Cradle Cap at Two Months

Cradle Cap is a build up of oils on the scalp so shampooing is actually the "correct" way to get rid of it.

But I don't :-D I douse their heads in olive oil and take a fine toothed comb to the crud.

The shampooing with light scrubbing gets the flakes off the head. I used Cetaphil cleanser and then would either put Cetaphil lotion or baby oil on my daughter's head and it went away pretty quickly, about a week.

i had the same problem. My pediatrician said to use baby oil before shampooing. You don't need to use too much. It makes their hair greasy. Sometimes I had to re-wash her hair the next morning. But it worked, I only had to do it 2 or 3 times. good luck

We used olive oil instead of baby oil and used the brush or a fine toothed comb for my son. It worked great. My doctor actually said to put it on him before bed and put a hat on him. We used the cotton ones. Too much shampooing can take away the natural oils so I would not wash more than twice a week. It will go away over time.

C. - Regular shamppoing didn't do much for me, so here's what I did to help get rid of my son's cradle cap. I rubbed some olive oil on his scalp an hour or two before his bath. Once it was bathtime, I very gently combed his hair. The oil helps to loosen up the cradle cap scales so that I could comb them out. Afterwards, I washed his hair with baby shampoo like normal. It worked great for me.

I've also seen advice that says you can use dandruff shampoo (like Selsum Blue), but I was afraid those chemicals might be a little too harsh for my little guy's tender skin. I'd advise going with the mildest route first and trying something stronger if that doesn't work. Good luck!

Both of my sons had it and I used dandruff shampoo on them. Just once, to get rid of most of the scales and then we went back to our normal routine (baths every other day and shampoos 2-3 times a week). It worked great. Just use a little bit, enough to lather up and use your finger nails or a comb without any force.

I never read that you should shampoo more frequently. I had to handle it a different way with each child. With my older daughter she didn't have any hair, so I was able to take baby oil and rub it into her scalp in the morning before I left for work. When I came home at night, the oil had softened up the cap enough that I could brush it out. I did this every day, each day concentrating on the areas that had not been removed. My husband was a stay at home dad, so he was just careful not to pull anything tight on her head so that the oil wouldn't come off. Our youngest daughter however, had a head full of hair and it was impossible to see all the areas (or get to it easily with a fine tooth comb), so we got a shampoo made by Johnson & Johnson I believe (this was 3 years ago) that was Natural Cradle Cap Shampoo. We used this every time we bathed her, and followed the directions. It ended up doing the job.

my personal experience is I shampoo only twice a week. I used baby oil in the hair and a stiff comb and gently raked the cradle cap off :)

Hi C.,
My son had cradle cap too and I probably bathed him 2-3 times a week. What I found that helped his was about a half hour before bathing, I rubbed baby oil on his head and let it sit for 20 minutes - 1/2 hour and then washed it out in the bath. It seemed to help my son.
Good luck! J.

Hello, I am a proud stay at home mom of 2 children, a 9yr old and 11 yr old. When my 11 yr old was an infant my doctor told me to buy selsun blue shampoo and only put an tiny drop on my finger and rub it into the spot where the craddle cap was and it should help. well I did that and I believe I only had to do it once or twice and the craddle cap was gone and I never had to do it again. So I would try that just remember to not let it get in the baby's eyes. And good luck, It worked for me and I hope it works for you.

I always shampooed twice a week and used the Red Cross Cradle Cap brush during the wash. It always looked better after using the brush and babies just don't need to be washed more often than that. Don't bother with baby oil! It's just a greasy mess and really doesn't work.

My 1 yr old had it at about 2 months maybe 3 and the doctor said to only wash his hair once a week, so that you're not continually washing away the natural oils. Then sit while they are sleeping and take a baby comb and gently comb it out. Every once in awhile we would run into a stubborn piece and we would leave it until the next time. Sometimes he would even allow us to do it while he was awake!! That was my husbands bonding time with him!!!
C. M

there is a brand called Gentle Naturals that has this cradle cap lotion you can put on that helped my son. but really, baby oil helps a lot and is cheap. just put it on and use a comb and pick through it.

you should note, though, and just keep in the back of your head that cradle cap is eczema that happens to be on the head. if your son gets eczema on his skin etc you will want to pay attention to possible food allergens or intolerances.

The best thing that worked for me was baby oil gel. I would put it on my sons head twice and day and take his hairbrush and go in a circular motion. It took about 5 days and it was gone. I noticed with my first baby i gave him a bath every night and i think that is what caused his c/c bc with my second one i give him a bath every other night and he just had a very,very mild case of it. Just a thought and i hope this helps (just use like 1-2 small drops of the b-oil)

Cradle cap is just the build-up of oil and dead skin cells on your baby's head. Baby's heads, in general, release more oil and skin cells which have a tendancy to build-up on there scalp. I would imagine the less you shampoo the worse it would get. Although, I also know that removing it from the scalp takes a similar substance to dissolve it in but your childs head probably won't produce enough oil to get rid of it so you have to use something else. Hope that helps a little.

I used conditioner on the scalp and first massaged it and then used a baby comb or cat flea comb and combed through the hair thoroughly getting all the 'scabby' stuff off the scalp. Worked wonderfully. Rinse it all out of course. No need to shampoo it. Just massage the stuff in, comb through, and rinse out.

