2 1/2 Year Old W/ Mild Craddle Cap

Olive Oil (EVOO or regular, whatever you have). Rub some on the scalp and then run a comb gently through the hair. You'll have to wash the hair an extra time to get all the oil out but it worked great for us.

What kind of shampoo/soap do you use? Maybe it is a reaction to these. I have a very sensitve head. I can only use non harsh shampoos and soaps. Maybe you should look into this

The true cause of cradle cap isn't clearly defined, but the symptoms are a result of overactive veractive sebaceous glands in the skin. The glands release a greasy substance that makes old skin cells attach to the scalp rather than flaking off..

Cradle cap isn't caused by shampoo or poor hygiene. Some of the mothers on the board may be confusing dandruff with cradle cap, but these are two completely different conditions. Also, using olive oil to treat cradle cap can aggravate the condition (baby oil is ok). For serious cradle cap, use a shampoo containing selenium sulfide (such as Selsen Blue), which treats the condition effectively.

Best of luck!

We've had good success with Gentle Naturals products. You can find them in the baby aisle of most stores. You might try the cradle cap formula. GL!

I know this is late. Hopefully you don't need anymore advice, but if you do...... California Baby is a great brand. The one we used was specifically for cradle cap and dandruff as my son had it for a long time. The one to use is Tea Tree & Lavender Shampoo and Bodywash. After bathing, I am sure you already do this, gently comb out his hair with a very fine tooth comb. Also, some advice for later on...if he ever gets lice this product helps as the tea tree oil is very gentle on baby's skin and kills the lice and eggs. We do have dandruff as part of our genetics, I am ok, but my son is now 14 and with hormone changes it's bothering him so he prefers Head & Shoulders. The one he uses actually includes tea tree oil in the ingredients.

Hello M. :)
I just read the very nice and well-meant advice and experiences on this problem. Most though, sorry, are actually suppressing the issue (all except olive oil which is a lot of work and doesn't 'cure' it really)...they may help but not at the cause of the problem, whether allergy-related, excema, etc. Giving the baby a homeopathic remedy that is specific to them and the type of cradle cap it is, nearly 100% of the time resolves it quickly and permanently. There are different types of colors of cradle-cap, flake or powder, and each baby has unique tendencies physically and personality which would all point to a different homeopathic remedy.
My youngest had it very bad, I figured out his remedy, and the pediatrician was so shocked and impressed at how it cleared up so fast and completely she started sending her patients to me for it.
What I refer to as suppressing is, that a chemical or herbal product may make an issue 'go away' - at least out of site temporarily. This is in opposition to healing, which is a true resolution. The problem with suppression, in any area, is that is usually causes a deeper problem later. For example, we often see that children who have had their diaper rash suppressed rather than healed homeopathically, with ointments and cortizone instead, later end up with asthma or allergies. Then it is still curable, but the child and family have suffered unecessarily and it takes a bit longer to resolve for us.
Take care,
Liz
Classical Homeopath

I would like to share with you that our Baby Arbonne body wash has been proven to work and get rid of craddle cap. If you would like to try it I have some that you could try. I am an area manager with Arbonne international. Our products are pure, safe and have results. Contact me if you are interested. L. O.

Hi M., I know I am late in answering your question, but I worked at a Holistic/Herb store and have a great completely natural and home grown herbal solution that will not harn the baby at all. I do not know where you live but, if you are interested I can get you the name and telephone number of the Herbologist. W. m

Hi M.,

My Skin Healer will clear it right up. All natural, food grade ingredients, too!

www.MARImagic.com

Blessings,

M.

There are a number of things to help clear it, including rubbing her scalp with a cotton pad saturated with Seabreeze (an astringent) or rubbing baby oil on the scalp and shampooing it out. The bottom line is, it will probably keep on returning until she outgrows it. That can vary a lot from child to child. My kids all had it, and my son was over by one or two, my older girl was three or four, and my younger girl still had occasional touches of it as old as seven. When I was a kid, I had a friend who had a pretty good case of it even at twelve! I have been told (although I do not know that this is accurate) that it is related to excema. To me it made sense in that there are people in my family with childhood excema. But I really don't know. Anyway, the best you can do is keep it under control if it is bothering you, and give it some more time. Good luck!

