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Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

General health

Cradle Cap, should I treat it or will it go away on its own?

29 replies

Demented · 02/09/2002 21:51

DS2, now 13 weeks seems to have developed slight cradle cap (or at least that is what my mother says it is), it just looks like he hasn't had the shampoo washed out of his hair properly, but I know this isn't the case. There is hardly any of it and I just wondered if it would go away on its own if I left it or does it always need treatment?

I would use Olive Oil on it but as he has his bath with DS1 at night, I would need to bath DS2 again in the morning to wash the oil off and in that case if it would go away on its own I would rather just leave it.

TIA for any help.

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ionesmum · 02/09/2002 23:28

I didn't treat dd's cradle-cap at all. I just brushed her hair each day with a soft baby brush. We kept being told to put almond oil on it by the hv but it did go on its own, it might have taken longer (or not) but I preferred this to the mess and also any possibility of an allergic reaction. We didn't use any shampoo whilst washing dd's hair either, just water, as a friend's baby had eczema triggered by baby shampoo on cradle cap. If dd gets food in her hair I just wipe it out with a flannel. HTH

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musica · 02/09/2002 23:34

We rubbed baby oil in, and then instantly shampooed it out, then combed the hair through, and this seemed to flake it off.

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robinw · 03/09/2002 07:11

message withdrawn

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sobernow · 03/09/2002 09:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mollipops · 03/09/2002 09:55

Demented, you could try leaving the olive oil in all day and then washing off that night? You don't need much, so it's not as messy as it sounds. Just massage it lightly in and leave it, then brush with a baby brush after you rinse it off. It should lift by itself - don't try to pull it off. Do you use shampoo on his hair? He probably doesn't need it washed with shampoo yet, and certainly not daily - might be worth trying to skip the shampoo for a while too. HTH.

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JaneyT · 03/09/2002 10:07

I agree with Mollipops - both my dds had it, my older dd worse who also gets eczema. I used to put olive oil on about 20 mins before bathtime and then shampoo off - I use oilatum shampoo because of dd1s eczema - I used to give the scalp a gentle rub with a baby brush whilst shampooing and found this worked well, before rinsing off. I never found a cradle cap shampoo made any difference.

Sobernow - I also have picked it off in the past !!! Yuk

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threeangels · 03/09/2002 12:46

Hi Demented, My 3rd had very bad cradle cap. I just combed it out after a bath when the head was still moist. I used one of those fine baby combs used for this problem. Worked well with me.

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zebra · 03/09/2002 16:26

I found, by searching, that DS still has some (almost 3yo). It doesn't do any harm and would presumably clear if I washed his hair more than once a month.

Before you all think me a complete slob, his hair looks perfectly clean, and I would just as soon minimise the number of chemicals & perfumes my kids come into contact with.

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bundle · 03/09/2002 16:53

my dd (26 mths) still has some too, but it's the same colour as her hair, so hard to track down

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Cha · 03/09/2002 17:30

My dd has had it for about 6 months now and I left it alone because it was the same colour as her hair. However, for some reason, I have recently been picking at it (VERY SATISFYING) and the other day did what threeangels did and got rid of most of it. Hasn't come back either. Am now wondering if it was in fact cradle cap at all - maybe she just had a dirty head (hates getting hair washed)...

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Demented · 03/09/2002 23:36

Wow, facinating stuff. My HV was at the house today for DS2 3-4 month check, I showed her the alleged cradle cap and she said she didn't think it was cradle cap at all. I had not thought about only putting the oil on for 10 or 20 mins and I might try this as there is something on his scalp and I don't suppose it will do any harm. I don't really wash his hair with shampoo just a little bit of Johnsons bubble bath (I know I shouldn't) with the water and I splash his head with it.

Thanks to everyone for all their help I'll give the suggestions a try.

