Any advice on getting rid of cradle cap? Besides baby oil?

Heather - posted on 06/15/2010

Tea tree oil..It does work and safe for baby

Heather - posted on 06/15/2010

I had to quit using baby shampoo and just started using regular bar soap, Like Ivory, and it took care of it!! Hope this helps with your little one.

Gina - posted on 06/15/2010

I just looked and seen you have had 152 moms answer this question so i guess someone has already told you about baby oil. Good luck

Bree - posted on 06/15/2010

I used burts bees apricot oil and a soft baby brush. I worked very well for my son. It will take a few weeks to get rid of it completely but it should do the trick.

Amber - posted on 06/15/2010

Stop using baby shampoo! Use a hydrating shampoo and conditioner like Biolage. I have found baby products are just awful for the cradle cap problem. Also, you don't have to wash hair every day. Maybe once a week or so should do the trick. What is happening is that the baby's natural oils are being stripped from his scalp and skin.

Stacey - posted on 06/15/2010

I was always told that baby oil made it worse. Makes you wonder what the doctor was thinking. Cradle cap is caused from too much oil in the scalp. I would just wash it more and brush it more. Check out this website http://www.babycenter.com/0_cradle-cap_8...

Kim - posted on 06/15/2010

yes my twins had it and couldn't get rid of it either. the people who make butt paste aslo make a lotion. it's great i put it on her head twice and it was gone in 3 days. took a shower scrubie and it was gone. you should be able to get free samples at your dr.office if not check walmart. i swear by it.

Patti - posted on 06/15/2010

How often do you bathe your little guy? Sometimes cradle cap and dry skin occur if you bathe them a lot and then do not use baby oil and baby lotion. Also, do you use a baby hairbrush on his head? If you don't, then I suggest that you get one to use. You need to be bathing him every night, just before bedtime and then grease him up good with baby lotion and then put a liberal amount of baby oil on his head and then brush his hair, even if he doesn't have much hair. This should make the cradle cap and dry skin go away...

Paula - posted on 06/15/2010

congrats on getting it to clear up! However, make sure you keep an eye on it, it could come back. One of my twin boys had it really bad. We used the Baby Oil Gel and a comb. We were able to clear it up, thought everything was good, and then it came back! We had to start all over. He is 6 months now and no more cradle cap.

Tiffany - posted on 06/15/2010

Look for cradle cap shampoo in the baby section. I got mine at Walmart. There is also eczema cream in the same section which will help with the dry spots on the rest of his body. But if it keeps getting worse I would suggest talking to your doctor.

Eileen - posted on 06/15/2010

i'm a peds nurse and what i have recommended to my patients is to put the baby oil on then wash with selsun blue. the shampoo will NOT hurt the baby. be sure to keep it out of her eyes. rinse well. it may take a couple of times. i have used it on my own babies and grandbabies.

Lisa - posted on 06/15/2010

We had the same problem with both our boys... Our pediatrician recommended using a very small amount of regular dandruff shampoo and it worked great. Much better than any of the baby shampoos that said they would help with cradle cap. Just need to be careful not to get it in the babies eyes. We never had any trouble and it cleared it up right away.

Mi-Jo - posted on 06/15/2010

I actually had too use olive oil mulitple times, when I asked the doc, he said it could re occur but to keep on doing it, finally at 11 months it is all gone and has not come back :)

Julissa Jennifer - posted on 06/15/2010

well my son had cradle cap really bad as an infant and sometimes even at the age of 7 yrs old, i still find small clumps. but my mom told me to use a soft bristle baby brush to loosen the dry skin on the head then use olive oil. olive oil is use in persons with dry scalp and even as a moisturizer for persons like myself with really really dry, flaky skin and i am always itching and scatching. i use 1 tablespoon in a full tub of water, dont dry off, pat dry your skin. trust me it works.

