Cradle Cap: Is it okay to pick off?

[Anonymous]

Hello, can I pick off cradle cap or will it just fall off gradually? Also, is there some evolutionary benefit to this cradle cap?

[Anonymous]

I was afraid to touch it but my ped told me I had to 'get in there'. He kind of rubbed it with his fingers and it started to flake off. I also would kind of lift off the flakes with my nail.

What worked best, like amazing, for me was the Mustela Cradle Cap shampoo. I was trying olive oil, baby oil, etc for a good 2 weeks and that stuff cleared it in 2 days.

[Anonymous]

Its best to use a wet washcloth to rub it off, but sometimes you just have to pick! If you leave any oozie spots open use some neosporin (sp?) on the spots. We use California Baby calming lotion on the head and that helps.

[Anonymous]

Try to clean it off with baby oil and then a Fine tooth comb. S/he will eventually outgrow it, but stay on top of it.

[Anonymous]

It's one of the joys of parenthood, oiling and scraping those flakes. (But use a comb, not your fingers.)

[Anonymous]

The cradle cap didn't go away until I started picking at it with my fingers. Once I removed it, it never came back.

[Anonymous]

The only thing that worked for my daughter was rubbing this "Egyptian Magic" cream from Whole Foods on her head. It sounds fancy but it's really just kind of a waxy balm. I bought it for her eczema on a recommendation and it said on the website it "moisturizes without clogging pores" so I put it on her head and it finally worked! It's price ($27) but it was well worth it and lasted a long time.

[Anonymous]

ok, the only thing that eventually worked for me was selsun blue 2 x a week. I thought I'd never put that stuff on my kids head, but nothing else worked.

[Anonymous]

I think it just depends. We've tried Selsun Blue and it worked to a certain point but we're still dealing with it. DS is almost five months now.

[Anonymous]

Really all you need is a baby brush and bathtime to get rid of it. Wet the baby's head, shampoo or whatever, and brush brush brush it away! It's simple, and no messy oil or creams or shampoos with odd chemicals!

[Anonymous]

Don't use your fingers because if you scratch the scalp it can get infected. I used olive oil. I would dab it on (generously) and leave it in the hair for about 30 minutes. Then i'd comb it with a very fine comb and wash the hear after words. It took 3 or 4 times and it never came back.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really all you need is a baby brush and bathtime to get rid of it. Wet the baby's head, shampoo or whatever, and brush brush brush it away! It's simple, and no messy oil or creams or shampoos with odd chemicals!

This never worked for me. It didn't go away until I used oil.

[Anonymous]

Washing the hair daily in lukewarm water helps prevent the buildup of oil that makes cradle cap worse. DS's got better fast when I washed daily w Mustela newborn foam shampoo for cradle cap. Got it at Buybuybaby.

[Anonymous]

I tried olive oil and brushing it for months, and it made it better but never cleared it completely. Finally I used some lotion with shea butter -- put it on there generously and then brushed it out before bathtime -- all the flakes came out and never came back. So that's what worked for me.