cradle cap and hair loss?

[SenoraPostrophe]

dd is just two and still has terrible cradle cap (dp calls her "cornflake girl" ). I've never really worried about it - I've tried a few things - oil, stuff from the chemist - but nothing really works (it gets a little better for a few days, but just comes back).

But the other day at nursery they pointed out that her hair is quite thin on top and said they had found some clumps of it in the playground attached to some cornflakey bits of scalp. Is that normal for cradle cap? should I do anythig about it?

SP - my daughter still had what I called cradle cap until she was 6 and she used to scratch her scalp which would lead to small clumps coming out. Used Nizoral (sp?) from the chemist since GP said it was basically a fungal infection. Now just use anti-dandruff shampoo which seems to do the trick.

my dd also had cradle cap like that, with the hair coming it, just like yours. It got better when she turned 4 and now at nearly 5 it's pretty much gone. It seemed to really inhibit her hair growth, too - she had very little hair as a toddler. We got it under control somewhat by soaking her scalp in olive oil for a whole day and then combing with a nit comb in the evening before washing it. It's messy though and olive oil takes several washes to come out properly.

hair coming out even.

my ds2 had cradle cap. i used weleda calendula baby oil (chamomile, calendula and sesame organic oil) let it soak, then used flannel dipped in warm water and massaged scalp. did this gradually over 1-2 weeks so the skin has a chance to heal. if you try and get all the scales off at once the skin goes into overdrive and produces more flakes. hope it helps

another vote for weleda caendula baby oil...it has cleared cradle cap for our 2 children.
We also used Jason Kids Only shampoo to wash hair, its very mild, has no artifical chemicals and has lots of scalp-improving essential oils.

We use the traditional olive oil method. It does work provided you leave it to soak for quite a while and comb it off, don't pick. If it doesn't all come off in one go just repeat weekly. DD still had it quite badly at 4 and we were advised by a hairdresser that it would inhibit her hair growth so I started tackling it more systematically, having assumed it was harmless and she's grow out of it, and so largely ignored it up til then. Her scalp is pretty clear now.

forgot to add that i didn't use any shampoo during this time - most have harsh detergents in them which can make cc worse. even now i wash hair about once a week or fortnight. use tiny amount - greenpeople or jason as gloworm said are both very mild no chemicals

Just read this thread! My DD (5) has the same patches that she itches but with no associated hair loss (but probably wouldn't notice as she is Miss Curly from Curlyland!) Can you tell me where you got the Weleda Calendula and the Jason kids stuff from please?

both weleda and jason brand are available in any good health shop (not sure if places like holland and barrett do them), if not in stock most smaller halth shops would order in a bottle for at no extra cost.

here is a link to the Jason web site, scroll to the bottom for the kids one.

Jasons shampoos

and here is the link for weleda
weleda calendula oil
I'm pretty sure there is no almond oil in the Uk version...has sesame oil instead.

dd had quite bad cradle cap and I used a very soft toothbrush and brushed backwards on her scalp which lifts the edges of the scabs just a little. Then rubbed aqeous cream onto the scalp, left it for about an hour and then shampooed out with a baby shampoo. It seems to have worked well and the nice thing about the aqeous cream is that it is quite easy to control.

Daniel Galvin Junior organic baby shampoo from waitrose worked on DD and DS's cradle cap (and also seemed to make their hair grow faster, although I could be imagining that!), even though its not medicated. Also it doesn't have that really nasty chemical - that I can't remember the name of - that is in most shampoos.