Cradles Cap

I remember my daughter having the same problem and put Baby oil on her head/hair and then combed her hair then wash it, it got much better.

I hope it helps!

to remove cradle cap, there is shampoo you can use or use baby oil. You put it on their head, let it sit for about 10 minutes to loosen it up and then comb it and wash it out. Baby is still pretty little, but both my kids had it and this tends to remove some of it and the smell.

My son had severe cradle cap. Put Olive oil on his scalp and let it set for at least 30 minutes (I would put a hat over it to keep it from getting on everything). After it sets gently brush it with a soft brush or a cloth and remove the flacks. If he has a lot of buildup I would remove it a little at a time over a few days to prevent added irritation and scaring. Removing the scabs may cause your son some discomfort during the process, but he will feel much better after wards. Once the dead skin is all removed, start gently brushing his scalp with a soft brush before each bath to loosen any dead skin forming, and treat any scabs or buildups as they form using the oil.

If he continues to have a lot of build up, after he is 6 months old they may recommend you use a medicated shampoo once a week or every couple of weeks to help control it, ask your doctor for advice on this. (and yes, it is safe, just like Johnson's brand is safe, it will not "leak into their brains" and cause cancer, but it you are concerned talk to your doctor about it.) The one they gave us was not one you could buy over the counter, it looked almost like calamine lotion, but it worked wonders and we only had to use it once or twice a month.

Bathing your baby and washing his hair more will not make it go away. I agree with the baby oil suggestion it will take time and patients. My son had this and I talked to the doctor and she said that sometimes it can be a fungal issue also so she said I could try a dandruf shampoo. she suggested that I use a tiny bit on the affected area and scrub gently and then let sit a minute and then rinse carefully. I chose this option and it worked within a few days. Warning though you can only use certains kind of dandruff sham0oo so ask the DR first if you go with the shampoo.

Good luck

This worked well for us, apply vaseline to his head and leave on for one hour. Then wash head using your regular baby shampoo/soap, dry and brush his head. The vaseline takes a couple of days to wash out but it continues to help keep the skin on his head from drying out. Continue every few days until it goes away. I saw one of the pp about using dandruff shampoo and I would consult your pediatrician before doing this. The chemicals in dandruff shampoo could be too harsh for your baby's skin.

1st you should gently wash your son's head/hair every day with a mild baby shampoo, such as Johnson and Johnson's No Tears. 2nd, after washing, using baby oil, saturate his scalp, massage it in. Then take a very fine tooth baby comb, comb his hair and scalp, flakes will loosen as you have saturated the scalp with the baby oil. You can wash his scalp and hair with a wash cloth afterward. Do this every day. It will take some time to remove all the build-up, don't get aggressive with the combing just comb and remove those scales that loosen with the oil and gentle combing down to the scalp.

It can reoccur. Be sure to tell your pediatrician at your next well-baby check up. Take good care!!!

Olive oil and the cradle cap lotion (which stinks!) didn't work for my son.
What worked was Johnson & Johnson's baby oil. I poured some on his little head and massaged it gently (very gently over his soft spot) and left it in for a couple of minutes. Then I brushed it very gently with a baby soft-bristled hairbrush. That would usually get a little bit out. I did this before he had a bath so that I could shampoo the oil out. We only gave him a bath every few days/once a week, so I wasn't doing this every day. But it only took a few times for all the cradle cap to go away.
And the baby oil smells so much better than the cradle cap lotion. I can't say that my baby's cradle cap itself smelled bad - it was more the lotion so I didn't continue with that for very long. Even washing his hair couldn't get the smell out!

definitely baby oil and a comb. don't rub too hard and don't do it too often...but it will flake off eventually.

I agree with Ina G. Make sure whether it's cradle cap or eczema first, plus take him to his pediatrician to check his scalp for the bad odor and what can be causing it. If it is cradle cap... I've been having probs trying to find out what to do to help with my daughter's cradle cap. How often do you give your baby a bath? During those times, you can gently massage his scalp with the baby shampoo and them brush out that spot with a baby brush. At night, you can apply an oil (mineral oil, emu oil, olive oil, vitamin E) to the cradle cap part of the scalp. I've tried these myself and they work up until a certain point, but not everyone yields the same results. Each child works differently. Something my daughter's pediatrician recommended was Borage Oil. I'm going to give it a shot myself and see if it works. Hope you find something to help with some of the prob. It does go away on it's own, so don't panic. :D

Hi V.,

Cradle cap is simply ezcema of the scalp. It is systemic and comes from his diet. If he's bottle fed, the formula youare using may not be best for him. If you are still breastfeeding you need to watch your diet and make sure you are on an absorbable multivitamin. If you have a good absorbable prenatal, you should still be taking it.

I have never heard of Cradle cap having an odor. However, yeast does. Have you checked his tongue for Thrush as well. If he has any yeast on his scalp or tongue, then his little body is eaten up with it and it can show itself on his scalp. If he is formula fed this might be what's going on. This happens often because of the amount of sugar in the formulas these days. If it's yeast you need to adjust his diet immediately because as mild as it can be in the beginning it can be very problematic later.

