Cradle Cap and Baby Hair Styles

HI Amy,

Cradle cap is systemic so it's coming from her diet. Is she breastfed or formula fed? Formulas have a lot of preservatives in them and chemicals that little ones can have reactions to. If she's on formula you may want to switch her to goat's milk or almond milk. Both are very nutritious.

Renew Intensive Skin Therapy lotion is the only thing I have ever seen get rid of cradle cap, eczema or psoriasis. It's not greasy like the other things you've mentioned eithdf. There is documentation on the long lasting healing effects of it and how it is so much better than even the prescriptions like eucerin.

Hope I helped!

M.

Melaleuca's products are great for this issue. Good luck with the styling! Tough with a baby girl, I know! Hmm....dress her in pink and hope for the best!

My DD has flaky skin so i use Aquaphor...I just put it on after her bath and leave it there so it holds the moisture in. It also acts as a kind of gel for her hair - it makes it lay flatter and keeps it shiny instead of like baby chick hair! :) I have put stretchy headbands on her, but usually I just leave her head alone - babies are cute no matter what - and I'm sure her face and clothes make her look like a girl, so I wouldn't worry about it....although, there are tons of new products for babies that don't irritate their heads, so you may try a different type of ponytail holder that would feel better to her. I also use hats - they are so cute and keep her head safe from the elements. They have winter and summer hats that look really cute! You could also consider getting her ears pierced (my DD doesn't have pierced ears, but they do look cute on a lot of baby girls...).

Cradle cap is sometimes caused by yeast. My little girl had it till we did the yeast cleanse.

My daughter had cradle cap for the longest time when she was a baby and we tried everything! We finally also used the selson blue shampoo - it was the only thing that got rid of it.

My almost 8 month old son also has cradle cap, although not nearly as severe as my daughter's, and with him I have been able to just wash his hair almost every day with baby shampoo and then afterwards brush it in circular motion.

And with the hairstyle, we used little aligator clips until my daughter let me do the pony tail on the top of the head.

Mustela Baby Shampoo for cradle cap. My son's head was covered and I tried most of the treatments mentioned here. Nothing work. My dr. told me about this shampoo and after just a few uses the cradle cap was almost completely gone. I ordered it online, but I know the big Bath and Body Works stores carry it. Here's a link to it. http://www.mustelausa.com/cradle_cap_shampoo.html It's expensive but you use so little that it lasted through both my younger sons.

Hi May,
My daughter had a brief episode with cradle cap as a baby too. Her doctor suggested using a little of head and shoulders shampoo. I did use it for about 2 or 3 washes and hers cleared rtight up. Because it is a strong shampoo, use just a little. I hope it works for you.

Hi Amy,
Try a shampoo made for dry hair. I like Aveda Dry Remedy. Baby shampoo is basically regular shampoo, but with an analgesic in it so that when the soap gets into your baby's eyes, they don't feel it. (Yup, it's just as bad as the regular kind of shampoo, but it numbs the baby's eyes - scary, huh?) In any case, the scalp is just skin, so if her little head is dry, then use dry hair shampoo. It may help. If not, then she'll grow out of it.

How about little headbands for her hair? They have the ones for babies that are made out of stretchy soft lace, and you can clip a little bow to the top. They all hate having their hair done at first, but personally I think the fight is worth it because by the time they have a ton of hair, they won't fight you about doing their hair every morning! I'm one of those mommies who has bought little matching grosgrain bows for every one of my girls' outfits, so in our house hairstyling started when they were practically newborns! =)

I agree with Mimi. And I will add a couple of things. Please do not use vaseline or any petroleum product on the scalp. It needs to breathe! I am giving you natural remedies that you will find @ the health food store. These have worked for some people. These are from Susun Weed, who is an herbalist who special izes in women and family health.
Rub black tea or witch hazel bark infusion into the scalpseveral times a day. The astringent tannis help slow down the over production of oil.
Amino-pon soap to wash baby's scalp. losens the cradle cap.
Relieve cradle cap quickly by giving 3-5 drops of Wild Pansy leaf and flower tincture. Give daily for one week. The beautiful little flower is widely cultivated and know as Heart's Ease or Johnny Jump Up.
Hope this lengthy response had something that will help.
L. M

