Cradle Cap: Is it okay to pick off?

[Anonymous]

One pediatric book recommended washing the hair more frequently, using mild baby shampoo. Cradle cap is likely caused by overactive oil glands, not dry skin. Washing our baby's hair at least every other day helped tremendously, and we never had to use oil or topical lotions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my pediatrician's reccomendation, I put baby oil on my son's head 20 minutes before his bath and gently brushed his scalp at bath time to loosen the flakes. I then wahsed his hair as usual. After doing this a few times, it was gone.

I had success with this approach. First oil (to soften the crud and loosen it from the scalp), then bath. My ped recommended a soft bristled toothbrush and that worked fabulously. Then wash his head well to get off the oil (if you just oil w/o washing, you're going to clog up the scalp and keep the cradle cap coming back).

Don't just pick without softening first!

[Anonymous]

Okay, so this stuff is not caused by dry skin but oil glands?

Are there any babies out there that didn 't have this?

And does it come back?

[Anonymous]

my DS first had it at around 6 months...we just put some baby oil in it and combed it out and it stayed out for over a year. then it came back when DS was 20 months old and not about to sit still for any oil/combing ritual. instead, we tried that mustela foaming shampoo and it really worked. it wasn't instant, but we used it every other day for a few weeks and it went away. we haven't seen the cradle crap since july. incidentally, it's all just cosmetic. it doesn't seem to bother the little ones at all.

[Anonymous]

We used "cradle cap care" - it is in the baby shampoo section. Its a bright aqua bottle with winnie the pooh characters on the front. used it once and the cradle cap never came back - amazing! (This was after several attempts with baby or olive oil.

[Anonymous]

Yikes, should I be worried if my 10 mo has it (perhaps got it around 4 mo) and we are just ignoring it, figuring it will go away? The kid has so much hair you can hardly see his scalp. I always thought it was more of cosmetic thing, but perhaps I'm wrong. [A while ago I did make a few attempts with oil and the special brush they gave us at the hospital, to no avail, so just gave up and moved on to other worries.]

[Anonymous]

We massaged our DS's head with petroleum jelly and then washed his hair with regular shampoo 2-3 times a week. We only had to do this 3-4 times and the cradle cap was gone. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yikes, should I be worried if my 10 mo has it (perhaps got it around 4 mo) and we are just ignoring it, figuring it will go away? The kid has so much hair you can hardly see his scalp. I always thought it was more of cosmetic thing, but perhaps I'm wrong. [A while ago I did make a few attempts with oil and the special brush they gave us at the hospital, to no avail, so just gave up and moved on to other worries.]

It can spread - my DD's did and she got it in between her eyes/eyebrows. I don't think its harmful but if you don't clear the scales then the oil just gets trapped and it makes it worse. I'd just grab some cradle cap shampoo (I use Mustela's foam shampoo for cradle cap). Its much less messy than oil and I found it to be far more effective. It was gone in 2 days.

[Anonymous]

Aquafore worked like a charm. Work it in nice and thick and leave it on for about 30 minutes (put one of those infant caps on his/her head so it doesn't make a mess. Then comb, comb comb!

Once you're done you can wash his hair with Dawn to get the grease out...no kidding. Just be VERY CAREFUL not get it in his eyes. Have hubby hold him over sink or something.

I promise it will work in the first try! It did with both of my babies.

[Anonymous]

if i bathe my baby too much he gets terrible eczema. i found california baby applied twice a day helps. i also clean his face and head with a wet wash cloth once a day, no soap. also, i heard food allergies can make it worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so this stuff is not caused by dry skin but oil glands?



That's what I read...maybe in Baby 411???

[Anonymous]

We used Vaseline on DD's head, followed by gentle brushing. After a week of looking like a grease ball, the cradle cap went away and she was a virtual chia pet. Quadrupled her hair in four weeks (at six weeks old). No joke. We still laugh when we look at pictures ... March - bald, early April - greasy, late April - hairy! No big deal though, I don't think it's a medical issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so this stuff is not caused by dry skin but oil glands?



That's what I read...maybe in Baby 411???

Yes! My ped told me cradle cap is caused by overactive oil glands; he also told me my DS will most likely be an oily teenager. Poor guy!

[Anonymous]

I have to admit, I became sort of obsessed with brushing it away with a soft toothbrush. Doing that in combination with using Mustela cradle cap shampoo got rid of it, thankfully.

[Anonymous]

Head and shoulder works, after taking a shower flick it off a tweezer if you think your cradle cap is rusty. If not, flake it off with your fingers. It may leave a red stain but after two days you have to take a shower and use Head & Shoulders. Worked for me!!