Un-curable Cradle Cap

My pediatrician told me cradle cap is just really bad dandruff and reccomended a dandruff shampoo. It worked really well for us. We used the nutragena brand.

You know what??? No offence to all the other mom's, but when my son had it I seriously got so fed up with it that I did not "gentely" scrub it anymore. I went to town! I scrubbed and scrubbed with that soft brush.... not so hard he would cry or anything, but I DID scrub, and with in a week it cleared up. I kept it up every single bath after i put baby lotion on his scalp and put a beanie on his head to keep the moisture in to soften it up. Don't be scared to put a little elbow grease into it. Your baby won't break I promise! My son is now 1 year and no craddle cap.

Hi A.! Welcome to San Antonio! Both my son and daughter had it. It was really bad, too, because they both were born needing haircuts... their hair was almost touching their shoulders and THICK. When you held the hair straight out from the scalp it was 4 to 5 inches long already! The cradle cap seemed more like a huge layer of scabs (it was not, it just looked like it) instead of "just dandruff". I tried the shampoo, the oil (tried once with my daughter and it took a couple of days to get the oil out, but the cradle cap didn't budge), the special brush, combing it out. The only thing that finally worked for me was I waited until they had finished eating, gave them a bath and then put them to sleep for a nap on my bed. While they were sleeping I took a regular-toothed mens pocket comb (my kids' hair was already too thick for a baby comb) and a pair of tweezers and slowly and gently combed the hair. As the hair stood up I would gently tweeze the dandruff up from the scalp and up the hair shaft until I could get it with my fingers. I would then remove it and place the flakes on a paper towel. If the flake didn't want to come up with gently pulling, I left it until the next bath. It did eventually go away completely, but it took a while. I felt like a failure everytime someone would notice and start asking if we'd been to the doctor, had I tried this, when was his last bath... aarrrggghhh! When my daughter's went away, it was for good, however my son who is almost 5 had some last month. I gave him a good healthy scrub since little boys are tougher than babies :) and a little tweezing and it has been gone since. I do use some dandruff shampoo on him when he gets itchy now, just keep it out of the eyes since it is not tear-free.

Hope this helps!
Donna

I've heard that massaging the scalp while shampooing and at other times can help. Mom's are worried about hurting the soft spot so they are very careful about washing the infant's head. Massaging will help with circulation and help the body do it's job in getting rid of the excess dry skin. Worked for me and my four little ones! Hope this helps.

My daughter had it when she was a baby. The doctor had me rub a little oil on a small section and use one of those very fine toothed baby combs and gently scrape it off. It worked fine and it did not come back.

My eldest who is 10yo now had a terrible case of cradle cap. I tried everything known to man to no avail. I remember taking him for a haircut at 3yo and the stylist selling me a shampoo for his cradle cap. It didn'nt work either. It finally went away some time between 3 and 4 yo. It did diminish in appearance after his first year or so. I remember being embarrased thinking people would think I was not taking care of him. In hindsight he doesn't remember it and neither does anyone else except me. Sorry I don't have a solution to the issue. Just empathy that it will go away in time sooner or later and she is oblivious to it. If you find a solution that works please let me know. We also have a 2yo that did not have it and plan on one more baby who might.

I know the doctor usually say don't pick at it, but my son had cradle cap as well, and nothing worked so I finally gently scratched it off during feeding time and then put some baby lotion on it and that did it. He did not seem bothered by me doing that all and even seemed very content. Welcome to San Antonio :) I think the humidity is a factor in cradle cap!

olive oil worked for us. Rub it in and then using a gentle brush rub until the flakes come off. Good luck!

You can use regular dandruff shampoo. Also, baby oil can clog pores. You might try either olive oil, or jojoba oil (usually you can find that in the vitamin section, or for sure in a store like Whole Foods or Sun Harvest.) Jojoba oil is a bit pricey, but it is the most like our skin's natural oils, so it won't clog the pores. (Or you can use any kind of plant-based oil, but not mineral oil.)

Apply the oil. Rub it into scalp. Let it soak for about 30 minutes, then use a soft brush to brush the scalp firmly. Then shampoo.

That probably won't get it all, but hopefully it will help. Good luck!