I am at a Surface class this week and one of the educators said do not use baby shampoo this makes it worse. The product they reccomend from Surface is the Purify which is a clarifying shampoo. Somthing else to consider if the baby is rubbing there head on the bed try silk sheets or higher thread count. {Organic Line}

About the cradle cap: a toothbrush didn't do a thing for my sons cradle cap. So, here's what I did, I put some baby oil on(a decent amount) and let it sit for about 30mins. You can also use vaseline. Then I gave him a bath and used a baby comb and combed it right out. You have to pretty much get the comb under the dry skin flakes, but the oil has loosened them up enough so that it won't hurt. His head did turn a little red from the comb, but he never cried or fussed. I only had to do this once, because it came right out and he had very thick flakes too!

What about a cute barrett for her hair?

I have had some luck treating my baby's cradle cap by rubbing Aquaphor ointment (made by Eucerin, usually found in the lotion area) into her scalp, waiting an hour or so, and then gently scraping off the scales. We only shampoo her hair once a week or so also, so the shampoo doesn't dry her scalp out. She's still pretty bald, so I don't have any suggestions for hair beyond the stretchy headbands and then we just dress her in "girl" clothes -- things with pink or purple, little dresses, feminine patterns, etc.

i haven't read the other answers so, sorry if i am repeating! first, cradle cap (true cradle cap) goes away after the treatment you described. my son had this recurring problem too, and he had eczema. he ended up having it all over his body at different times. so maybe at her next checkup ask the dr.

the hair thing, i had to laugh. i think all babies go through the "bald spot" on the back of the head phase! can you not trim her bangs?? also i would try the little stick on bows, and/or headbands. but i would also keep trying the pony tail - they look SO cute on girls, and i feel like they just have to get used to it. i bet she'll stop fighting it eventually. good luck!

My son had really bad cradle cap. They can give you a prescription shampoo to use once or twice a month that helps, but what finally worked for us was first getting rid of all the build up. I used olive oil, left it on for an hour and then used a cloth and my fingers to get the scabs off. It was uncomfortable for him but he felt so much better afterwards. Depending on the severity you may have to do this over a couple of days (his was so bad it was keeping his hair from coming in in places). Once the scalp is clean get a soft boars bristle brush and brush the scalp lightly before every bath to loosen and remove any flacks starting to form.

My son had cradle cap that WOULD NOT go away and I tried everything. I finally bought a bottle of Gentle Naturals cradle cap remover (it has Disney babies on the front - in a pale green bottle). About $____@____.com in 3 applications.

I haven't read the other responses so sorry if this is a repeat. My dr had me use neutrogena T-gel shampoo every other wash. Before you wash it out rub in circular motions with a washcloth. It is also aggravated by heat so keep baby cool and be careful with hats.

My daughter has the same hair and we just continuously push it off to the side of her face. Try little clips to hold it in place.

Haven't had to deal with cradle cap badly with my 5 month old daughter, but we have the crazy hair on top, bald in back, curls everywhere issue. We've tried the headbands and barrettes, but they never stay. Most of the time she looks like she has a pompadour. When we slick it to the side we get the wing affect. Haven't found a good solution for it yet. I'll be looking to see if you do! I'm waiting for her hair to grow in, so we can see what we get. Most people think it's cute the way it is. I'm sure that's the case with your baby too!

In regards to the cradle cap, my daughter had it until she was 10 months old and we tried EVERYTHING...so it seemed. What finally worked for us was what her Dr. and nurse suggested although it seemed extreme. Use Selson Blue; leave it on her head for 3 to 5 min 3 times a week. In-between use your normal baby shampoo and a soft baby brush to gently brush her scalp in circular motions. Please be Very cautious about getting it in her eyes. Thankfully we never got it in our little girl’s eyes but can only imagine if we had.
Good luck