Jenny - posted on 06/15/2010

I know you've had tons of replies already, but my son had horrendous cradle cap, made worse I think by allergy-related dermatitis. I tried all the different products, olive oil kind of helped but I had to scrub at it and it left his poor skin all red, which then had to heal etc. It was horrible. But then someone recommended PARAFFIN OIL which you can just get from the chemist. Sounds drastic, but it's actually contained in a lot of other products. I LITERALLY put it on ONCE, the crusts all lifted and I just combed them out, and it never came back. Fantastic stuff!

Joleen - posted on 06/15/2010

I used baby oil. Jut coat his head good, then brush it real good, the brush the hospital gives you is best. One time did it for my son and my daughter. If it seems to be moving to his body I would think it was eczema, or an allergic reaction to the baby oil. You might want to talk to the Dr. about that. Maybe you should try baby lotion, or olive oil.

Sandy - posted on 06/15/2010

Yes, rub baby oil on the baby's head at night before going to bed. In the morning use a fine toothe baby comb and comb through the hair and the cradle cap will slip off. May take a couple times to get it all.

Susan - posted on 06/15/2010

Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Care...light green bottle with Winnie the Pooh on the front. We use it every time cradle cap starts to show up and it works great!

Shari - posted on 06/15/2010

My son's went from simple cradle cap to impetigo.

Bj - posted on 06/15/2010

I agree- let the oil sit and then use a firm baby brush - if that doesnt work- you may want to seek other advice as it may be more than cradle cap= ESPECIALLY if it is showing up in other areas. That is very unusual

Toya - posted on 06/15/2010

hi sarah,

you should try cradle cap shampoo - you can get it from boots and its not that expensive. a feww washes and it will clear but use da shampoo until it finishes (also- wash everyday if you can)

Jennifer Rain - posted on 06/15/2010

Weleda has a Rosemary hair oil, that is wonderful! A few drops added to some melted coconut oil or castor oil massaged in for an hour and washed out with gentle, natural shampoo, like weleda or burts bees. I'm a skin care professional. Regular baby oil is a byproduct of gasoline production and can actually exacerbate skin conditions. it was originally used as a rust solvent! Yuck! Throw it out or use it on your car. not baby.

Shari - posted on 06/15/2010

I had great success with Gerber's cradle cap kit.

Pat - posted on 06/15/2010

I am a grandma of 9 now and when my kiddies were little i used to use olive oil ..... rub it on the cradle cap and leave it .... overnight if you can then wash hair and it should just gradually come off

Pam - posted on 06/15/2010

Shampoo your babies hair at least twice a day, lathering the shampoo and vigorously scrubbing the scalp with baby's hair brush. DO NOT put oils or any other product on baby's scalp. The condition is actually a result of a naturally built up oil in the scalp. The baby will like the experience and the scalp will begin to dry and heal. Hold the baby's head in the palm of your hand over the sink and lather a good five minutes each time. Unless you do this the cradle cap will get much worse and ultimately form a "cap" on the baby's head. Seriously. This is why they refer to the condition as "cradle cap."

Jessica - posted on 06/15/2010

my son had cradle cap very much and for a long time and I tried lots finally someone told me and it worked buy a baby brush and after the bath with a touch of pressure massage the scalp in a couple of bath times you will notice a difference

April - posted on 06/15/2010

My sons doctor suggested regular dandruff shampoo twice a week, that's about all they need to be fully bathed at that age. You have to keep it up even after it goes away, or it will come back but it worked much better than the cradle crap lotions, or trying to oil it off his head....that just made him sore. As everyone else has said be careful not to get it in his eyes.

Christine(Laffoon) - posted on 06/15/2010

Hi...All my children had cradle cap, one so bad that she lost all her hair..I finally found that if I soaked her head with baby oil overnight and washed it the next morning, using a brush to loosen the cradle cap, it finally cleared up...It takes time, but she will lose her hair if you don't get it under control!! Hope this helps!!

Martha Parrott - posted on 06/15/2010

Dandruff shampoo eventually worked for my daughter. Just be sure to keep it out of his/her eyes.

