head for about 4 minutes and then rinse it out just as I would my own hair. I had tried everything else everyone told me and this was the cure. Her head was cleared up immediately and I haven't seen the problem since.

Almost all newborn babys look like this;just some more severe.For the scalp u can try baby oil or lotion,as for the acne,it will generally clear up on it's own.If ur that worried about it,talk to ur pediatrician.

For the dry scalp, go to walmart and they have cradle cap cream with winnie the pooh on the front, my best friend used that and it worked pretty good, he out grew that quickly so I wouldn't worry. As for the baby acne.. my son had a little and i was told it bothered me more than him, now he's 10 months old and skin is perfect like an angels! Good luck!

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