Please help get rid of cradle cap

[northstar]

DD has horrendous cradle cap, it is thick and covers all the top and front of her head. It is in her eyebrows too. HV said to "use olive oil" but ?. How ? I have been putting olive oil on it but presumably that's not enough, it's not going anywhere. Do I pick it off bit by bit? Do I rinse it off, if so with what? It is just getting worse and worse. I have cradle cap shampoo, but cannot see how shampoo is going to move the thick crust. Please help me.

[swiperfox]

Rub in olive oil and leave it on overnight or all day. Rinse/wash in the morning/evening and dry with a towel and it will start to come off. Might take a few goes.

Don't pick it - apparently it encourages more to grow - although I've picked ds's a couple of times when he's been asleep !!

[sanchpanch]

if you put oil on overnight then in morning comb hair with thin tooth comb it should gradually remove it, keep doing it till it clears over period of a week or so

[laughorcry]

We were advised to put on lots of olive oil using a cotton wool pad about an hour before the baby's bath, then have a longish bath and use a soft bristled toothbrush to brush at the bits.

Have to say though that we haven't used the toothbrush and it is coming off gradually just with a baby sponge.

Almost everyone we've seen on both sides of the family say that their babies had it and it doesn't seem to bother ds - so we thought there was no harm in letting it some off gradually.

We did try the cradle cap shampoo but wish we hadn't as it seemed to make things worse.

Also think it best not to pick at it (if you can resist) as the only harm that cradle cap can do is if it gets infected.

[LeahE]

The dentinox shampoo worked for us (massage in quite firmly, rinse, repeat and rinse again), but doesn't for everyone. A friend told me she'd had success using adult Head & Shoulders for dandruff and taking care to keep it out of baby's eyes. And another friend suggested rubbing baby massage gel into the hair, letting it dry overnight and then brushing out. I never got to trying either of those, though.

For the eyebrows I used Oilatum Junior cream -- rubbed it in and it seemed to sort it out. In fact, now I come to think about it maybe I should have just tried that on his head?

[northstar]

Thanks, will try to avoid picking it then.
The baby hairbrush or comb just bumps over the top of it, so hopefully the toothbrush will work. I know it is only a cosmetic problem really, but I hate it.

[Amai]

Northstar I found j&j baby oil worked a treat, I massaged it in and washed it off in the bath with water the next day or the same day and persevered for about a week followed with a baby brush when it was dry. Try and avoid shampoo as it seems to dry the scalp.

[saadia]

Dentinox worked for us - must admit I couldn't stop picking at it either

[WigWamBam]

We used a combination of dentinox shampoo every day, and olive oil massaged well in every night before bed and then washed off in the morning. It cleared up really quickly, although I'm not sure which it was that shifted it!

[shrub]

rub oil in lightly, leave for an hour or so then using a natural bristle baby brush gently brush across the flakes in all directions and then wash hair and again use brush or lightly rub dry towel/flannel over the area. if olive oil is too heavy try weleda calendula baby oil. avoid synthetic shampoos with sls (sulphates) or parabens as the detergent that makes the shampoo foam will over dry the scalp and more cradle cap will result - try www.greenpeople.co.uk

[charleepeters]

I have the cradle cap shampoo and although it sounds brutal you have to massage it in reallt hard - obviously not to hurt baby or damage fontinal, but then after you have washed it go through it with a baby comb or nit comb and it will get the cradle cap out, ds had it badly and its all gone now. alomnd oil, or olive oit works the same.

[bossykate]

aveeno cleared up dd's cradle cap after 4 solid months of olive oil massage and fine tooth combing... the aveeno cream cleared it in 2 days!

[bossykate]

aveeno cleared up dd's cradle cap after 4 solid months of olive oil massage and fine tooth combing... the aveeno cream cleared it in 2 days!

[bossykate]

aveeno cleared up dd's cradle cap after 4 solid months of olive oil massage and fine tooth combing... the aveeno cream cleared it in 2 days!

[bossykate]

sorry

[CiaoLeo]

bossykate



Just kidding

[Mojomummy]

Yes, advised not to use Dentinox, very harsh because of chemicals.

I found olive oil worked very well....that & me having a little pick

[kgc]

hi there northstar....my two youngest had this and was tried olive oil did not work...but now use tea tree oil on them....also works for nits.....and has been great....so try it.....

[Carla]

dd2 had cradle cap until she was about 3!! It wasn't flaky, but a thick yellow crust. The urge to pick at it was irrisistable - I used to say "There's a fly/some sugar in your hair - let me get it out" > And yes, I know that's terrible, but she never seemed to mind.

I think part of the problem was that she used to hate having her hair brushed. I was only able to to a few cursory strokes of the hairbrush, never able to touch her scalp. Eventually that changed, and I got a brush with nylon and natural bristles which seemed to shift it over time.

When she was about 2 or 3 months old I remember the skin on her whole face peeling off like sunburn, or a snake shedding its skin, and it was very oily. I never had that with dd1 and often wondered if the two were related.

Northstar, does your dd allow you to brush her scalp? If so, I'd try a more robust hairbrush along with all the other things the others have suggested.

Good luck! Like nits, you'll miss it when it's gone!

[northstar]

Hi and thanks everyone, I'm not sure that the olive oil is working, sometimes it seems to be better then WHAM it's right back again. It has been 2 weeks now. I am picking it off yes I can't help it. Ds said "don't worry mummy it's just cornflakes in her hair"
Will find aveeno asap but in the meantime can you tell me if tea tree oil can go on neat? I have some here but not the instructions.

[ABow]

Northstar - wouldn't put teatree on neat because it can sting a bit, but you can dilute it in oliveoil. I have used lavender oil diluted in olive oil and that seemed to work really well (also worked wonders on nappy rash)

[northstar]

Thanks I will try that when dd wakes up.

[lunachic]

dentinox shampoo i only used it once or twice and it went

[northstar]

Lunachic, how did it go? Did the whole thing just lift off? dd's is like a head of flakes, and if i pick a small section and work on it, it will be back a day or two later. I cant imagine how it will go.

[jane313]

I used sopmething my dr gave me on prescription called salycilic acid. probably really bad for my baby for my baby but didn't know better at the time. It worked very quickly.

[foxinsocks]

northstar, we have only just completely got rid of dd's cradle cap (and she turns 5 next month). Ds had his till he was around 3 and a half.

Dd has incredibly thick hair and I think this didn't help. We did the olive oil thing but it took us so long to stop her hair looking like a greasy chip pan that we had to stop. I would second Aveeno (don't get the one with menthol).

Your cradle cap sounds like it covers quite a large portion of her head and eyebrows (after dd was around 6 months, it was only in large patches rather than a huge area) and I think if you are worried and the aveeno/olive oil doesn't help, you should think about taking her to the HV to see if it warrants a trip to the GP. I know they aren't bothered much if it's on their heads but they do take a bit more notice if it's on their face.