Mackenzie - posted on 06/15/2010

try head and shoulders, my son's pediatrician recommended it.

Tricia - posted on 06/15/2010

I tried all the lotions and potions for my son when he had cradle cap and finally found the solution for only $2. The hairdressers sell plastic "brushes" called head and body massagers. They are a hexagonal shape and u put ur finger through a loop at the top to hold it. u just use this to brush ur baby's head each day. It only took a week or 2 for my son's thick cradle cap to be gone. I didn't use any other solutions with it, just brushed his hair with this as I would with a normal brush/comb.

Brenda - posted on 06/15/2010

Wow that sounds different. My daughter had it but I used a soft brissel brush on her head while shampooing. I just combed through her hair every day while bathing her.

Marian - posted on 06/15/2010

I put the baby oil on the scalp and let it sit over night. Try putting a cap on the head. the next morning I combed through with the comb you get from the hospital. It came right off. I also got a little nylon brush from the hospital (kinda of like a mushroom brush) and used that on the baby's head every time I washed their heads. never had an issue afterwards. Good luck

Megan - posted on 06/15/2010

there is this great product by gentle naturals called cradel cap care just 2 treatments and the cradel cap was gone!!

Jennifer - posted on 06/15/2010

What worked best for both of my babies is olive oil. Gently rub the oil on the scalp and let sit for about 30 minutes. Then remove the flakes with a baby comb (this may take a while, so I suggest having someone else hold the baby while you do this). The last step is to wash baby's hair with a gentle shampoo, which should remove the oil and most of the remaining flakes. Good luck!

Adrienne - posted on 06/15/2010

I used olive oil and it was great also make sure when the olive oil is on to brush the hair and cradle cap backwards this will help remove the loose stuff.

hope this helps:)

Kristy - posted on 06/15/2010

My son is 7 months and still has cradle cap. We went to the DR. and were told that the baby oil only makes the cradle cap worse and does not solve the problem. We were prescribed a creme and this seems to be helping. We were also told that Vaseline works well too.

Amanda - posted on 06/15/2010

Please check with your doctor first, but my pediatrician told me to buy a travel size bottle of Head and Shoulder's for my son. It worked great and got rid of it quickly. You do have to be very careful since it is NOT tear free. I had no problems with it, it never got in Kyle's eyes and he wiggles alot :-) Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 06/15/2010

My son had the same issue. Hydorcortizone was the only thing that worked for him. His also had spread to his face, ears and sholders. He also was really itchy. Once we put that on, it really cleared up fast. We had also tried the baby oil, creams, lotions and nothing did the trick until the we had the doctor prescribe a stronger version than over the counter hydrocortizone! Good luck!

Candace - posted on 06/15/2010

Carefully use Selsin Blue & exfoliate with a washcloth. Then use a natural oil like coconut or olive to moisturize afterwards. I don't like vaseline or baby oil because they are petroleum products, yuck! The Burts Bees oil should be all natural too.

I also used the Selsin blue to get rid of my daughters baby acne. A tiny dot on a baby washcloth, gently rub into affected areas. Her acne was gone in a week & if it ever looked like it was coming back I'd just use it again for a couple days.

Jolyn - posted on 06/15/2010

My son had a bad issue w/ cradle cap and the baby oil did not work, his hair actually stopped growing until I bought the Cradle Cap Shampoo. He had always had lots of hair, but the top stopped growing and started thinning altogether!! I want to say I bought the shampoo at K-mart but it's probably all the same, just use as directed. It worked wonders!! We used it twice and no more cradle cap!!! His hair started filling in again. It was the best thing ever, with my 11 yr old I had to deal with the baby oil and that took forever to work!!!! Good Luck

Annette - posted on 06/15/2010

Clean the scalp with Cetaphil cleanser or the geniric available at walmart or dollar general. Then use Nestle Baby Hair Lotion daily. Wash baby with the cleanser and apply cetaphil lotion or aquaphor. Hope this helps.

