Cradle Cap on Face?

Updated on October 07, 2009
C.W. asks from Plymouth, MA
17 answers

Hi,
My request is actually on behalf of my sister (I keep telling her to join!) My niece is 6 weeks old and had a mild case of cradle cap at the base of her scalp. It has recently spread to a more noticeable case of cradle cap on her face. At one point her eyes were nearly swollen shut. The dr. said not to worry and she is currently using baby oil on her scalp and Aquaphor on her face. It seems to be helping a bit but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?

Thanks so much,
C.

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So What Happened?

Thank you to everyone that has responded! I read all of the posts to my sister this morning. (I think she is definitely going to stop the baby oil now) Her 6 year old son has eczema and she has tried the Aveeno oatmeal cream but it doesn't seem to be helping. Because the baby is on soy formula I think we can rule out a milk allergy, but she is going to try the Arbonne products first and see what happens (so a couple of you may be hearing from me soon lol). I am saving all of the responses though, because I think we may just have to try different things until we find out what works. Again, thank you to everyone, this site is a godsend!! C.

Featured Answers

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S.M.

answers from Boston on

My baby had the same thing. I found that petrolium based products didn't help very much, with the exeption of Glaxol Base cream, which helped a bit. Aveno makes an oatmeal baby cream for eczema that worked well. It's sold over the counter. Other than that, calendula oil helped, but I prefered the smell of oatmeal to calendula, and found it worked better anyway. Hope you find something that works!
S.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.W.

answers from Boston on

hydracordizone (spelling?) 1% - over the counter. My daughter had it for 2 years tried lots of things. This gives the skin a chance to heal.

1 mom found this helpful

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K.H.

answers from Boston on

try Burts Bees Apricot oil

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B.R.

answers from Hartford on

I am not sure if you can use it on your face but my baby had a little cradle cap and we used head and shoulders on it. It went away immediately. Also, while the head and shoulders is on the head use a baby brush to work it in. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Bangor on

Hi C.,
What a great sister you are being.

I hear this all the time, have her stop using the baby oil immediately. Mineral Oil (baby oil) is an occlusive oil which seals the skin. It is a petroleum product, yup 7 times refined motor oil, yuck! Great for your car, not so great for your skin. If she googles it she will never put it on anyones skin again. I'm not sure what Aquaphor is but it is always a good idea to check the ingredients first as even doctors aren't always aware of the dangers of some ingredients.

Arbonne makes a baby care line which takes care of all kinds of skin issues. The baby hair and body wash works great and is made from plants so you don't have to worry about harming the skin. They also have a baby oil, baby lotion, diaper rash cream and a spf 30 sunscreen available.

If she wants to know how to get some let me know and I will get you the information for a free sample or at least the website to check out. It would be sent straight to her home so she doesn't have to leave the house to shop.
I hope I've helped a bit.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.M.

answers from Boston on

It may be eczema, not cradle cap if it is on her face. It could be related to food/milk allergy or could be very dry skin. I used aquaphor on my son's eczema, but nothing cleared his skin until we discovered his food allergies and eliminated those particular foods.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.H.

answers from Boston on

Hi C.
My daughter to is 3 1/2 has or had the same issue. I use a prodcut from arbonne international which is vegan and botanically based and contains tea tree oil. The baby oil your sister is using will help for a while but will not cure it and may make it worse beause it contains mineral oil in it. Mineral oil is a pore sealer and doesnt allow your skin to breathe properly. Aquaphor contains the same thing-mineral oil. Mineral oil is a derivative of gasoline. Dont know about you but wouldnt want that on my childs skin or myself. Aquaphor also contains Lanolin which is more understandable terms is sheep sweat. I dont mean to gross you out but most people dont know what is in their products and we've trusted the big name companies for many years and keep using them even though they are harmful.I would be more than happy to send you a sample if you'd like. Im not trying to sell you something, I take a proacitve approach to ingredients with all my products and like to educate people,especially when it comes to children. You can email me at ____@____.com if you are interested.
Good Luck
Kristina

1 mom found this helpful
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V.L.

answers from Providence on

I just wanted to let you know as an unbiased user that Krissy H is right about the Arbonne baby products being effective and gentle. If she is willing to send you a sample, then I encourage you to give it a try!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.H.

answers from Boston on

We used the Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap cream (the one with Pooh on the label) and my baby boy's cradle cap was completely gone after the third try. We slathered his head with the cream, let it sit for a few minutes, then combed it out, followed by a bath with baby soap. I also recommend their eczema cream for dry baby skin.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Boston on

The ABC Baby oil from Arbonne will get rid of the cradle cap and the baby lotion on her face. All of the ABC products work, give results and are PURE, SAVE AND BENEFICIAL. Ask any mother on this site that uses the products...they wouldn't use anything else.

Good luck,
K.
www.kellymcinnis.myarbonne.com
###-###-####

1 mom found this helpful
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D.A.

answers from Boston on

Hi,
I just wanted to give you a heads up It could be a allergy. My son had it on his head and went to face and dr kept telling me it was cradle cap and excema. turns out when it didn't go away i went to a allergy specialist and found out he was anaphalytic allergic to milk peanuts and tree nuts. When i cut that out of my diet it went away. My sister just had a baby in july same thing "Cradle cap " on head and face dr said cradle cap she has a milk allergic child as well she cut milk out of her diet b/c breastfed and with in a week GONE. It was unbelievable.
Just want her to now there could be other reasons behind it.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.M.

answers from Burlington on

Dear C.,

My daughter had the same issue when she was just a few weeks old. Her face cleared up (and she stopped rubbing her itchy face on my shirts) within a day and a half by applying Lubriderm lotion. Just be sure to keep it away from her eyes. For her scalp, I rubbed a small amount of olive oil right onto her head, let it sit there for a couple of minutes, then washed it out gently with Burts Bees baby shampoo during her bath. It took several olive oil applications but within about 3 weeks the cradle cap was pretty much gone and has stayed away ever since (she just turned 1). Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Boston on

hi, we had the same issue with my son, our dr. suggested .05% cortisone cream, because his seemed to be itchy- cradle cap and egzema- it helped, but really at around 4 months it cleared up; our dr, said it was hormones, and really just time would clear it , and he was right. hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.P.

answers from Providence on

Tea tree oil!! Cured even my brother-in-law's flaky scalp which he had dealt with almost his entire life. Works beautifully on babies too.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.W.

answers from Hartford on

Coconut oil (food grade-I've been told you should never use something you wouldn't eat on your baby). It's anti-bacterial, you can use it all over (even diaper rash), it absorbs quickly and is not greasy, and it smells yummy :) (Also usually cheaper than many products).

Also, cradle cap is a yeast-based issue and your sister might want to consider food allergens that might aggravate that condition.

I also agree with brushing or scraping all of the crusties out. They do not come back if you spend the time.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from Boston on

My oldest had it on her scalp. I brushed it away with a very soft bristle toothbrush.
It worked. There are also baby creams made to treat this. I think gentle naturals is
good, as is Mustela. I always brushed my daughter when she napped on my lap.
Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

M.L.

answers from Hartford on

Wow, I never heard of it on a child's face. I would try Renew lotion. It helps children with eczema. Contact me if u have any more questions!

M.

www.WorkingGreenMoms.com

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