Hi C.,
I agree with your natural instincts regarding less shampooing and letting the natural oils soak unto the scalp. When shampooing, even though the mild shampoos are supposed to be that, "mild", check out their ingredients. You want to stay away from Sodium laurel Sulfate, and Propylene Glycol (anti-freeze). These chemicals are not good for anyone to use. Also, you might want to try this- my mom used to do this when my kids would begin with cradle cap. She would use a soft bristle baby brush, and rubbed the scalp back and forth, and in different directions with the brush. Do this a few times a day, and you will see an improvement. Also, don't use mineral oil, because mineral oil clogs up the pores, and the skin can't breathe. Brushing will help a lot. Also, looking for natural shampoos, such as Young Living Essential Oils, will help. If you are interested, or have any questions, please contact me.
Take Care,
K.

I would recommend something other than baby oil. Look for something more natural that can be absorbed into baby's skin. My son is highly allergic to baby oil...something we didn't find out until we put drops of it in his ears for wax buildup!!

Shampoo isn't really necessary except a couple times a week or so. Even at 4 yrs and 20 months, my kids get bathed every other night (unless they have opted to play in the dirt....LOL)!

~L.

My now 4yr old had bad cradle cap. Here's what I did...I pick baby oil in her hair and brushed through it with a fine tooth comb. It loosens all of the dry skin and locks in some moisture. It takes a washing or two to get all of it out, but it works well. I agree with the shampooing thing. I washed my daughters hair..which was really short..only twice a week.

comb baby oil through, they also sell a cradle cap brush-I bought one at target that great also. The baby oil and comb did the trick for us. Good luck

when my kids had cradle cap i used the oil called body dew, i bought it at an adult party but iam sure you can find it at an adult store. its kinda like baby oil but not soo greasy. i washed thier hair everynight and scrubed thier heads. what works really well is the little brush not sure if you grabed it when your baby was born the little brush they used to clean your baby after they were born, if not go to the store and find a nail brush or something similar and use that on his/her head. good luck it will go away with in time and a little work

brush and comb the scales out..

wash the hair as you normally would... once or twice a week or whatever your normal bathtime schedule is.

but every day take a comb or brush and brush the scales away.

you have to get the cradle cap under control or it can get infected and then you have bigger problems.

Baby oil worked for me. I fought the battle for weeks/month then finally left baby oil on his head overnight. Bathed him in the morning and it was gone, completely! Good luck.

Holiday

I found this on yahoo answers:

Cradle cap, or seborrheic dermatitis, occurs in most infants during the first few months of life. It is a crusty, oily build up that appears on the scalp, with an underlying redness and irritation. It can extend down onto the face, the neck, and the upper chest. It is analogous to adult dandruff. It is thought to be caused by a combination of oily skin, hormonal effects, and occasionally fungus growth. It can fluctuate in severity from day to day, sometimes appearing mild, and sometimes flaring up into angry, red, bumps and pimples.

Treating cradle cap - for the scalp and eyebrows, you can massage in olive oil or baby oil, then gently comb or brush out the flakes. This isn't a cure, however, and the crusts generally keep building back up again for the whole first year of life. You can get rid of cradle cap once and for all using dandruff shampoo (either a selenium or a tar based shampoo is fine) twice a week for several weeks. You can decrease the frequency as the condition improves. You may need to use it once a month or so to keep the "dandruff" away.

Treating seborrhea on the face and skin - you can use an over-the-counter extra-strength hydrocortisone cream once or twice a day for several days at a time to minimize the rash. This isn't a cure, however. It will just keep it in check until the condition naturally goes away.

I would be careful about using baby oil...I had a friend who used it and her son was irritated by it only to find out that he was allergic to it. A lot of people mentioned olive oil which is natural. You just have to be careful not to pick it off so it doesn't cause redness and bleeding. You can gently massage it and when it is ready to come off it will with a soft brush or wash cloth.

C.,
I always used dandruff shampoo and baby oil to manage my childrens cradle cap. I would wait until they were very relaxed and snuggled in the crook of my arm, then I would apply the baby oil to the scalp with a cotton ball (to soften the scales) I would then use an old soft toothbrush to comb the scales off of the scalp and out of the hair. Very gently appling a little extra pressure for those stubborn scales. Once the scalp was free from all scaling and flaking I would then wash the hair with dandruff shampoo. I would wash the babys head with dandruff shampoo every day for about a week, and then I would go back to our normal routine of washing their hair about once a week.
Once you get it under control it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.

When my baby had cradle cap i would put baby oil on about 1 hour before her bath and that seemed to work. Don't be afraid to scrap it off with your finger nail. It won't hurt her.

My son is also two months and also has cradle cap, and at his well visit the pediatrician said to put baby oil on his scalp 1/2 hour before his bath and then the brush it off with a toothbrush before shampooing. I've done this twice now and it's almost gone.

I would recommend Arbonne's ABC Hair and Body Wash & also their ABC Baby Oil. I have seen it help many youngsters with this condition. I have samples if you are interested in trying these products. I would recommend them even if I was not a consultant however. Arbonne's products are pure, safe and beneficial and are botanically based. They will help heal the skin & contain no irritants to sensitive skin such as artificial dyes are fragrances. I can be reached at ###-###-#### or you are welcome to send me an email if you would like more information or samples.
Good luck.
Barb

I used Aveno Baby lotion on my DD head and it worked great! The big bonus it that is absorbs in the hair/scalp so it doesn't get really greasy.

Hi C.,

My nephew has cradle cap and my sister is using regular baby oil, nothing extra, and a baby brush. Sometimes she uses a wash cloth to gently rub on his head where the cradle cap is at. I hope this helps!