Terrible dandruff in my 9-year-old.

[joanofarchitrave]

My son has a yellow deposit on his scalp which builds up to dandruff really quickly if I don't force him get him to wash his hair often enough. When he was a baby he had a lot of cradle cap which looked much the same. Do I just stick to Head and Shoulders, or is there anything else I can do?

My 8 year old DD had this and I stopped using shampoo altogether...only using conditioner and a very mild and natural one at that.

I wet her hair, (it's very long so I have to do it for her still) and then scrub her scalp with conditioner and rinse VERY thoroughly.

There's no need for shampoo...you can even use olive oil as a conditioner...it doesn't leave a smell, just rinse well. And don't wash his hair too often either...maybe twice a week tops. Also make sure he brushes it properly...stimulating the scalp well too.

My son had something that sounds like this - it reminded me of cradle cap. I got some shampoo on prescription from the doctor, only needed to put it on a couple of times and it cleared up beautifully with no further problems whatsoever. In fact, I've just had a dig around upstairs and found the bottle - it's called Capasal. I pissed around with oil and conditioner for a bit beforehand as well but it didn't make a blind bit of difference. Two washes with this stuff and all was well. Don't know if you can get it over the counter or not.

That's a bit rude of you Wallison....my DD's problems cleared up fine with me "pissing about with oil and conditioner". No need for strong shampoo at all.

But you don't shampoo her hair at all! That can't be right. How long was it before you got results with your method and when do you plan on stopping? My son's scalp was noticeably better after the first application and completely clear after the second. Now he can just wash his hair as normal and there is no ongoing treatment.

Well good for you! There was no need to be rude about my post Wallinson. I don't use shampoo on my own hair either...only conditioner. It's fine...why "can't it be right"? I don't roll in shit or dust it with food on a daily basis....it's rubbed and washed well and is shiny and smells nice.

Oh...and no nasty scalp either.

I don't roll in shit or food either but I do like to use soap to keep myself clean. That includes soap (ie shampoo) for my head. I used to know a guy who subscribed to this 'hair is self-cleaning' malarky and his hair was minging.

Don't use Head and Shoulders-its strips literally everything from the scalp and causes more problems than it solves. It sounds like he may have a sensitive scalp, so you'd be better off using a coal tar shampoo. Warm up some olive oil and massage it into his hair, wrap in a warm towel(obviously an old one) and then wash his hair well. The oil will help loosen the deposit, and condition the hair too. You shouldn't have to use coal tar shampoo all the time either, buy a decent gentle shampoo and stick to that.

I agree with Dubdurbs - I'd try something gentle (olive oil) to loosen it first. My DS has this, and I have to keep on top of it using olive oil then a gentle shampoo. I put olive oil on 20 minutes before the bath, rub it in, leave it, rub in warm water too, then when it's really soft comb it through. Then shampoo. This keeps it in check.
We have a steroid ointment (sort of dry shampoo) to use when it looks sore and flares up, but when it's just the yellow crusts/flakes, the olive oil etc. works fine.

Also, Neo - don't let the doubters get you down! There's plenty of reason to think that warm water, a good scrub and some conditioner would be plenty to keep an 8-year-old hygenic and sweet-smelling. If it works for you, that's all you need to know.

Oh, and I'm guessing the prescribed shampoo was an antifungal? (ketoconazole 2% or some such?)

If this persists, I also think that may be worth a try, in case it is a fungal thing. Tbh it did worse than nothing for my DS, but that in itself was useful to know, to help rule out a simply fungal cause.