Hi mommas,
My 13 month old has an extremely dry scalp, it's not cradle cap, its more like, well, dandruff, white and flaky everywhere. I have tried everything; lotion, baby oil, tea tree shampoo, only washing her hair 1-2 times a week and they all seem to work but only for 2-3 days max. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this and what they did to get it better and gone.
Thanks for your help! :)
R.
She has had eczema but I have that relatively under control. She was on goats milk as suggested by the doctor to rule that out for intolerance because of her eczema in the past. We switched her to whole milk about a month ago with the ok from her ped and she hasn't had a problem with it in any other ways, but from your responses it very well could be causing her dry scalp since I have yet to clear it up. I am going to switch back to goats milk and see what happens and if it doesnt clear up I know its not cows milk and will try something else.
Thanks!!
Have you tried Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo and conditioner? That always worked the best on my son's dry scalp.
My dad is a pediatrician, and I have heard him say that scalp flaking is rarely actually because of dryness, but often a fungal infection. I'm not exactly sure how you treat that on your scalp. But I would see a doctor or dermatologist, or try an anti-fungal ointment on a spot and see if it is improving after a few days?
Oh, also, I just remembered that my sister had miraculous success with a wheat grass spray that totally cured my niece's horrible raised fungal rash on her torso. She had tried ointments, but just couldn't get rid of it and had trouble with consistency. But the wheat grass spray was really convenient for her. I'm not sure what it is called, but if you can't find it online at all, write me back and I can ask her.
Good luck!
M.
If you have tried all of that, and there are still problems with it, you may want to check any food sensitivities. Food intolerance or allergies can show up as scalp and/or skin problems. Dairy, egg and wheat are all common sensitivities in children.
A "quick" help is mayonnaise. If she can sit through it, putting mayo on her scalp with some sort of scarf or bonnet to help not make a huge mess, can really help. Leave it on for up to 3 hours, or as long as she can take it. It is not a cure, but this worked with my son.
hth!!
Try a moisturizing shampoo vs a baby shampoo or tee tree oil which can be drying to the scalp. Tea tree soothes the irritation it doesn't do anything for the dryness.
is the skin dry anywhere else? when my dd gets dry skin we amp up her liquids to ensure she isn't dehydrated at all and also I put avocado in her diet, the healthy fats really seem to help moisturize her skin
Use Mustela infant foam baby shampoo. It works wonders. Babies R Us carries it.
my son had very dry scalp at about the same time. i just ended up getting him a 2 in 1 from the kid section that is tear free, rather than just using baby shampoo. the little bit of conditioner in the 2 in 1 must have helped because he hasn't had it since we switched.
My baby had very flaky scalp when he was around 2 months old. Our doctor recommended olive oil or dandruff shampoo. We opted for head and shoulders in one of their new gentle versions. A bonus was that it smelled wonderful (not like the old dandruff shampoos). It seemed to help. We only wash his hair every other day. Also, shortly after we started using the Head and Shoulders, we went to Hawaii to visit family. I really think the humidity in the air there helped a lot because his scalp returned to normal after 3 weeks in Hawaii. So when we returned to the dry winter air in Oregon, I started using a cool-mist humidifier in his room (I have it on most of the day and night to keep the room humid) and he hasn't had a problem since. I noticed you are in Wyoming which is an even drier climate, so if you're not using a humidifier, I would definitely recommend that. I bought mine on Amazon for less than $40 and it's a cute little duck.
If you've tried everything you may want to consider looking at diet