Hi there,
I'm a hairdresser with a 2 year old. Let me tell you what works best of all. Nioxin Cleanser & Scalp Therapy. This is a wonderful product line that you can buy at your hairdressers. I would probably get #1 or in the smoothing line I use #5 because my daughter has lots of curly hair and it helps with tangles and frizz. I used to be an educator for this company and the moto was you could use it from the womb to the tomb.
Try it the problems will disapear.
T.

Hi M.,
My son who is now 2 and 1/2 too, had cradle cap as a baby...really bad. I tried all sorts of things and when it started to finally go away the doctor suggested that I continue with head and shoulders shampoo. It has some kind of ointment/medicine in it that helps a lot.

my first daughter had craddle cap really bad & I would spray baby oil (not too much) on her head after she was done with her bath & then comb it with a fine tooth comb...it worked great for us! good luck :)

FYI - My hairdresser said she still gets it due to a reaction with most hair products. You have a lot of good suggestions. I found Lollilocks has a good product used by children who swim a lot, but I can't remember the name. It helped a lot on my 5 year old (and smells like peppermint - fun!). Hairdresser recommended T-Gel by Neutrogena, but I haven't found it to work too well.

My doctor recommended T-Gel and it worked wonders on my now 6-month old. I now only need to use it every few days to make sure it doesn't come back, but it cleared it right up. I lather it up good and let it sit on her head for a few minutes before rinsing. One of the possible side effects (and noted on the label) is a higher likeliness to sunburn, so I make extra sure she has a hat on while outside.

When it was really bad, I also used hydrocortozone cream. (Again, recommended by the doctor.) I used that in the morning and the shampoo at night.

My daughter in general seems to have sensitive skin and periodically gets a few red spots on her body as well that go away with hydrocortozone cream. The doctor isn't too concerned about it and said that in most cases they eventually do grow out of it.

My son is 3 1/2 and we've tried lots of different things, but in two uses it was GONE! California Baby Tea Tree & Lavender - my sister gave it to me - I think she got it at whole foods! Make sure to comb her hair with a fine tooth comb while the shampoo is in!
Kim

Hi,
I know you got a lot of advice, the the best was the baby oil. Just massage it in and use the fine tooth comb some one eles suggested. Cradle Cap is as old as babies, and my grand mother, (an old mid-wife and country doctor (and later a registered nurse) did this for my sister. My mom did it for me, I did it for my daughter, and she did it for her son. It works with just one or two treatments. It's not a fungus, bacterial problem etc, that's all hooie! The kid just has dry scalp. Lots of luck.

Stop using regular baby shampoo (Johnson&Johnson, etc). That stuff is loaded with perfumes and other chemicals that are very irritating to the scalp. Paul Mitchell makes a baby shampoo that is much gentler on their scalp. I am sure that there are other products available. Also, you only need to wash her hair every few days. Washing every day irritates the scalp and causes it to produce more oil.

just buy a travel size dandruff shampoo. my daughter had some that wouldn't go away and this fixed it without much fuss.

I know this is late, but I wanted to let you know what worked great for me. My youngest son had cradle cap when he was a baby and then it showed up again shortly after he turned 2. I didn't do anything about it for a while because it didn't seem to bother him unless I worked at getting it out. Then one day I saw a travel bottle of Head and Shoulders at Target for $1 and figured I would try it. I would rub it in gently with my fingernails and let it sit for a couple of minutes while I washed the rest of him. It was completely gone after a week or so and now I just use the Head and Shoulders once a week or every 2 weeks to make sure it doesn't come back. I bought the bottle earlier this summer and still have some left so it's definitely worth a try.

My sons both got that for a while and they are a lot older. I was using a shampoo that didn't work for them. It gave them cradle-cap. Once I started using sauve or herbal essances, it went away. I found out the tear free stuff was drying their scalp. Good luck!!!

