Can't Get Rid of Cradle Cap

I used a toothbrush and a little oil with my baby. I just kept brushing and brushing (not scrubbing) and it was gone after just a few days.

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This is a suggestion my friend made to me and it worked really well for my daughter who had horrible cradle cap (she STILL has a bit of it every once in a while and she is now 2)...
Warm up a bit of olive oil and rub it into her scalp real good (make sure its not too hot first!). Then cover it with plastic wrap, then put a "tight" baby hat over it (to make sure the plastic wrap stays in place and doesn't cause a choking hazard - of course keep a close eye on her anyways while this is on her). This will keep her head nice and warm - which helps loosen the cradle cap even more. Leave it on for 5-10 minute, and then wash her hair with baby shampoo as you normally would, scrubbing as hard as you can without hurting baby. Do this once in a while, as needed (once a week, or once a month, whatever you think is necessary!) Sounds really silly, but it works! :)

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Hi C.,
We had the same issue and the most important thing I can tell you is don't stress about it! It's not bothering her, it's not going to hurt her, and it will eventually go away. Just be sure you're brushing her head regularly. I started using a comb when I had my son's head suds-up in the bath. I would gently comb his hair which would remove some of the scales (once they were ready). Make sure you are very gentle with her little head and remember that it's really only bothering you.
CG

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Hello Crhristy!
Here's 2 cents from an old schooled gramma;
Rub warm olive oil onto scalp in the morning. massage dy ten and bathe at twelve. brush before rinsing. rinse. dry. comb hair or brush again. apply oil let stay.
use beannie cap, so you may not have a mess all over.
this seems to be workking for my mo.& 3wks. old grandaughter. and has worked for all babies in my family. blessings!

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Hi Cristy,

California Baby, they sell the brand even in Target, worked wonderful, they have a shampoo and cream, I like the green cream better than the yellow one, and it's all natural

please try it, I was desperate myself and it really worked wonderful

D.

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my son had the same thing. i would put some mineral oil on his scalp 30 min before his bath. i would brush it softly before his bath then shampoo his hair with a hypoallergenic shampoo. i did this for about a month. then it went away eventually. i don't know if it was this routine that helped, or that he just outgrew it.

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My son had a horrible case of cradle cap. My pediatrician suggested using a small amount of Head & Shoulders shampoo or Selsun Blue shampoo. It worked like a charm. He is 5 now and occassionally he still gets dry, scaly patches on his scalp. When that happens I switch to the Head & Shoulders for a week or so, and the problem clears right up. The only word of caution is to be extra sure you don't get shampoo in the child's eyes.

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Hi C.. My oldest daughter had what I thougth was cradle cap that I couldn't get rid of when she was an infant. I finally learned that she was actually allergic to the protein in milk. Once I got her on soy formula (I was unable to breast feed), the cradle cap was all but gone within a few days. She also had a few other symptoms such as congestion if I recall correctly. I am not saying this is the case for your baby, but just something to think about. I hope you get it resolved! Good luck! N.

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Before you use any remedies that are considered 'adult' products, please take your little one to see a dermatologist. Unless recommended by a physician those products should not be used on children.

I love Aveeno products for my son and those work well on his eczema, but again you might have better luck with talking to someone who knows skin!

Good Luck!

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I second Sophie's advice. All my kids had cradle cap, the youngest had it the worst. I did what Sophie explained and it was much better after the first application.

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Hi C.,

I wouldn't worry... mine 2 year old just got rid of hers.
Sometimes it just doesn't go away... it wasn't until she was a year and a half i would wash her hair and then started using a very thin bristled comb to get it out. Took a while to get it all but finally!

Hope this helps. Remember, it's just cosmetic.

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My dr. told me to use mineral oil..but I'd guess that's pretty close to baby oil?? He just said to try that and that it would go away eventually and that it wasn't anything to worry about. It did eventually just go away. I tried to keep her head covered quite a bit when she was still really little..the mineral oil was so greasy and messy!

