How do you get rid of cradle cap?

[kathsmom]

Hi, everyone! DS has what I assume to be cradle cap. The skin on his head is really flaky. When I wash his hair, it just loosens up a little but doesn't come off. If it does come off, it just stays stuck in his hair. Someone suggested using baby oil, but that seems kind of gross (I have oily hair, so maybe that's why!!),

Any suggestions on how to eliminate this problem would be appreciated!!

TIA!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[22tango]

DD has a slight case of that on the very top of her head! I give the area a brushing (with a soft bristle brush) before the bath to loosen it up, then wash with shampoo -- sometimes I even use the brush again while shampooing -- and rinse well. I also don't shampoo more than once a week -- so her skin doesn't get too dry. Occasionally I'll smooth a tiny bit of sweet almond oil on the area after giving her a massage. These things seem to help alot.

[belindapooh]

Go to the local drugstore, I went to Eckerd and bought Cradle Cap therapy oil and preventative shampoo and it worked great on dd. I forget the name brand. But they're the same ones that make the eczema therapy for dry skin. We've been using that on dd for the winter dry skin.

HTH,
Belinda
Nyah's mom born 2/6/02

[Rachels]

Johnson & Johnson makes a cradle cap shampoo. I've had good luck really saturating Abby's hair with vitamin e oil (yuck-- but it washes out). I wait a little while and then shampoo, and that takes care of it.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[kathsmom]

Ladies,

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I will definitely give them a try. I just get kind of grossed out thinking of putting oil on his head! I don't know why that freaks me out so much, but if that's what I have to do, I will. Where do you find sweet almond oil? I don't ever remember seeing it at the grocery store. Do you get it at a healthfood store? I will also look for the Johnson & Johnson cradle cap stuff, as well as the stuff from Eckerd's.

I hope we can get this cleared up soon!

Thanks again!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[Rachels]

Health food stores should have it, yes. Almond or apricot oil work well, as does vitamin e oil. Even olive oil would work.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Sheila]

When my daughter had this, I used to rub vaseline on the flaky part of her scalp before giving her a bath. It would loosen the flakes, and then I would shampoo and wash the greasy feeling of the vaseline out of her hair (what little she had!)

It worked really well... cleared up pretty quickly once I started doing that.

Sheila

________
Brevis (http://www.toyota-wiki.com/wiki/Toyota_Brevis)

[MichelleL]

Hi Toni,

My DS also has had cradle cap. I have heard rubbing olive oil on it might help although I haven't tried it. I just shampoo him like normal with my fingers and then grab a washcloth and massage the scalp area where he has the cradle cap. After the bath I brush his hair and it looks so much better. I also heard that you shouldn't let there heads get hot & sweaty as this also makes the condition worse!:-(

Good Luck!

Michelle

[Rachels]

As for worrying about the oil, maybe reframe your thinking a little so that you're considering it healthy massage oil rather than greasy unwashed hair. It really does rinse out. I find that 20 minutes of yummy-smelling oil bothers me a lot less than unresolved cradle cap.

:)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[kathsmom]

Ladies,

Thank you so much for the suggestions!! I have looked at Wal-Mart, Target, and the grocery store for the Johnson and Johnson cradle cap shampoo. I cannot find it. I did find something at Target that is a cradle cap treatment called Gentle Naturals by Baby Orajel. Has anyone heard of this? It was very expensive!! Over $6.00 for a 4 oz. bottle. I went ahead and bought it, because I still can't quite bring myself to put oil on his head.

Rachel, you are right that I need to reframe my thinking. I may have to, because I have a feeling that the almond or apricot oil will be less expensive than the stuff I bought. I know Vaseline and olive oil certainly are less expensive!!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)

[belindapooh]

Tia - We tried the baby oil, vaseline, etc. None of it worked and I too thought it was yucky. We did use a hairbrush to brush it through. The stuff that worked for us is called Pure Baby Cradle Cap Care and Pure Baby Cradle Cap Shampoo. It cleared up fast. We didn't have any problems using it. I can't remember how much it was. I thinke the Cap Care was like $7? and the shampoo $4? I bought it back in March so don't quote me. I did get it at Eckerds but I assume you can get it at any pharmacy store. Recently I was in Babies R Us and found the Pure Baby Ezcema Therapy which we've been using on dd for winter dry skin - again it did wonders. I hope you can find it.

Belinda

[Rachels]

I actually ordered this yesterday from www.drugstore.com. Thought we'd try it. They have a set for about $12. I would have just bought it at the pharmacy, but drugstore.com has a Burt's Bees freebie with purchase, so we went for that.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

Well as an alternative view on this, when I asked my ped about it, he said that none of the remedies really work (they just remove the current batch of dry skin), and it will go away eventually on its own. So I let it be and it went away. :)

[newbelly2002]

What does eczema look like?

Dante has a rash on his cheeks, his tummy and his back. Small red dots and then some larger bug-bitish looking things. The weather here has been really cold -12 and the apartment, despite my best efforts, is dry. Could this be what's causing it or should I worry?

Paula