Hi M.,
Cradle cap, dandruff and exema are all fungal conditions. The reason dandruff shampoos work is they are antifungal. Tea tree oil is antifungal also. The Nioxin products are excellent! Aloe vera gel is antifungal and safe to use anywhere but in the eyes.
Watch the diet!!! Sugar feeds fungus (and all germs). Probiotics put in the bottle will be a tremendous aid and when 1 year old start on yogurt daily. Better to get plain and sweeten with stevia and add your own fruit puree.
I am a gramma now and former hair dresser. God bless.
M.

My son is only 5 months old, but had cradle cap as well as had a full head of hair. I was told multiple things to help it. I tried rubbing olive oil on his head and using a tooth brush, but his head went sour quickly and didn't seem to wash out for several days. I read to wash the hair evey day and to brush it. I did this and it helped, but as his head just seemed not to be getting better, I tried using a llittle selsum blue. I used the smallest dab, and it took care of it. I used is maybe a total of 3 times and haven't had to use it since and it has been a couple of months. I hope this helps, but I think each child is different as to the cause of cradle cap and this causes a number of possible solutions. Good luck

I still laugh that no one mentioned this. I heard all of these remedies and tried several (not the herbal teas, but everything from baby oil to mayonnaise), with nothing but messes and scabs to deal with. then I had to take my daughter in for an EEG and the nurse in the testing office told me the secret. She said use your hair conditioner, just a mild hair conditioner, nothing fancy. Put it on and lather just like you would with your hair and then rinse it out well. It's so much less oily and less messy and doesn't hurt her at all. It just took one time. Her cradle cap was gone and has not come back at all in 8 months so far. And wow, I didn't have to buy anything extra! :)

Follow Liz's advice (the classical homeopath). Homeopathy has been a God-send for my family.
B.

My mother in-law taught me a trick with cradle cap. She swears by head and shoulders. I tried it with my son when he was an infant and was starting to get it...and after a couple times it was gone. I used a soft toothbrush to scrub it on there. You may have to do it for a little while if there is a lot built up. Keep at it though and it will go away! Good luck!

best thing is head and shoulders or selson blue. Put it on their scalp like lotion. Leave it for 10 minutes, you could treat it like a spa treatment. AFter doing that everyday for a week, it should be gone. It only took 3 days for my infant.

Hey M.! Some Dr's believe cradle cap is caused by a change in hormones (that's why it's most common in infants and teens can often get something similar too). I used Arbonnes baby oil on my son and it worked great! It's also safe becasue it contains no mineral oil. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

Hi What did the Dr. Rx for her , check the internet as to the type of med. it is ,..for example : a non-steroidal, or a steroidal, an anti-fingal, or an anti-bacterial. Then check homeopathic sights on the internet. Tree tea oil in the bottle is great for multiple ailments of the skin. Traditionally cradle cap is a build up of oils and the hair needs to be washed frequently but I only know this of infants. Make sure your beautiful pumpkin eats a well balanced diet and not alot of sugars. A persistent high sugar level in the body leaves it open to many things, one being fungal infections. Aveeno has some aloe vera soothing bath soaks I use if my son gets chafing, or a sunburn it's cooling and it seems to provide instant relief for him. For infants it's recommended to wash their hair/scalp often with an infant friendly shampoo, again I would go to the Health"food" store and ask questions !!!! No dyes or perfumes sounds good to me ,. I'm wondering if this is different from , "cradle cap" as we asssociate the term with infants ??? Good Luck to you ,I'm sure it will get better and what a "Lucky" 'lil one she is to have you concerned for her ,!!!! BYE!!!...,.. upon further review of your question I see you have been help ...Great ,!!!

