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Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?

10 replies

Blackeyedcat · 05/03/2026 12:21

Baby of 9 months old has very very dry scalp , she has had it since 3 months and anything I do doesn’t make it go away . She keeps scratching her head all the time for months now. she had cradle cap when born but now its just dry skin , there is no flakes , it just looks really dry. I have tried coconut oil , aveeno cream , eczema creams , weleda oil , breast milk , it all looks good while the cream is on but when I wash it off it all looks just as bad as before cream applied , any suggestions ? I can’t seem to get it under control . She does have a bit of eczema on her body if that info helps . Thanks in advance .

Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?
Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?
Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?
Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?
OP posts:
Moshalot · 05/03/2026 12:24

Have you tried just bathing her once a week with water only? No bubble bath, no shampoo. I'd try this for a month first of all.

If she needs more baths than that for medical reasons, just don't actively get her head wet more than once a week.

Blackeyedcat · 05/03/2026 12:31

Moshalot · 05/03/2026 12:24

Have you tried just bathing her once a week with water only? No bubble bath, no shampoo. I'd try this for a month first of all.

If she needs more baths than that for medical reasons, just don't actively get her head wet more than once a week.

Hey I haven’t tried this once a week thing , it’s because the head is so dry , I keep putting moisturisers and oils in to make it better and then next day I keep washing it out so maybe too much washing and I maybe need to stop the creams then so I don’t have to wash it out all the time . I just cant imagine it going away without some kind of moisturisers :( thanks for replying .

OP posts:
Moshalot · 05/03/2026 12:46

Even in otherwise healthy adults, excessive washing can cause dry skin. Basically you keep stripping away the natural oils, so the skin can never find its balance.

Babies do have various skin complaints anyway, and I'm not promising a total fix! But at least if you go back to basics and allow her skin to heal, you will know if there's actually a problem, or if she's actually healthy but the overwashing is causing the dryness.

Good luck!

INeedNewShoes · 06/03/2026 07:18

I would also try bathing only in water for a month and not applying any creams.

Also generally avoid covering her head and if she needs to wear a hat, make sure it’s cotton and only put it on when necessary. The same with coat hoods etc. Also make sure any cot sheets etc are cotton.

rockinrobins · 06/03/2026 07:25

My baby has this as well.

Stop washing hair so often to start with, and don't put so much different stuff on it. You need a routine of using one or two products only and then give it time.

Bath and wash her hair once every 2-3 days. Use an eczema friendly shampoo, I recommend the Child's Farm oat one. Don't use bubble bath and limit time in the bath, 5 mins or so, just washing and then out. The bath water itself is actually drying, even without any products in it, so you want to limit the time she's in there.

Cover her scalp in epaderm cream (not ointment as it will totally gunk up her hair) after the bath, before bed, and as many times each day as she will tolerate - I was literally doing it about 6-7 times a day with my son - now it's under control I do it morning and evening.

Don't rub it in too much and apply it in the direction of the hair. It will soak in.

Definitely don't use coconut oil or other oils - it won't help with eczema, it's more for cradle cap which is a different thing.

If she is really itchy you could use Aproderm colloidal oat cream before the Epaderm. I layer it - a layer of oat cream helps the itch, then epaderm on top will moisturise and seal it in.

You can get Epaderm cream on prescription for free.

Don't use Aveeno/ Weleda/ other high street creams - they are not really good for baby eczema despite the claims. Just use emollients like Epaderm/ Aproderm which are actually proper moisturisers for eczema with fewer ingredients.

Good luck, it's so uncomfortable for the little ones!

We also give our son piriton at night (on doctor's advice) as it also helps with the itching, I would recommend seeing GP before doing that though.

rockinrobins · 06/03/2026 07:31

Blackeyedcat · 05/03/2026 12:31

Hey I haven’t tried this once a week thing , it’s because the head is so dry , I keep putting moisturisers and oils in to make it better and then next day I keep washing it out so maybe too much washing and I maybe need to stop the creams then so I don’t have to wash it out all the time . I just cant imagine it going away without some kind of moisturisers :( thanks for replying .

You do likely need a cream, especially if she has eczema.

But it's OK not to wash it out every day :)

Just use one cream, I recommend epaderm as above, and it really doesn't matter if it sits for 2 or 3 days. It soaks in anyway.

Blackeyedcat · 06/03/2026 09:37

Thank you so much guys ! I will try epaderm cream then as Iv never tried it before and wash it out every 3 days And re apply again . Anything is worth a try :) thank you !

OP posts:
rockinrobins · 06/03/2026 16:46

Blackeyedcat · 06/03/2026 09:37

Thank you so much guys ! I will try epaderm cream then as Iv never tried it before and wash it out every 3 days And re apply again . Anything is worth a try :) thank you !

Def worth a try! I've had eczema all my life and my son has inherited it :( So we are used to managing it here.

If she doesn't stop itching with the epaderm then I'd see the GP as it could be some kind of allergy as well. My son also needed a week of low strength steroid cream to get on top of it in the first place but that was prescribed by the GP.

Blackeyedcat · 10/03/2026 09:05

Hi everyone, so an update ! I have used the epaderm cream ( not ointment ) for like 4 days now and I can say that it worked wonders , the scalp is flake free , not even one bit of dry skin to be seen . And I took the advice to wash it off every 3rd day from buildup instead of every day and the results are clear ! Completely fixed it wow ! Thank you so much for all of you for suggestions !

OP posts:
Blackeyedcat · 10/03/2026 09:08

All clear now !

Baby has extremely dry scalp , what to use ?
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