J.F. asks from Commerce City, CO on March 18, 2010
Craddle Cap - Commerce City,CO
My almost 6 month old has the worst craddle cap!!!
I noticed she had a very scaly scalp months ago, but since she has a good bit of hair I didn't do or think much about it.
A few days ago I took a comb to brush her hair and kinda got down on the scalp to see if the scales would come up. Well that wasn't the right thing to do, because now I opened up a huge can of worms! She is peeling so bad and looks so horrid- poor little thing. If they would just come off it would be fine, but they are sticking to her scalp and hair and are even kinda oily and so she just has this head of hair full of sick little pieces of skin.
My first daughter had a very scaly head as well, but since she was bald I kinda just spent a week picking the pieces off and giving it lots of lotion. But my 5 month old has too much hair for me to get at the pieces very well. I am putting lotion on it, but of course then her hair is just matted down and it does nothing to help the scales come off.
What can I do??? I have looked at stores for any special craddle cap brush and can't find any. I did find one online called Bean-B-Clean, but not sure if it works and is worth the time to get it.
Any thoughts???
Featured Answers
L.M. answers from Salt Lake City on March 19, 2010
My doctor told me to use a bit of dandruff shampoo like head and shoulders. It went away and never came back. (She was 8 months).
T.H. answers from Salt Lake City on March 19, 2010
When my daughters cradle cap wouldn't come off I put regular conditioner on her head and used a fine tooth comb. I tried a lot of different things and that worked the best for me.
More Answers
M.F. answers from Phoenix on March 18, 2010
I used the Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Care after I just couldn't stand my daughter's cradle cap and having Daddy rub it with his beard stubble after a bath wasn't working. I used it once a day for 2 days, then put her in her exersaucer and *gently* but persistently rubbed all the scales off with a plastic doll's brush. Gently is the key word! I bathed her afterwards and the cradle cap was gone, never to return. I just used this same product and method on one of my daycare babies and got the same results. I recommend using this in between baths and when you don't have to take the baby out anywhere. The cream is kind-of greasy, smells great going on, but stinks like old soap after a few hours. Gentle Naturals is sold at Babies R Us and Target in a green bottle with Pooh characters. Good luck!
D.B. answers from Provo on March 19, 2010
My son had bad cradle cap, until we went to my parents-in-laws house. They have a comb that has really tiny prongs (I don't know what to call them) REALLY close together. My SIL sat and cleaned his whole head off. He still has a little big, but it is WAY better than what it was. I think just getting it all off really made a big difference. Our pediatrician also said that cortisone cream works on it. So maybe you could try that, and just try to style her hair with the cream. Maybe that's really gross, but if it works, it would only be for a couple days maybe. Good luck!
R.P. answers from Salt Lake City on March 19, 2010
My son had really bad cradle cap. Dr. said to use Neutragena T-Gel 2-3 times a week and to make sure it doesn't get in his eyes. Cleared it right up. I couldn't find it last time I went looking for it; though I'm sure almost any dandruff shampoo would work.
L.M. answers from Salt Lake City on March 19, 2010
My doctor told me to use a bit of dandruff shampoo like head and shoulders. It went away and never came back. (She was 8 months).
J.K. answers from Cleveland on March 18, 2010
Hi, J.! My little guy also had the WORST cradle cap ever. I think I tried every trick in the book to help get rid of the flakes, but nothing seemed to work. I finally gave up because it didn't bother him, so why wouId I let it bother me?!
As he got older, his scalp cleared up on its own. I look back and laugh at all the silly remedies I tried to get rid of my son's "flakes"!!
Good luck! I hope you find a trick that works! :)
S.A. answers from Salt Lake City on March 19, 2010
Hi J.,
My son had a HORRIBLE case of cradle cap. I tried everything. Baby Oil, Veg. oil, vasseline, Head & Shoulders, Cortisone cream (both the Head & Shoulders & the Cortisone were recommended by his Ped.). None of them really worked well. Finally, I tried the Gentle Naturals (I got mine from Target-Blueish bottle with Winnie the Pooh characters on the bottle), and it worked great. I still used the cortisone on some of the stubborn spots. I would put the Gentle Naturals on while I was giving him a bath. Let it sit on there for a few minutes while he played. Then, I would take an old SOFT toothbrush & scrub his head. Afterwards I would wash his hair. While I was getting him dressed, I would then use a different soft toothbrush & scrub any remaining scales (that were ready to come off). I would then put a bit of the cortisone cream on some of the worst spots. I did that routine for 4-5 days, and the cradle cap was mostly gone. After all that scrubbing though, his hair seemed to fall out more quickly than I remember my daughter's doing.
I kept waiting for his cradle cap to go away before I took him in to get his pictures, but I didn't want to miss out on taking the pictures, so I just took him in anyway. I figured that it would help us to remember that stage in his life. Even through all that, my sweet baby boy was just as happy as always! Now, at 19 mos, he LOVES to get his hair washed. I think it relaxes him. Maybe it brings back memories of the "scalp massages" he used to get!
Good luck!
S.
T.W. answers from Denver on March 19, 2010
Get the Bean-B-Clean! It is a must-have for all babies in my opinion. All three of my kids had a bit of cradle cap and the one thing I learned is that the more I washed it and the more I scrubbed it with that brush the better it was. If I were you, for two weeks just dedicate to getting the scales off. Wash her hair morning and night with the brush then put Vitamin E oil or baby oil on her scalp. Since she has so much hair it will be pretty matted and you will want to run a tight-toothed comb through it to get the bigger flakes out, but if you get rid of the cradle cap it is well worth it, just put a hat on her.
Once you get rid of the cradle cap then keep up a regular routine of washing and scrubbing her scalp with that brush. You will have to experiment as to how much she will need. My first only needed it every couple of days and my second (who had tons of hair too) needed it every day and my third never had it come back.
Good luck!
J.D. answers from Denver on March 19, 2010
Use olive oil--no need to buy anything or use medication. Spread the olive oil on with your fingers and let it dry for a few hours. Use a brush in a circular motion and get a bunch of the cradle cap off. Don't press hard, just keep going lightly in that circular motion. Wash her head after that with shampoo. It may take a few days of doing this, but then it will be gone! Sometimes I brushed her before putting on the olive oil to loosen things up a bit. Good luck!
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