Do toddlers get cradle cap?

[littlestar]

2-year-old DS has patches on his scalp which are covered in brown, greasy-looking flakes. Is it cradle cap and, if so, what's the best way to treat it? (I should probably know this by now, but he's never had anything like it before!)

Yes they do.
Olive oil on the scalp for half an hour (or overnight if you don't mind washing the pillowcases next day), then get your fingers in there and massage it away - or use a fine tooth comb.

Oh, then you'll obviously need to wash his hair afterwards.

dS is 7 still gets it.

Agree with VB about what to do. Combing does the job. And yes, my 3 year old can get it.

Thanks, that seems to have done the trick (and was strangely satisfying!)

My pharmacist gave me coconut oil, which you heat in a saucepan, rub in to the child's scalp, leave overnight, then lift the cradle cap off the next day. A nit comb is good for this. Wonderfully therapeutic. Can't wait to
take ds back to the barber to show him I really
am not the negligent mother he thinks I am for
allowing my 7 year old to have all this flaky stuff on his scalp.

My ds of 2.5 had a bad patch of this a couple of months ago. We did the oil thing and washed his head with dentinox every night for 2 weeks. Combed his hair through after each wash etc and that seemed to do the trick. Perseverence is the key!

I used dentinox for DS1 when he was about 18mths, it was hopless! I left it to go on its own accord in the end.
DS2 has a bit of of cradle cap too, but its a really small patch. I'm leaving that to its own devices too unless it gets worse.

yes - my 4yo still has a couple of patches on her hair.