Cradle Cap - Quincy, FL

My son had cradle cap & it drove me nuts. I have since gotten rid of it by shampooing his hair & taking an extra soft toothbrush & gently scrubbing his head, then rinsing. It cleared up within a few days. But I still do it as a precaution. Another method that I tried that did work, although was a little messy, was extra virgin olive oil. Rub a small amount into baby's scalp, let sit for a bit, then shampoo & gently scrub w/soft toothbrush, rinse. I just elimiated the olive oil after awhile cause it was messy. GL.

The baby oil is a great idea. After every washing you definately want to comb her hair and hopeful get some of the flakes out.
There is stuff over the counter that will help to loosen the craddle cap too.
Icky stuff I've been there too.

Both of my babies had cradle cap. The best thing is Selsun blue shampoo. I massaged it into their scalp while I was bathing them being careful not to get it into their eyes. After a couple of days of that it went away.
Good Luck!

There is this wonderful baby product called Mustela, they have a newborn shampoo that works wonders! Babies r us carries the line.

I know how you feel. I wanted to keep a cap on my daughter's head all the time before it went away. You can use some baby oil in her hair to loosen up the flakes & then gently comb through her hair. When you give her a bath you can lightly scrub her little head with a wash cloth. The baby oil & combing should have helped to loosen & remove alot of it.

Hi E., my daughter had the same thing and I was told it would go away but it didn't seem to be and I hated to have to put a cap on her head to cover it because she shouldn't have to suffer and look like that.....well I was told by the older generation what they did to get rid of it and it WORKED in a matter of a day or two I saw results but one may be he sitant to do so, but I put my urine in a cup and used a little wash towel and soaked it in the cup of urine and at bath time I would rub it through her head until it was covered and it pretty much took it off then I would wash her hair and there was no smell whatsoever. the urine is not harmful at all. It works.....so its up to you to give ita try. When Naaman in the bible (man of greatness strength & valor)wanted to rid himself of leprosy, he was told by a servant of the prophet Elisha to wash himself 7 times in the river. He (naaman) was hesitant and didn't want to because this particular river was the dirtiest but he ws encouraged by one of his men to "just do it" out of obedience and he did and by God's grace Naaman was healed. Isay this to say that it may sound Yucky but I can tell from experience it worked for my princess and never returned. Let me know how things work out even if you try another route and let me know if it works...God Bless......

My little boy had it until he was almost 2. They told me to put baby oil on it and use one of those soft baby brushes to brush it out, and to do that for several days in a row. It worked a little but didn't seem to get it all and it usually came back. Eventually most of it went away on it's own, and then in the bath tub I would use my finger nail and get the rest off.

I have to read the answers you get to this, I have a nine-month with the same problem!

when i had my middle daughter my ped was the chief of staff of ob/ped and he said it would go away when that didn't happen by 3 he said selsom blue, that didn't happen so she was dx'd with a demititis nothing helped her hair in the front was gappy when she got her first bout of head lice in pre- i went and used olive oil as a secondary treatment. that wored the oil loosened the cradle cap and the comb removed it she still has issues with dangeruff but no cradle cap. hers was so bad if you pulled it out her scalp would bleed so that wasn't an option for me olive oil wors great it washes right out and conditions the babies hair.

My son had the same problem and our pediatrician gave me a prescription for a shampoo with selenium sulfide. I used that on him for 3 times a week for 3 weeks and we haven't had a problem with it since. It's been 3 months and I've seen no sign of it.

My daughter had that when she was younger also. Her pediatrician told me to wash her hair with head and shoulders - I tried that and it worked really well and it worked quickly... Good luck, it's worth a try!

as an ex-hairdresser, we used to recommend baby shampoo to wash then use olive oil. let it soak in and use a comb to comb it out. if it is still there when your child is older than a year use head and shoulders then the olive oil. it really does work as long as you do it faithfully until the problem is gone.

Hi E.. My daughter had cradle cap really bad and I was beside myself on what to do so here is what I ended up doing...if she is not allergic to baby oil slather her head in it and use a soft brush to scrub her noggin. If she is allergic to baby oil or if you just don't want to use it extra virgin olive oil will work just as well. After you scrub her head wash the oil off. The oil also works wonders for dry skin of an overdue baby as well. I have my husband's amazingly wonderful and loving grandmother to thank for that tip, she said to me;"Use olive oil on her she is Italian after all!" Thanks Nau-nee!!! Good luck with the crud sweetie. Kisses to the babe :)

Hi E.,

Cradle cap is simply eczema of the scalp. Eczema is systemic and comes directly from nutrition and the immune system. There ARE things you can use on it. The most productive way to get rid of it is to examine what she is eating and also what you wash her head with.

Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo is not good for a baby as it has Quaternium-15 in it (along with most J and J products). Gerber products also have it in them. Q-15 is a cheap preservative that is a known cancer causing agent and also an irritant. If she is breast fed, you need to look at your diet but usually cradle cap is in formula fed babies that have a reaction to something in the formula. I can tell you it won't go away by itself unless something is changed.

I hope I helped and feel free to ask for specifics!

Regards,

M.