Baby oil is a petroleum product and is not good for the scalp. It can actually be absorbed through the skin into the brain. Lanolin oil or olive oil would be better. Johnson and Johnson's shampoo still has Q-15 in it and that's a known cancer causing agent. I personally would go to the health store and pick something up for him that is known to be safe. Avoid all the dandruff shampoos. Like I said, they can be absorbed into his little brain through the skin and cause issues down the road.

Hope I helped!

M.

I used baby oil on my kids heads when they were babies. I would put the baby oil on and rub it in. Than take a small baby comb (like they give you in the hospital) and gently comb it, making sure you are combing the scalp not just the hair. I would than have to wash it 2x to get the oil out. I don't think I did it with every bath, but at least a few times a week.

the woman who cuts my older sons hair fixed this issue that our baby had...she rubbed a little oil (any kid will do - olive, vegetable...) on her scalp and then it combed out really easily with a plastic comb.

With my first son, I did this only 3 times in a month, and it cleared up totally. For my 3 month old now, I do this once every 10 days and still counting....I pour a little Johnsons baby oil on his head and gently rub it around the affected areas. With a baby comb I GENTLY comb and rinse the comb as needed in warm water and a cloth (builds up with the yucky skin pretty quick, especially your first time). I haven't found it necessary at all to wait 10 minutes or so; I just pour it on and gently rub his head to get it everywhere, then start combing. Do it slowly and gently so you don't scratch him and it's actually quite relaxing for both of you. I wash his hair with Johnsons shampoo immediately after finishing this, give him a bath, lotion him up, and he's good to go! Smells and looks SO much better. Baby oil is also a tiny fraction of the cost of cradle cap ointments that really don't work as good and don't smell as pleasant either. Don't pick at the flakes, or do this too often. I think once every 7-10 days is plenty (at least for my boys). Also do wash the oil out immediately because otherwise it clogs his pores and causes other skin issues. I don't stress out over the washing though, it comes off easily enough: just wet him down, gently work up a good lather over his whole head, and then rinse it off with a washcloth or whatever. Weird because cradle cap doesn't seem to bother my baby, but he does REALLY enjoy the treatment.

Actually if it has a bad odor you should see the doctor before starting any treatments and especially before you attempt to remove it. An odor can be a sign of a bacterial infection. If that is the case you want to be SURE not to break his skin!
My niece had "cradle cap" that turned out to be eczema and contracted a bacterial infection... her scalp ended up raw and bleeding and she had to be put on topical and oral antibiotics for weeks to clear it up.

Most babies have a little cradle cap and do not require treatment, however, if it smells, weeps or looks red or otherwise infected you should see your pediatrician.
Good luck!

I agree with the other posters that you may want the pediatrician to check him, to make sure it is cradle cap. Cradle cap should not have a bad odor.

If it is cradle cap:
Another option is to use sweet almond oil. It is natural and good for the skin/hair. Apply it with a cotton ball to his scalp and wait for half an hour to an hour. Then gently but firmly comb his scalp/hair with a soft plastic brush (they give from the hospital). You may need to shampoo his hair twice to get the oil and flakes completely out. It may help to comb again during the two washes.

It will probably take several application to get rid of all the cradle cap, so be patient.

from : http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/ci41.asp

Treatment:
Since cradle cap usually doesn’t bother the baby, try the oil treatment first.
Use baby oil or olive oil to soften the thick crusts. Rub it in with your finger, let the oil soak in for 15-30 minutes, then gently remove the crusts with a soft toothbrush. Wash the oil out immediately. This is very important, leaving the oil in too long can cause his whole face to break out in a rash.
This isn't a cure, however, and the crusts generally keep building back up again for the whole first year of life

When to see the doctor:
The scalp or skin starts to look infected.
The rash is spreading beyond the scalp.
The cradle cap is not starting to clear up after a few weeks of treatment

I have always massaged oil (olive or any other) into his scalp and let it sit as long as possible to allow the scabs to soften. Then take a very fine comb at comb out as much as you can without hurting him. Give him a bath to wash his hair afterwords. Repeat every couple of days and it will get much, much better. Many people will say to leave it alone but I never could and a friend who is a Ped. said her son's never really went away until he was 2 or 3.
Good luck.

wash his hair more. my daughter never got it cause i wash her hair everyday. and you should brush it out and put lotion his head when it looks bad and it should go way but if it dosent you should have the doc look at it and he will give you stuff for it and it will go away for good but if you dont take care of it it wont go away. good luck and poor babe

Take him to a pediatrician - I"m not sure that cradle cap is supposed to have an odor. If it IS cradle cap, put some aquaphor or some other rich lotion/cream on it and it works wonders in helping it to go away! My son had bad cradle cap on his eyebrows and his scalp. The eyebrows cleared up wihtin a couple of days. The scalp took longer but I think it was because we didn't put it on as often there (harder due to hair). Good luck!

Hi V.,
Use that combo brush/sponge thing that they give you at the hospital (if you didn't get one, they are cheap at walmart or target or babies r us). When you give your baby a bath, scrub his head with the bristly side (they are plastic bristles and quite soft), not hard but firmly. Hope that helps!
Cyndi

I think now that they have special shampoo. In my time I used dandruff shampoo.

This seems like an allergy like my son had. My doc says most cradle cap is. So if you need a recommendation, please let me know.

Dandruff shampoo, 2-3 times a week. Mindful to keep it out of the eyes. Oil just exacerbates the problem. I promise.