cradle cap

[JordanKX]

Grandma was visiting today and said Rowan's flaky eyebrows (or the skin where his eyebrows would be, if there were any hair!) is Cradle Cap. A brief skim online says to rub in olive or almond oil. And dandruff shampoo twice a week.

Do you have any experience with this?

Rowan doesn't have any hair, so we haven't used shampoo on his head - plus the idea of dandruff shampoo just sounds... odd. But I guess I'll give it a shot.

Ideas? Thanks!

[firewoman]

My baby has dry skin in between her eyebrows, but it is not the same as the cradle cap I have seen on my other kids heads and behind their ears. I DO rub olive oil all over her face and body and oil works well to help remove cradle cap. Can you post a pic?

[ncavillones]

My daughter has really bad cradle cap on her scalp. Someone once told me I should rub salted butter or salty seawater on her scalp, then comb it up to further the exfoliation process, then wash her hair. Her pediatrician just recommended oil and rubbing with fingertips before bathing. So, I think the idea is that you want to exfoliate it somehow and keep it moisturized. I've heard calendula works really well but that stuff is expensive!

I considered using dandruff shampoo but my daughter still hasn't quite mastered the concept of tilting her head back during the rinse. LOL.

[JordanKX]

Originally Posted by ncavillones

I considered using dandruff shampoo but my daughter still hasn't quite mastered the concept of tilting her head back during the rinse. LOL.

Well, yeah! That was my worry. He's 8 weeks old... and shampoo with no hair just means... soapy head, potentially dripping in his eyes. My hands are keeping him afloat since we use the "bucket" (aka "euro baby spa").

His is only his eyebrows so far, nothing on his scalp. Pictures don't adequately show it (I'll keep trying) but it's definitely crusty. Crustier than your basic dry skin. And discolored - yellow/brownish.

I guess we'll start on the oils tonight. And we keep calendula around - that certainly couldn't hurt. Thanks for the ideas!

[schoolmom07]

Sarah Brooke has this, too and I was combing her hair kind of in a circle pattern to "break up" the scaly "crusties" and accidentally cut her head. She didn't cry so I guess it didn't hurt but I felt badly. Does this go away on its own? Should I use oil on her hair? If it goes away on its own then I want to leave it alone. She doesn't have it bad...

[bright_eyes]

Ds has really bad cradle cap/dry scalp and I kept rubbing calunda baby oil or olive oil on his head but it wasn't doing anything to get rid of it. I tried combing it away and couldn't. But then I started rubbing virgin coconut oil on his head and it is working sooooooo well! I just scoop a little out of the jar and start rubbing on his head- it melts as it sits in your hand. I've put it on 3 times now and his head looks way better already!

[guestmama9922]

Ozzie has it on his eyebrows as well.
Best thing to do to remove cradle cap (all 3 of my kids had it quite thickly) -
have a long bath with them so the area is very damp, the cradle cap will turn soft. For the eyebrows you can wipe it off with a wash cloth. With the head I wash it to loosen it up and then run a lice comb over it gently. Takes it right off.
Afterwards I rub olive oil into it.

[2boyzmama]

I used baby oil on the head/eye brows (Connor had it in his eye brows, too!) about an hour before bath time, and a soft brush (tooth brushes work well) right before the bath to loosen the skin. Then rinse in the bath. It might take a few times.

I wouldn't use dandruff shampoo until at least a year old, maybe older. There's no harm in cradle cap, so I'd avoid chemicals, you know?

[greeny]

Cassidy had it pretty bad - it was really scaly and ugly on the front of her head.

Here's what we did, and it's gone!

- Gently rub olive oil onto the affected areas.

- Wait 15 minutes

- Gently comb the area with a toothbrush or fine-toothed (but soft) comb. The oiled pieces of cradle cap will come loose.

- Wash thoroughly with baby shampoo.

It took a few days, but it's gone now.

You want to wash the oil off really well, because I think it can block the pores if left on too long and actually cause the problem to worsen.

[acemama]

We've always had good luck with olive oil and a very soft comb.

[murphysaangel]

California Baby calendula cream worked well for my DS.