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Original poster

Cradle cap - do I try to remove it again?

16 replies

charlaw · 30/01/2024 22:15

Hi all. My 3 month old DD has some cradle cap, nothing too severe but she has been scratching it and breaking the skin, so earlier I massaged olive oil on her head and tried to brush it out with a very soft toothbrush. I did remove some of it but now the top of her head is pink where it’s been removed.
I feel terrible, am I best to just leave it/just massage the oil in without trying to remove the flakes? I know you can buy shampoo which gets rid of it but I’m not sure if to just leave it at this point. I’m not bothered about her having it I just don’t want her scratching.
I’m keeping her nails trimmed and scratch mits on at night, she had a good go on it today during her morning nap when i stupidly didn’t put her mits on.

OP posts:
11NigelTufnel · 30/01/2024 22:22

As long as it didn't distress her to remove it, the pink is probably just because it is fresh skin. She won't have much hair covering it, so it is more noticible. At that age, you can try leaving oil on overnight to really sink in and wash the scalp the next day. Much easier than when they are toddlers and develop hair washing aversion.

LittlePumpkinPie21 · 30/01/2024 22:32

We found this got rid of it, just used it a couple of times when washing my little girls hair with a tiny bit of baby shampoo.

Cradle cap - do I try to remove it again?
TheSnowyOwl · 30/01/2024 22:37

I’d just leave it. Cradle cap isn’t itchy so it’s odd she has scratched there, especially at her age. The new pink skin might be slightly uncomfortable though.

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Mumoftwo1312 · 30/01/2024 22:39

Leave it. I would think it's the treatments you are doing that is making her itchy, rather than the cradle cap itself. You don't need to do anything to it. Only wash it with a tiny amount of very mild soap, a few times a week.

If you are scrubbing it raw, no wonder it's itchy for her, poor thing. A toothbrush! Please stop. It grows out by itself.

princessrapunzel · 30/01/2024 22:52

My dd had it really bad, every bath time id rub coconut oil into it with a soft brush and then rinse it out at the end, i did this for about 2 weeks and eventually it was soft enough rub off with the soft brush, again this took about another week of doing it until it all completely went, so just keep going at it.
My little girl found it itchy to, i think it was just annoying her, once it went it took a few days for the pink bits to go and she completely stopped scratching it

Lindy2 · 30/01/2024 23:11

I found it easier to remove when the cradle cap was wet from being in the bath.

Warm water, baby shampoo and then gently rubbing in a circular motion with a soft baby hairbrush. It came out so much easier then and was much better than the dry flakes.

Original poster
charlaw · 30/01/2024 23:15

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. Just to clarify, I used a very soft bristle toothbrush and she wasn’t distressed at all, I will definitely not be doing that again. I bought some pure olive oil especially to use but I’m thinking this may have been irritating her to scratch it? I’ll just leave it now.

OP posts:
Copperoliverbear · 30/01/2024 23:27

Dentinox cradle cap shampoo and a plastic nit comb

TheCraicDealer · 30/01/2024 23:35

Both of my kids have had it and I just used Dentinox a few times instead of their normal shampoo. I wash(ed) my babies’ hair twice a week or so, so it wasn’t daily use- DS has only had one Dentinox shampoo and I’ll need to do it again, but I used it maybe three times on DD. That cleared up it up by about 80% to a level where you could only see it if you went looking for it, and saved me annoying her with repeated applications of oil and combing through. If you use too much oil it can make it worse, so just don’t go OTT if you stick with that method.

blackpanth · 30/01/2024 23:50

TheCraicDealer · 30/01/2024 23:35

Both of my kids have had it and I just used Dentinox a few times instead of their normal shampoo. I wash(ed) my babies’ hair twice a week or so, so it wasn’t daily use- DS has only had one Dentinox shampoo and I’ll need to do it again, but I used it maybe three times on DD. That cleared up it up by about 80% to a level where you could only see it if you went looking for it, and saved me annoying her with repeated applications of oil and combing through. If you use too much oil it can make it worse, so just don’t go OTT if you stick with that method.

I carried on using dentinox on my son even when it had gone. Loved the smell of it

Original poster
charlaw · 30/01/2024 23:51

Thank you, I’ll leave the oil. I thought it’d be better than shampoo but think I’m wrong. Mum fail 😞

OP posts:
blackpanth · 30/01/2024 23:54

charlaw · 30/01/2024 23:51

Thank you, I’ll leave the oil. I thought it’d be better than shampoo but think I’m wrong. Mum fail 😞

Don't put yourself down. The shampoo is great. And cheap. If the oil doesn't work. Get that x

TomeTome · 30/01/2024 23:55

Oil to soften (lots not a dab) then soft brush and warm water and shampoo. I think it hurts to have it so wouldn’t leave it on mine.

CoffeeBeansGalore · 30/01/2024 23:57

Massage in coconut oil 20 mins before bath. Then shampoo out. Worked wonders on my dgd.

Mumoftwo1312 · 31/01/2024 00:03

My dd had it for months, we never did anything to it and it never irritated her (she does have sensitive skin and many products irritate her). My baby ds has it now too (1.5mo) and again I'm not doing anything to it and it doesn't bother him.

When parents try to scrub it off, the rawness of the scrubbing hurts the baby, then the parents think it's the cradle cap irritating them so they scrub some more, etc. Until they've scrubbed it all completely raw then they finally stop scrubbing and the poor baby can then finally heal.

Even with a "soft brush", it's unnecessary. Baby's skin is so sensitive, imagine scrubbing a sensitive part of your own body, even with a soft brush, it would hurt. Just leave it completely alone.

sommeliermama · 31/01/2024 00:20

Dentinox has helped us to reduce about 50% of DDs cradle cap but like a previous poster said, I keep using it because I love the smell. Coconut oil 20 mins before a bath and a gentle massage in the bath also helps, but any flakes that aren't coming off I just leave. It's not worth causing too much irritation

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