Cradle Cap - Columbia, MD

Updated on June 22, 2009
R.H. asks from Columbia, MD
15 answers

My son just turned two months and all of a sudden I think he has cradle cap. It's kinda white/yellowish flaky dry skin. It probably bothers me more than it does him. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it?

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N.B.

answers from Washington DC on

At bath time, put baby oil on his scalp and then rub it in with a soft brush. Then wash the hair and rinse. THen comb the hair (if he has any) with a fine tooth comb. That will take away the flakes of skin.I did this twice and the cradle cap was gone. Good Luck.

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F.S.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi R.,
I have samples of very mild, botanical baby shampoo that has worked very well for our grandbabies.
Send me an email with an address and I can send it off for you to try.
____@____.com

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L.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Use baby oil. For my daughter I did it after the bath. let it sit for a while. Took a week or so, but it cleared right up.

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K.S.

answers from Washington DC on

My 3yr old still has it. I have never done anything for it. I just leave it be, wash as normal and I also pick it. I wouldnt say to pick it though, Im just a picker, lol. Anyway I have heard of people using baby oil, but that doesnt make too much sense to me, you are only clogging up the pores even more with the oil.

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J.S.

answers from Washington DC on

R.,

My daughter had really bad cradle cap. It bothered me more than it did her. I used hydrocortizone cream on her head a couple times a day. Whenever I changed her diaper, I used a small soft baby brush to brush off the flaky skin. It took about a week for it to go completely away. I haven't had anymore cradle cap on her since. It worked for us. Good luck.

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B.H.

answers from Washington DC on

Our 1st daughter had a mild case and I used Head and Shoulders but just a tiny bit. It worked great. I used a couple of times and the cradle cap went away. It will really sting if it gets in their eyes though. We also started with oil but the head and shoulders worked the best.

B.

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J.F.

answers from Richmond on

I used a little bit of olive oil on my son's head. Rubbed it in, let it sit for a few minutes, then used a soft baby brush to brush it out. It didn't bother him at all, I just couldn't stand the look of it. But the olive oil worked like a charm, the cradle cap was gone in about a week. I also used it on his face. He had very sensitive skin and his face would get really dry and flaky, it worked well.

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S.Y.

answers from Washington DC on

my daughter had it for almost a year and i tried the mineral oil, the baby oil, the olive oil, nothing worked. I was too nervous to try any of the dandruff shampoos until one day I couldn't take it anymore. My doctor suggested Selsum (sp?) Blue - used it once, combed out her hair and BAM - almost completely gone. One more dose and she was cradle cap free. Wish I had done it sooner. It only took about a dime size amount and two of us in the tub to be sure none got in her eyes. very easy!

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J.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My son had awful cradle cap. The dermatologist suggested rubbing his head down in olive oil, massage it into his scalp and let it sit for a bit before you give him a bath and shampoo it. It worked slightly for us, but my son's cradle cap was complicated by severe food allergies we didn't know he had at the time, and it wasn't until his cradle cap was oozing blood that the pediatrician agreed to test for the food allergies. My child also had a major rash on his face only, so, perhaps it will work better on a child who isn't perhaps dealing with food allergies as a complication.

Good luck!

Jen

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J.F.

answers from Washington DC on

cradle cap is often a symptom of a food sensitivity or intolerance most often dairy if not dairy usually one of the top 8 food allergens. does he get crusty behind the ears too? Ifyou are breastfeeding eliminate all traces of dairy from your diet for a minimum of 4 weeks (dairy can remain in the system for up to 6 weeks) and see if its gone away? harder with skin issues than other issues though. a great and my fave resourse for food related issues even if you want to look and learn and not interact is Food lab yahoo group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab

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N.B.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi, R., Babies typically respond very well to products that are manufactured without harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, large manufacturers do use a lot of harmful ingredients. You might want to check out saferforyourhome.com and melaleuca.com. Happy to provide more info. Good luck with the little guy! N.

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D.A.

answers from Washington DC on

I know it seems weird, but it worked for me. I put olive oil on the area, enough to saturate. I let it absorb for a few minutes. I then took a plastic comb and gently scraped the dry flakes off. I then bathed my son. It worked like a charm.

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L.P.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi R.,
I used Dove Soap to gently wash my son's scalp and whole body. It must be the pure soap and not body wash or anything other than the simple bar of soap. It's so gentle and not perfumed and worked for us. Other recommendations I heard include baby oil (but that is kind of greasy...) I liked the Dove soap. I'm sure your baby is beautiful regardless of the the cradle cap :-)

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C.N.

answers from Norfolk on

My mother taught me this for cradle cap and it was used on my kids and my grandkids. When you give your son his daily bath. Bath him is baby some kind of baby wash or soap(be carefully that you do NOT get it in his eyes), also wash his scalp alittle longer than you normally do. After drying him put a little baby oil on his scalp. Then take a baby brush and gently brush his hair. It will take a little time but the cradle cap will disappear. If it is really bad, put a drop or two baby oil his scalp before bedtime and brush his hair again. It may be alittle greasy but it works!

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S.K.

answers from Norfolk on

a small amout of head and shoulders, let sit for a few and then rinse. take a fine tooth comb and comb from forehead to back of head. it's kinda gross when it comes off but it works. our pediatrician even recommended it.

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