What to do about cradle cap/severe dandruff?

[amber913]

I've tried several things on dd's scalp, and it always comes back, and now it's worse than ever.

According to earthclinic.com, it's considered severe dandruff b/c she's not a newborn, but that changes the treatment, as well. Some remedies include, ACV, baking soda paste (cc), tto, aloe oil, borax, and frankly, i'm overwhelmed. Plus, she cries through her hair-washing as it is. She's not going to let me wash her hair 70 times in two day, ya know? She's also not going to sit with bs paste in her hair, not without a fight anyway.

Has anyone successfully treated a toddler case of cradle cap/dandruff?

[scbegonias]

We've got this going on, too. For us, its yeast. We occasionally use plain yogurt. I make it a game...and it goes over well until its time to rinse it out. If you try it, make sure to let it warm up to room temp.

[blessedwithboys]

do you think it be an allergic reaction to something she is eating?

[frontstreetmama]

two of my three kids get it... as soon as I get them back on their daily DHA, it clears up and stays cleared up until I run out and they're off it again for a while... my one daughter's hands also start to feel leathery which clears up after a few days back on the DHA...

also, I rotate tea tree shampoo about once every couple of weeks which seems to help!

[Marlet]

I've done 3 things for my DD1. The first was peanut butter. It worked great and seemed to slow it down a bit. It did come back though. I recently did the baking soda paste. Don't waste your time. After that I got fed up and made her sit in my lap and rubbed olive oil into her scalp. She was going for her 1st official haircut and there was no way I was letting them see that. It worked. It worked so well that even now, weeks after the fact, I'm still checking her head in amazement. She's 4.5 years old so we've been dealing with it for awhile. I just covered her scalp really well and sort of massaged it in. I let it sit for a few minutes and then just combed it all out. I did back and forth motions like you would if you are teasing your hair. Her's was thick (this last summer the spots she had absorbed spray on dye it was so thick ) and it came out super easy and with no fuss on her end.

Too much stimulation to the scalp can trigger it to thicken/increase so use your judgement on whether you do spot treatments vs. the whole head. I had a friend who mentioned the dandruff part. She used anti-dandruff shampoo on her kids that had it and on one as preventative and she said it worked perfectly. So it may be worth checking out.

[scbegonias]

Originally Posted by Marlet

After that I got fed up and made her sit in my lap and rubbed olive oil into her scalp. She was going for her 1st official haircut and there was no way I was letting them see that. It worked. It worked so well that even now, weeks after the fact, I'm still checking her head in amazement. She's 4.5 years old so we've been dealing with it for awhile. I just covered her scalp really well and sort of massaged it in. I let it sit for a few minutes and then just combed it all out. I did back and forth motions like you would if you are teasing your hair. Her's was thick (this last summer the spots she had absorbed spray on dye it was so thick ) and it came out super easy and with no fuss on her end.

Oh, yes, olive oil is wonderful for getting it off. We do that occasionally, too. In my head I equate the olive oil to removal and the yogurt to prevention/treatment. We also do supplements, including DHA...but have to do something topically, too.

[SeekingJoy]

DD's finally went away when we 1) stopped washing her (curly, thick) hair and 2) applied apricot oil to her scalp. YMMV.

[lil_miss_understood]

Mine, DS1 and DS3's is/was caused by dairy allergy or intolerance, fwiw.
Supposedly biotin may help.

[amber913]

To respond to some questions: It could very well be an allergy. Milk, perhaps. That girl can really put away the milk. She drinks it raw.

I've used olive oil in the past. Problem is, she won't let me brush her hair when it's clean, dry and fluffy, so she'd scream her tiny head off if i did that. Ugh. And you're right, it worked well.

