Mustela has carcinogens in it.

Full disclosure, I work for Mustela and mom to a 17 month old. Foam Shampoo is a great & gentle shampoo option that helps eliminate cradle cap commonly found in newborns. It can certainly be used for toddlers, but generally for older children with more hair, we’d recommend our Gentle Cleansing Gel or 2 in 1 Cleanser that gives a bit more lather and cleaning.

Not the OP, but thank you for these ideas! My 3-year-old has it, but she also has a ton of hair, so the baby methods that always worked for us (oil + rubbing it off) are not feasible anymore. The only thing I've been doing is using baby oil and using a lice comb, which pulls out the flakes. It's time consuming and only temporarily solves the issue. Going to try some of these shampoos now!

Anonymous wrote:I would try the Mustela first.

Is it just any mustela shampoo? The one in the cradle cap bundle says it’s for newborns - I assume toddlers can still use it but thought I’d check if any of them will do

Anonymous wrote:No matter what I do my 3.5 year old DD has cradle cap. It's like this thick almost sticky layer on her scalp. I've tried coconut oil, combing it, apple cider vinegar etc. Nothing seems to get rid of it all and she won't sit in front of me for hours to get it all out.

She's had it since she was a baby and it's pretty hidden by her hair. Anyone deal with this? Do they outgrow it?

Im am wondering if this is really cradle cap. My daughter literally struggled with “cradle cap” from the time she was a baby and it never went away (shes 8). We did everything that was suggested. Olive oil worked best for us. We let it sit for about 30 minutes then we were able to get it all off with a fine tooth comb. Each time, I thought i finally cured it but several months later it was back full force. Well, it turns out it wasn’t cradle cap. It was actually psoriasis! We only found out when we went to the dermatologist because of patches of dry skin on my DDs face suddenly appeared around last February time frame. These patches on her face were nothing like the “cradle cap” looking stuff on her head so I didn’t think there was a connection. I brought it up to the dermatologist and sure enough, he said that it was all psoriasis. She now uses a special oil on her scalp and a combo of two creams. She still has flare ups once in a while but it is much better. At 3.5, I would ask for a dermatologist appointment.

I would try the Mustela first.

What brush do you all use? My 2yo never had cradle cap as a baby but has all of a sudden developed it over a pretty large portion of her scalp and it seems like she must be scratching it. She also has curly hair so I typically only shampoo every three days but I guess I need to do it every day until this resolves.

What color is it? My kids have the electric orange cradle cap...it doesn’t really go away with age and is pretty resistent. It comes and goes.

My daughter had this too from the time she was a baby. I tried a few things but never made intense efforts as she would not tolerate it. Anyway, it finally went away on its own at around 3.5yrs. Just wanted to let you know it may still just clear up anytime.

I agree with many posters who have posted...

- Wash daily,

- Use the soft brush to gently lift out the flakes when you have the shampoo on (We used Mustela too and it was effective)

- Let the shampoo be on the baby's head for sometime, gently massaging it in. It creates the slipperiness that allows you to lift off the flakes.

- Don't use coconut oil or any other greasy oil for some time. If you use any baby-oils for scalp massage, do it before the bath so that you can wash it off. Light oils can help to dislodge the flakes from the scalp, but letting it remain on the scalp will lead to more food for the microorganisms that are creating the cradle cap in the first place.

- Wash and disinfect every thing that touches the scalp every day - combs, brush and cloth caps/hats that covers the baby's head.