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mears · 03/09/2002 23:51

The proper advice is just to leave it alone You can get a shampoo called Cradocap which is specailly formulated.
I personally put on baby oil overnight then had a fantastic time picking all the bits off whilst sitting feeding. As a professional I would never recommend you do the same

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Willow2 · 04/09/2002 10:49

My ds is 2 1/2 and still gets a bit of cradle cap - but also pulls his hair out. He twists it round and round his finger and then just pulls. He now has an increasingly obvious bald patch. Thought it was just a habit, apparently I did it too - but this morning he was scratching his head and ended up with a really flakey scalp. I do use a cradle cap shampoo every now and then, and he has his hair washed or rinsed very regularly. However, after this morning am wondering if the two are linked. Any thoughts? Also, how do I get him to stop before he ends up bald?

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hmb · 08/09/2002 17:57

I am glad to read that I am not alone in picking at cradle cap. Yucky and satifying at the same time

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DebbieL · 09/09/2002 14:11

why shouldn't you wash baby hair with Johnson's Bubble Bath ?

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Lilia · 09/09/2002 21:47

Hi!

I used to use infaderm shampoo. It's for babies with eczema and helped us with cradle cup (not very quick though). ANother thing we noticed with cr. cup is that it prevents hair growth

LIlia

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LIZS · 10/09/2002 19:32

Our dd has has had severe cradle cap since birth. All Johnsons products just aggravate it, as they did our ds'skin. We used almond oil on it until recently when we ran out and I discovered a bottle of Tesco unperfumed, hypoallergenic baby oil left over from ds (about 3 years!!) at the back of the cupboard and the improvement in just a couple of days was remarkable. Then she turned a year old and the scales seemed to coincidently vanish over night so she now looks just a bit dandruffy. Her hair is suddenly growing although her scalp still seems itchy. Bizarre !!

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LIZS · 21/10/2002 19:16

Update

dd's cradle cap has been replaced by atopic dermatitis and the irritation caused her to get it infected. So we now have a different problem which has worsened with each vaccination (MMR and Meningitis C) and when the weather changed. Seems to be improving again at the moment so hopefully will clear altogether in time.

Lizs

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robinw · 21/10/2002 19:54

message withdrawn

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monkey · 22/10/2002 09:18

both of moine had cradle cap - the 2nd quite badly. Hv also recommended olive oil, but this just made it look green & disgusting & did nothing to shift it. In the end I got the cradle cap shampoo & it shifted it very quickly.

Ds2 was really irritated by his & would claw at his head & he's be covered in bloody scratch marks. People would wince & ask in concern what was wrong with his head, so I wasn't prepared to take the softly softly approach when the cradle cap shampoo had an immediate & dramatic effect.

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Katherine · 22/10/2002 10:15

I tried the oiling thing on DS and DD but found it very messy and gave up as it didn't seem o bother them. DS is now 4 and DD 2.8 and they still have it. Recently tried denntinox shampoo for CC but doesn't seem to have made much difference. I suppose it'll go on its own eventually. Actually I think its due to the water as we have very hard water here and everyone complains about their hair when they come to stay. Must be like bathing in mild acid rain so I wondered if I could add anything to neutralise the water!

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Ghosty · 22/10/2002 10:24

We used Dentinox shampoo to, as soon as DS showed any signs of CC, just for a couple of days at a time and it worked a treat for us ...

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Azure · 24/10/2002 13:35

My DS had horrible cradle cap from about 6 weeks old (when his cousin first saw him he asked why DS had biscuits on his head!). The HV recommended olive oil, but that never seemed to work - maybe because I didn't like brushing his poor head. My GP eventually prescribed cradocap, which we used very sparingly (DS has eczema) but seemed to do the trick. It was also much better when DS's hair eventually grew.

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VJR · 24/10/2002 13:49

With DS2 Dentinox seemed to really help for us too. Try using a soft brush and don't be afraid to rub your baby's head quite vigorously with the towel after the bath. This seemed to get rid of all the loose bit that collect on the head and it cleared within a couple of washes.

Have to say that with DS1 I just picked it all off which I found immensley satisfying - sorry!

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bluestar · 24/10/2002 14:16

DS (aged 21 months) had cradle cap until recently - we were reluctant to interfere too much (also has eczema). On a recent holiday we used sand as a natural abrasive (and he didn't notice this is what we were doing) and it is now pretty much gone - so for those thinking of getting some sun and sand soon...

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