Cradle Cap

[lockie1983]

My ds (10 weeks) had a little patch of dryness of his head and in his eyebrows for a little while. I was putting a bit of olive oil on it (as HV suggested). It hasn't cleared up, in fact it has spread and I now am certain it is cradle cap.

I have only bathed him with water since birth (I am quite sensitive so haven't wanted to use any products on him in case he is too). I have read baby shampoo used regularly can prevent cradle cap - is there any truth in that?

Any tips on clearing it up before it gets too bad? I have just started oiling it at night, brushing with soft brush this morning and washed it with a teeny bit of baby wash. I suppose as he is my PFB I am looking for reassurances that I am doing the right thing!

Hi - my son's got to the point where it covered almost his entire head to within an inch of his forehead all the way down to the nape of his neck. Nothing I tried worked at that time, but that was because it was a symptom of cow's milk allergy so it was only 6-8 weeks after cutting dairy from my diet that it started to clear, then it was gone within a couple of weeks.

He does get a tiny bit now, but I do what you are doing - oil at night then I just use a soft flannel to rub his head gently in the morning to get all the loosened bits off.

After trying olive oil I've found that waitrose baby bottom butter works a treat! It's basically olive oil in solid form, no nasties. Smother on and gently rub in, leave on for at least 3 hours, back brush it against the way the hair lies, shampoo off with burst bees shampoo, towel dry giving it a rub. Resist temptation to pick. Repeat every day for several days until gone. Wash with burst bees once a week from then.

Worked for me. Guess any shampoo would do but I'd stay away from something too strong like Johnson's.

If that doesn't work you may need dentinox shampoo or similar.

We have used ordinary margarine/spread (clover and can't believe its not butter actually) Put it on a few hours before bath then give a good brush with the baby brush before bath time and most of it has dissapeared now. We tried olive oil first but didn't make much difference.

Be very careful with baby shampoo, we used some johnson's stuff which made things massively worse, turns out most of their products are petroleum based (why??) and DD reacts badly to these. Don't understand why so many 'baby' products are full of toxic shite, but I would also vote for the Waitrose bottom butter.

Thanks all - we've got the burts bees stuff so hopefully won't irritate him too much ! Still olive oil-ing as not near a waitrose, but have some of that on order.

It doesn't seem to be spreading, but the patches are getting ... Crustier. Is that a good sign? Like a scab healing? Or should it be getting less crusty?

Gosh, motherhood is so damn glamorous

I just left ds' and it eventually cleared up. It wasn't as bad as pp but was on the whole top of his head and eye brows

I've tried everything on DS and he's still got crusty bits aged 20 months :( Luckily his hair has grown and now covers his cradle cap! It does seem to look better if we use dentinox but it never completely disappears

How long did it take to clear up spotty

cheung aw, what a shame! I am such a picker so I would hate it to hang around for so long. I know it doesn't cause them any harm but ...ugh, it's so crusy !

Yes crustier probably better. If its lifting a little at the edges then that's definitely a good sign. Be persistent! Cradle cap can occasionally cause bald patches if left which is why I've carried on til I fund something that worked for us. Hope it works for you too OP.

Well it's 100% gone now at 9 months. It had gone pretty patchy and mild by five months I think. He's always had lots of hair though which has covered it. I honestly think, bar serious cases, it's best just to leave it.

I've also hears it can cause bald patches but always assumed that was if you picked it.

HP it's like the scales are cracking into smaller pieces and they are white ish now rather than dark. Not much lifting when I rub over with the brush ... but persevering. He had a complete breakdown when I did it tonight so I was worried it was hurting him.

Have left the eye brows and they look pretty sore.

Sounds like quite a bad case dd's was everywhere but was never too thick. Hope it clears up soon

It's pretty gross. It's not all over (yet) but a couple of large ish patches on his head and the bit between his eyebrows. It's quite thick, like scabs. He had a tiny patch for ages, which I left and suddenly (almost over night) it got like this.

I really want to pick it all off but resisting.

Worried about his eyebrows because his eyelids look a bit red and puffy today.

Think it may be time for a trip to the doctors, but yes what happened with DDs, was it looked very stuck down scabs with no "edge" I could have got. Nail under to pick (not that I would), then went white at the edges of the scabs as they start to lift, then some start to come off.

It does take up to a week of each nightly work. Maybe try leaving it on overnight.

I hurt dd a bit the first time I did it. Didn't realise how firm those soft brushes can be. I then had a practice on the inside of my wrist so could get the pressure right. Better to do it for longer but more gently IMO.

I think you're getting to the stage of needing some chemical help though if the bottom butter isn't working. You could just buy some dentinox or go straight to the gp, but doc will probably just go for dentinox anyway as first line. If you think eyes themselves are puffy then I'd get their opinion.

Let us know how you get on.

I agree with going to the doctors

Hi, I spoke to the doctor about my daughters cradle cap, it was on her scalp and in her eyebrows, and doctor prescribed a bath oil called hydromol and some oilatum gel to wash her with, I gave it a rub and used soft brush on her scalp and cotton wool pads on her eyebrows to lift away the loose bits and it cleared up within a week or so
I wouldn't really recommend baby shampoos/wash as my doctor said it can make their skin more dry

Thanks Kerry - good to know ! Hopefully my doctor will be that helpful tomorrow !

Quick update: been to doctors and the crusty eyebrows and lids are definitely cradle cap rather than the eczema or contact dermatitis I had worried about. Doc said it looks good and dry and not infected and to just carry on baby butter/olive oil/shampoo and it should pass.

To be fair the head looks much more spaced out today and definitely lifting - I stroked his head today and got flakes in my hand as a thank you !

Thanks for every ones help - hopefully it will be more under control by next week.

Oh excellent! So satisfying when it starts coming out. Hope it all clears soon lockie.

DS1 just wore a hat for a couple of months... none of the products worked. He still has it a bit at nearly 4 but has the thickest hair in the world so no one can see.

The only product I found that helped was Green Baby scalp oil. But really, the only cure is time. Dd still had bits of cradle cap at three. I still wash her hair with Dentinox though because it smells nice

Oh god, I've been picking DS's. He let me, I didn't hurt him. It wasn't horrendous but then became worse. I tried olive oil to no avail, so am now using Dentinox which has cleared it up quite well.

Will not pick in future.

I think if it was just his head, time is fine. But it's his poor little face and eyelids bless him!

too it might just have been getting worse anyway. The doctor said its quite common that it can migrate and the not picking is more to do with infection.