I noticed one of the responses from (sophie P)said that treating the cradle cap and then having changed shampoos to like suave seemed to help with eliminating it. I was told from a friend of mine that a particular popular "brand name" caused cradle cap buildup, perhaps from the mild no stinging the eyes ingredients, maybe too mild to really even clean then i wonder? so i changed my boys shampoo to a children's mild shampoo, and i havn't noticed it reoccurring now either. i would wash his hair, let them play so his scalp was good and wet and the cradle cap was softened. then used a baby comb (or lice removing comb,if your child is a bit older, they have close teeth too) to gently scrape it away, i waited to work on his scalp until he was nearly two yrs old though, his hair was long enough that unless someone got up close they couldn't see it anyway. perhaps it want until his hair was longer and i wasn't rinsing of the shampoo enough that the c.cap built up? so anyway, soften it, comb it out, change to a different shampoo. all the advice i read for you is great it seems, so i'm just repeating my own experiences to encourage you..... who know at this point, a month later, you're through it and can now pass on your own advice to another mum!! :)
good luck!

My daughter had cradle cap for a while too, until someone told me to put some NATURAL baby oil on it (or simply organic olive oil) and use a fine toothed comb to gently scrape it off. I did that and it's never come back. It doesn't hurt though it will be a little red afterwards. My daughter was fine with the process and it worked beautifully. Hope this helps!
Debbie

I used baby oil for craddle cap with my grandchild and it worked well I leave the oil for some time and then used a small comb to remove the "scales". After, I also used a medicated soap prescribed by the pediatrician. Craddle cap was gone.
I'm a retired nursing professor and a happy grandmother.

Anything greasy will remove cradle cap. I used olive or baby oil and then scraped it off (gently). If the hair is too greasy, just wash it with a good shampoo. (I use a shampoo and conditioner). My daughter had this--it's a build up around the hair follicles. Sometimes having hair that's too clean causes it. Sometimes the reverse. But my little girl (blonde) had it from the time she was tiny until she was at least 3.

My oldest son had it bad and the only thing that worked was T-Gel - and a soft toothbrush.

One more idea. My doctor recommended Paul Mitchell's Baby Don't Cry shampoo and it worked like a charm. Much better than the greasy olive oil head. Smells amazing too. Worth a try. Buy a small bottle at first since it can be a little expensive (but one bottle can last quite a while so it can be cost-effective). Good luck!

Hi... My little boy had cradle cap and I always used a hair product called CHOLESTEROL... get a jar or a tube of that put it on your childs head for about five minutes before you wash the hair, be sure you massage it into the affected area, then wash the hair with a mild shampoo. It only took one treatment to get rid of the cradle cap he had. One of my friends had told me about it, you should be able to find it in the African American hair products in your local store. IT REALLY DOES WORK. Hope you have good luck.

Hello M.,
I don't know what the professionals recommend, but I was recently told by a friend about my granddaughter's exzema that when you bath them to rinse them off really really well. Not with the same bath water however. With fresh new rinse water. Maybe this may help some! I hope it will.
K.
Layton,Ut.

We used Johnsons' baby oil and that worked wonders in just one use. I let it soak in for about 15 minutes then brushed her hair/scalp and then washed her hair 2 times to get the grease out. It has not returned since and the pediatrician suggested this so we knew that it was safe.

Hi, my 3.5 month old son is also dealing with cradle cap, and I read in a book geared towards natural healings to use marigold or olive oil in the baby's head, let it moisten the crusty spots, then to take a comb and gently scrape away the stuff. I usually do this over several days so I don't over-stress my son's head. When I did this the first time, it stayed away for some weeks, then came back, but much milder. It does make sense that unless the stuff gets completely scraped away, it will just continue to grow.

My son always had cradle cap and very dry skin. When he was 7 yoa I took him to a dermatologist and he was diagnosed with ichthyosis (skin disease). Have battled with it for 27 years. Gets better in summer when he spends time in the sun. Lachydrin lotin and shampoo, also tea tree oil directly on scalp overnight helps. Good luck!

Have her checked for allergies....probably dairy. Could also be a yeast infection.

i would first make sure it's cradle cap and not eczema or anything else. maybe try a dermatologist.