Ok, it's gonna sound strange, but my daughter had the same problem, Head & Shoulders shampoo. I thought the Dr. was crazy, but it worked in about 3 days, and it made her hair even softer. Just use a little bit and obviously, be really careful not to get it in her eyes.

There is a great homeopathic remedy for cradle cap, get it in a health food store. It works.

C.,

My friend's baby had horrible cradle cap. Her nanny (from another country) smeared his head with A&D ointment (the one in the orange tube), let it sit and then washed his hair. Problem solved. It did come back but much milder and they did it again. It kept is well under control.

T.

Selson Blue will get rid of it.

Hi C.,

I used olive oil for my son's cradle cap and it was the only thing that worked. In fact, it never came back again after that. Good luck!

My nephew had constant cradle cap as well. Whenever I'd get the wonderful opportunity to babysit, I would lather his head with aquaphor (petroleum jelly). And, well he'd play all day with his head that way. Then, I would give him a bath, shampoo what I could out and comb his hair removing most of the dead skin. His head would still be a little oily, but that was okay. I would even apply it again just to make sure there was still a lot of moisture on his head. My sister mentioned that his skin was clear for about a week, but she never repeated the regimen.

I am a pediatric nurse and when I had my son(Brennen 16 months) he had it bad, along with everything else and I used pure mineral oil...it takes a few days and is messy but should work. Good Luck! L.

It took MONTHS for both my kids cradle cap to go away. My son was formula fed and his was much thicker, smellier and took the longest to go away. I think he had it for almost a year.

My DD was mostly breastfed. She didn't get cradle cap until she was 3 months old and had to be supplemented with formula because my milk was starting to dry up. Hers was thinner and lasted maybe 4 or 5 months.

Both my kids were lactose intolerant until they turned 1 and so both were put on lactose free or soy formula.

Hi C.,
The best thing that worked for me was the occasional use of a little Tegrin (dandruff shampoo)and believe it or not...following all shampooing with adult hair conditioner. I also have a soft plastic surgical nail scrubber that I would use to gently scrub the moistened scalp skin in all directions during bathtime. I think the Tegrin really did the trick though...just be really careful to not get in in the eyes. Now that my daughter is over it and older, I don't wash her hair every night...sometimes just let it get wet, otherwise her scalp gets too dry. Good luck!

My pediatrician recommended Neutrogena T-Gel. It's a dark brown shampoo that worked wonders for my daughter's cradle cap. He had me gently rub it onto her scalp and wait a couple minutes before rinsing. It's not tear-free, so make sure it doesn't get in her eyes. Good luck!

I've heard olive oil, massage often and then shampoo. But our doctor says they'll just eventually outgrow it. I wouldn't worry about it.

We used olive oil and a fine tooth comb to rid our son of his cradle cap and it worked like a charm! We would put the olive oil on his head and massage it in really well, let it sit on his scalp for a few minutes and then comb through with his fine tooth baby comb. The cradle cap crusties would lift off and we washed his head thoroughly with his baby shampoo. It only took a couple of washings to get rid of his cradle cap completely. The olive oil was safe and made his hair and scalp so soft. Give it a try! It certainly won't hurt your baby. Good luck!

My pedi.told me to was hair wiht head and shoulders and then put baby oil on the scalp and comb off the patches. becareful with shampoo in the eyes though. You may have to do it a couple of times to get it all.

I remember when my daughter had that as a baby.
I used a soft toothbrush...

Good luck!

well, I'm not sure if this will be much help, but California baby has a good cradle cap soap and first you do a few days of coconut oil (baby oil is NOT good if it's not vegetable) and then you do a shampoo and THEN you do a fine tooth comb and GENTLY flake it off. You may need to do this several times. good luck!

ONLY the following helped us with this problem.
Put some baby oil on the scalp 30 minutes before bathtime.....let it sit......get a very soft toothbrush and start brushing off/loosening the dead skin VERY gently......wash the hair/scalp. These steps got rid of all 3 of my children's cradle cap in a few days.
Good luck.