My son had it too. For ALONG time! Because he is so fair haired, I could see it more. Baby oil and combing with a comb often helped the most. Just keep at it, summertime is worse on the parent but better for the child. Kids get sweaty and we have to comb their hair more :)

I think my daughter was younger than yours when she had cradle cap so this might not be as easy for you if she is mobile. My doctor recommended massaging her head with olive oil. The natural oils moisturize the skin without drying it out like some do and it washes right out. I would put a lot of it on her head and combed her hair to loosen up the flakes a five to ten minutes before bath time (she wasn't mobile and she and I just played on the floor until bath time, this might not be so easy for you but worth a try?).

Try using baby oil. That's what my mom told me to use especially after bathing.

E.,
My son is two 1/2 and he still has a little bit of cradle cap. We always would put the regular Johnson and Johnson on his head about 5-10 min before his bath and rub it in very well. When you bath him use a comb or soft brush to break up the dry skin. Just curious, does he also have exama? My son had dry skin all over his body. We had to take him to a derm and he gave us a prescription. Oh another thing our ped said to try was cortaid. You can buy it over the counter, but ask your dr about it and how often you can use it. Hope this helps!
R.

Rub baby oil or baby oil cream on her head about 4-5 times a day and it will work its way out soon.
Take Care

Hi E.. Your first 3 responses sound right on target. I put baby oil on mine for a minute or two before their baths. Then during the bath, when I shampooed them, I used the baby brush from the hospital (for some reason always softer than any other baby brushes I found) to scrub their hair/scalp. Then rinse. You can brush or comb some more after the bath if you want. My kids never had it really bad, but I did the hairbrush thing early and often (they were born with hair and never lost it), so maybe that's why.
Just be careful not to pick any that's not "ready" to come off...
Good luck

Happy Saturday, E.!

Use some Olive Oil, make sure that you get all of the area of the CC covered well and let it sit for about an hour. When you shampoo her hair (daily) get all of the oil & shampoo out (keep rinsing with warm water) and then ALWAYS use conditioner after the shampoo, a few times like this and it should be gone! Daily shampooing is a must but the Olive Oil treatment should be done on a weekly basis. You should use a fine toothed comb on the hair after detangling. A kidz detangler will help make the process easier for both of you!

Good Luck!

Av

My daughter has cradle cap, too, and her pediatrician said to put some Cortaid (cortizone cream) on it to help it go away. It's definitely less noticeable but still there. I read online to massage some vegetable oil or olive oil on the baby's scalp, brush to remove the flakes, then shampoo well. You might try that--it's inexpensive and quick. Good luck!

Both of my boys had it bad and I put olive oil or baby oil on their head and let sit there for 10 minutes then bathed them. After 2-3 days of doing that right before bath time it was gone.

My daughter had awful cradle cap and her doctor recommended Neutrogena T-Gel. I broke down and bought a bottle ($7-$8) and it worked great. Be very careful not to get it into her eyes. I would massage the shampoo in her hair and let it set while I bathed her. After rinsing her hair I would quickly wash with her baby shampoo because T-Gel has a medicine smell to it. I hightly recommend it!

How much hair does she have?
To get rid of my sons cradle cap, I took baby oil (you can also use olive oil) and rubbed it all over his scalp. I let it sit for about 10 min and then took his baby brush and "scrubbed" his head softly (it came right off and never came back).
Then I just washed his head/hair. He didn't have a lot of hair though so I would imagine it would be more difficult with more hair.

Well, I don't know how to get rid of it permanently. I think that time takes care of that, but I do have a helpful tip for the now. If you put some oil on it, the oil will soften the skin and after a little while, you can take a baby brush and gently brush away the dry skin. My friend uses baby oil, but I tried olive oil and it worked really well too.

My son had it when he was born and when I went to visit my parents (they live in another state so it was only the 1st or second time they had ever seen him) I caught my dad picking it all off his head. The cradle cap never came back after that. I just had a baby girl 3 and a half months ago and she also had it. I was told by a hair stylist not to pick it out because her hair would come out and then tried to sell me this shampoo saying it would help it. However, when I took her for a check up at the doctor's (I have a very good pediatrician for my kids) she said you have to pick it out or it could leave scars on their head and not let their hair grow right. So I did that and used baby oil on her (she has very sensitive skin and psoriosis) and her head is fine now. So keep picking it out and message her head with baby oil in the bath. -H.

Try putting a little olive oil on her head before bath time and combing thru to the scalp while in the bath. You can let the water run over her head, carefully, to remove the extra flakes. Usually, after a couple of times, it's all gone. Then don't be afraid to wash her hair and scalp gently but firmly, to keep it from coming back.

warmly,
D.

I used a soft toothbrush when I washed my son's hair and scrubbed it off. I did that about once a week until it went away.

Let it run its course. One of my daughters had it so bad that it drove me crazy. It did not go away till she was almost one. You can help to loosen it some be using a VERY soft toothbrush and then combing the loose pieces it out. Add a very light amount of baby oil to her head before bed, but you need to make sure that you rub it in so it is not just on the hair. Cradle cap will keep coming back till the scalp is done healing itself so that is why I say let it run it's course. Other than that, it will go away in due time. Good luck!

Please try a little olive oil.

Hi E., both of my kids got cradle cap as well and what worked for me was very simple: Put oil (any kind olive, vegestable) on their scalp and after a few minutes comb thru their hair/scalp. I did it for a couple of days and it worked beautifully!