Charlotte - posted on 06/15/2010

Rub dandruff shampoo on your baby's head like lotion, let it sit a few minutes and then wash it away. Sometimes it may take a couple of times before it all goes away, but I have four children of my own and I did home child care for 17 years and it always worked.

Rhonda - posted on 06/15/2010

My daughter had some mind cradle cap at that age as well. Her doctor told us not to really worry about it, that it was normal but my husband didn't like it and was determined overcome it Every night he gently brushed it with a soft baby brush and then it was gone after a week or so. I was impressed with his determination. After that we just made sure we brushed daily (even though she didn't have that much hair) and it never came back. I'm not sure how helpful this is but good luck.

Tanya - posted on 06/15/2010

my daughter had cradle cap since a few weeks after she was born. My dr. suggested to use TGel which you can find in any store by the shampoos. So I tried that and scrubbed it into her head with a soft brush. Just don't use a lot, just a very little amount will work. It worked after the third time of using it. I always rubbed in vasoline after scrubbing her head with tgel. She also started getting it in the creases and on other parts of her body. so we figured she has excema too. The dr. told me that any scent or color of lotions is also not good to use because it may be excema. Anything that is perfume and dye free is fine to use. I switched my laundry detergent to dreft. So now I use vasoline and aquaphor and sometimes hydrocortizone cream and luckily it's a lot more under control.

Renee - posted on 06/15/2010

My Doctor told me to use Selsun Blue shampoo. It's dandruf shampoo that can be bought at pretty much any drug store. You put it on the scalp dry and let it sit for about 5 min and then get it wet and lather. At this point a soft toothbrush does wonders and then rinse. After about three days and three washes they never got it back again. The only problem was the rinsing. It isn't "No tears" so be careful with that part. I luv that stuff and everyone I know with kids with cradle cap has used it and thanked me.

Debby - posted on 06/15/2010

I have five daughters now grown. None of them ever had cradle cap. Every bath they had their heads scrubbed and baby oil rubbed in. Sorry for no other suggestions but I believe the baby oil is the best thing..

Anna - posted on 06/15/2010

The brush they use in the hospital on their first bath is the best thing to use on their head. My hospital would remove the sponge that contained the casteal(sp?) soap for their first bath and send it home with me. I was told to scrub their head every time they had a bath (which was every day) and they would not get it. They never did either! If you don't have that brush get one of those poof things that women use for their body wash and use that. The only way to get rid of it is to exfoliate the skin.
Putting more oil on it only clogs the pores of the skin. The key is to scrub ! Cradle cap isn't any different than gross crusty elbows where people don't scrub.

Janet - posted on 06/15/2010

When Toby now 32 had cradle cap we used baby oil and used a baby brush and brushed softly and it went away. You may have to do this more than once till it goes away. As for the spreading no, he may have exzema and I suggest you go to a dermatoligist and get it looked at. Our 2 year old grandson has it and they took a blood test and he is highley alergic to dust mites (so they have to wash down his bed and everything in his room, once a week) he also has to be rubbed in with an over the counter lotion like eucerin and he also for the real bad places he has medication to rub on the areas.

Jessica - posted on 06/15/2010

Hi, Sarah:

All my children had cradle cap, to a greater or lesser degree. Baby oil is one of the worst things you can use, along with products like Vaseline, as they are petroleum products and actually make the problem worse by taking nutrients out of the skin. Use a vegetable oil, such as sesame (wonderful for all skin types) or another (safflower, sunflower, etc.) and wash it out with a gentle, mild, natural shampoo (not one of the common commercial ones, but something without toxic ingredients like sodium laurel sulfate). I used to leave the oil on overnight, then wash it out in the morning. I also used a soft baby brush to stimulate the release of the "crusts" and a baby comb to remove it from their hair before washing the hair. In the worst cases, some hair fell out, usually attached to large crusts, but it all grew back. My son who had the worst case, is now 35 and has wonderful hair (and no cradle cap lol). Good luck with it. It will clear up!