She only gets her hair washed once a week b/c she NEEDS it. It starts to look oily, and it's long, so she gets food and crap in it. I use Dr. Bronner's unscented, and only a little. I'm thinking i need to wash her hair with something. I have tea tree Dr. b's...? I'm still tempted to do the bs paste....Ah! Still confused! Everything says it's a fungus that must be treated. Tto, ACV...perhaps i'll just throw together a combination. Her daddy will never hug her again if she smells like tto and acv, but hey!

[SeekingJoy]

Originally Posted by amber913

She only gets her hair washed once a week b/c she NEEDS it. It starts to look oily, and it's long, so she gets food and crap in it. I use Dr. Bronner's unscented, and only a little. I'm thinking i need to wash her hair with something. I have tea tree Dr. b's...? I'm still tempted to do the bs paste....Ah! Still confused! Everything says it's a fungus that must be treated. Tto, ACV...perhaps i'll just throw together a combination. Her daddy will never hug her again if she smells like tto and acv, but hey!

I was the one who made a comment up thread about not washing DD's hair anymore. I should clarify. I do wet it and comb it out daily/every other day. I also comb a conditioner through it while wet at least 2-3 times a week. I have just stopped using shampoo. Her hair stays clean and smells great.

Even if you do use Dr. B's, it still might be a little harsh for your DD's scalp. DS uses California Baby and it works well for him.

Hope you get the allergies sorted out!

[CookiePie]

Get it under control with the olive oil. Then do Conditioner only washes, no shampoo & see how that works for her. I like sauve coconut for the cheapness factor. But recently tried Hair One available from Sally Beauty Supply, I like the Olive oil which smells the most neutral, I smelled them all in the store, the one for the scalp stinks like TTO, & I think that the olive oil one is more moisturizing. It is working better than anything we've tried but compared to suave it is spendy. Gently massaging the scalp for a few minutes no matter which CO you use. Pretending it is a beauty treatment helps!

[amber913]

Originally Posted by SeekingJoy

I was the one who made a comment up thread about not washing DD's hair anymore. I should clarify. I do wet it and comb it out daily/every other day. I also comb a conditioner through it while wet at least 2-3 times a week. I have just stopped using shampoo. Her hair stays clean and smells great.

Even if you do use Dr. B's, it still might be a little harsh for your DD's scalp. DS uses California Baby and it works well for him.

Hope you get the allergies sorted out!

I really can't believe how oily dd's hair gets. She's only 2! I'm all about "training" my kids' scalps to produce less oil, so they only get their hair washed once/week. My son's hair still looks fine by that point, but dd's is another story. Do you think washing her hair could be attributing to it? 'Cause i've heard that before.

[amber913]

Originally Posted by CookiePie

Get it under control with the olive oil. Then do Conditioner only washes, no shampoo & see how that works for her. I like sauve coconut for the cheapness factor. But recently tried Hair One available from Sally Beauty Supply, I like the Olive oil which smells the most neutral, I smelled them all in the store, the one for the scalp stinks like TTO, & I think that the olive oil one is more moisturizing. It is working better than anything we've tried but compared to suave it is spendy. Gently massaging the scalp for a few minutes no matter which CO you use. Pretending it is a beauty treatment helps!

I'll give it a try, but like i said, dd has oily hair. We'll see how it goes! If nothing else, i have tto conditioner which could help. Thank you all for your suggestions!

[amber913]

And if it is a milk allergy...how do you get a 2-yo milk addict off milk? Eek. Afraid of the ramifications if little miss thang doesn't get her "bilk".

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by amber913

And if it is a milk allergy...how do you get a 2-yo milk addict off milk? Eek. Afraid of the ramifications if little miss thang doesn't get her "bilk".

My sons cradle cap was really bad, like a thick cap literally. I picked it, oiled it and cut out soaps and no change. I even added in biotin with no change. Cod liver is supposed to help educe inflammation which cause cradle cap sometimes. But the only way for my sons cradle cap to completely clear up was to cut out dairy. Sure was hard, but worth it.
I felt that it was important to do since I wonder what else was being effected in the body if the inflammation went all the way to the scalp.