Use Vaseline. Wash and dry your baby's hair first. Then rub the vaseline on the scalp. Apply a generous amount, then in the morning...or several hours later after application, use a fine tooth comb to gently massage and remove the scaly parts. Keep the Vaseline on lightly there after as a moisturizer. Petroleum Jelly is a great moisturizer for a lot of things. This method has worked every time with both of my children! Hope this helps.

My doctor told us to use Head and Shoulders and it helped, but you need to make sure it doesn't get in the babies eyes. So use a small amount and comb it through then rinse. We used it for a week or so and it started to flake off. It ended up coming back later but not as bad, by the time he was about 7 months it was completely gone.

My son had cradle cap real bad and I found out he was allergic to milk. I was breast feeding, so when I had dairy he broke out in a rash and had bad cradle cap. I took him to an allergy doctor, per another mother's advice, and they did a quick and simple allergy test. They had a tray of the most common allergens and dabbed all of them on his back at the same time, waited a few minutes to see if there was any reaction. Sure enough he was allergic to cow's milk, but he outgrew it by the time he was 2 years old.

Hey C.!
As a mom of 4 I can sympathize... All but 1 of mine had it and it about drove me nuts! Here's what worked for me... I took a small brush that had plastic teeth that were soft and very bend able (I used the little brush they gave me to take home from the hospital) and a small comb with hard teeth (the kind a man would use)I would sit in a comfy chair, place the baby on my legs facing me, put a towel on the floor under my feet and a bowl of warm baby soapy water w/ wash cloth next to me. Then I'd rub baby oil into their scalp and let it sit for a few minutes while we played. Then gently I'd use the brush to work on a section of scalp for 5 min or so using the hard comb to lift the flakes not touching the scalp as it won't be covered in oil.Use the wash cloth to wipe the section your working on as well as oily hands. I did this days in a row until I had it all cleared up. It's a pain but we turned it into a special bonding time.Just be careful not to over do it but their scalp will be pinkish but you don't want it to be tender. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you, your family and your new little blessing! Take care!

My son had the same problem many years ago, and I used a natural shampoo - worked great with no harmful chemicals. If you are anywhere near Carlsbad I can give you a bottle - it's not sold in stores. We still use it today as it is a great conditioning shampoo!

The little comb they sent me home with from the hospital worked wonders. I just put a little oil on her head, let it sit for a bit then combed the cradle CRAP as I like to call it - right off. ☺

Congrats on your new baby,
M.

Hi Cristy,

Please check out my book - What Haven't They Told Me? Practical Tips for Surviving and Thriving During Baby's First Year. The book is chock full of helpful hints on everything from getting rid of cradle cap to diapering, traveling, sleeping and more!

It's available at www.OffRampPublishing.com. Mention you saw me on Mamasource and I'll give you a 10% discount.

Best of luck,
L.
www.OffRampPublishing.com

Try Selson Blue with the red cap. Just be extra cautious when rinsing and make sure that it doesn't get anywhere near her eyes. If you're not comfortable using something that strong than try Head & Shoulders. Both were reccomended by my Dr as long as you use caution with them!

C. - my little girl had it earlier on and all I used was a little olive oil (that is what my pediatrician recommended)and rubbed it gently on her scalp. I did it an hour before her bath time and then washed it off with fragrance free shampoo. Worked great! Best of luck and congratulations!

All of my kids have had horrible cradle cap - I usu put oil on it and let it sit about 15 mins, then scrub it off with a soft toothbrush. Then once you get it all off you have to shampoo frequently - like every other day.

My son had cradle cap when he was younger. I talked to my pedi and she said to use selson blue and lightly use the brush. my son's cradle cap went away within a wk.

The only thing that worked for me was a fine-toothed comb. Maybe that will do the trick?

Hey C.-My daughter had cradle cap and her Dr. told us to get a toddler toothbrush and scrub it softly when she is in the bath. THat worked the best because we had tried it all, too. Good luck!