4yo has cradle cap - does it matter?

[cornflakegirl]

My 4yo DS has cradle cap. He's had it for ages, I think. He has thick hair which doesn't need brushing, so I only notice it if I'm actually searching for it, which I do from time to time. I sometimes scratch a bit off, but he doesn't really like me doing that, so I don't do it much.

He had his hair cut last week, and the hairdresser noticed the cradle cap, and said I should do something about it as it can cause follicle damage. I've never heard this before, and given how long he's had it, and how great his hair looks, I'm slightly sceptical. Does anyone know whether it's actually important to treat cradle cap?

Lurking as DD (nearly 18 months) has it too now. HV didn't seem fussed, told me Tresemme was supposed to be good for it but didn't say whether I should get rid of it or not. Her hair is not as thick as your 4yo's would be so it's a bit visible if her hair is clipped back.

I should get rid really but I'm too lazy if it isn't harmful so would be interested to know.

My 4 month old ds had cradle cap. Like you cornflake, I didn't want to do anything about it. But then it did look awful! I checked with pharmacist who said Capasal was fine and after one application it was gone.

I used Nizoral (its a shampoo) and it cleared after one application.

My 5yo still had some cradle cap until recently. One Saturday morning I painted it in warm olive oil and left it to soak in all weekend (by which time she looked very greasy!), then picked and combed out as much as I could, then washed her hair and 90% of it had gone. Was quite pleased!

Well dd had it and after no end of failed treatments, she lost a lot of the hair with the flaking, so I think your hairdresser probably is telling the truth.

Nizoral helped us a bit, but in the end we had to get a special formula made up on perscription.

My DS ahd it from about 6 months and it finally cleared when he was about 5. The hairdresser noticed it and just said'how sweet - they're still only babies aren't they' No comment on causing harm. If you do want to do something about it without using chemicals/shampoos etc, rub his scalp with olive oil, leave it overnight and wash in teh morning. It may take a few goes at this age, especially with so much hair.

DD2 had it until she started school. I used to get rid of it but it came right back.
She seems to have now grown out of it and her hair dresser comments on what a lot of hair she has, so clearly no long term damage.

Maybe I'll try some Nizoral and see what happens then. When I pick at the cradle cap, sometimes hair comes away too - had forgotten that till you said about losing hair, Chops - although if I leave it alone his hair is fine, doesn't fall out when we wash / dry it or anything.

Life is definitely too short for olive oil!

Crikey, why did I bother! Olive oil costs nothing, it's up to you.

My DS age 3.9 has it quite badly too - I swear by olive oil too. I leave it in for a few hours as the plaques are quite think and they just gently rub away

I have Psoriassis so hoping he is not in line for it too.

So your 4 yo is more of a 'Cornflake' boy then ??

My first ds had it and it went away on its own, my second still has it (3.2)

My friend is a hairdresser and she says just put some of my own conditioner on it and it was go.

I recently noticed my 3.5 year old still had some cradle cap. I used Dentinox shampoo on it for a week, because that's specifically designed for babies with cradle cap, so can't contain anything that harmful, and I'd used it on both my ds's when they were little with great success. It cleared up beautifully and hasn't come back over two months later.

Another vote for olive oil to soften the flakes then comb with fine comb and shampoo out.

I shampoo it out with T gel as that seems to remove the oil most effectively

DS is 7 and we do it perhaps every 4 - 6 months tops nowadays

I need to sort out DDs cradle cap. She gets it when it is hot.

Do you get greasy marks from the olive oil on the pillowcase? (ie should I use an old one?)

minko - not quite sure why you took my comment as a personal insult - you weren't the only one suggesting olive oil. But your description of spending (presumably) a fair amount of time picking flakes out of really greasy hair, when (again, presumably) you'd spent the weekend trying to keep said greasy hair away from any clothes, furniture etc didn't really sell it to me. Especially if there are shampoos that might work in one application. Don't really feel the need to subject either DS or myself to the annoyance!

MumtoCandL - how does the conditioner thing work?

my son is 4 and still has bad cradle cap. i normally use a fine tooth comb (ie nit comb) and olive oil. although it can take few turns it does seem to work.

i remember when he was very young hv told me that if i didnt get it sorted soon it would stop the hair folicles from growing and he would eventually go bald!!!. needless to say that he has quite thick longish hair and doesn't bother him in the slightest, so not too sure if it does make much difference tbh.

Olive oil never seemed to work on my children, whether as babies or older. My ds1 had REALLY bad cradle cap, including in and running between his eyebrows and on his forehead and olive oil was totally useless. I therefore still vote for trying Dentinox, because that shifted the stuff remarkably quickly, whereas weeks of my son smelling like salad dressing did nothing whatsoever to help.

Not that I'm saying olive oil isn't good for some cases of cradle cap - it clearly must work at least a bit, because it's what all the midwives and HVs seem to recommend.

I used Dentinox shampoo and it seems to work but it made his eczema on his face flare up. My HV said that brushing his hair would probably help too but I don't really brush it as he hasn't got enough to brush lol.

dont mean to scare any of you but i was told never to pick it as it can cause infection......................