What do you think of cradle cap shampoos?

[Plarka]

My 6 week old has cradle cap and it's started smelling weird since I put olive oil on it!!! I have this really strong smelling Capasal Therapeutic Shampoo the doctor prescribed for dd1 when she was a baby, for her cradle cap, but I only used it once because it just smelled too strong and scared me!

Is this stuff really ok and I should give it a try on dd2? I have only bathed her like 5 or 6 times and only with water, but maybe I really should be shampooing her head often? I googled and it says the smell could mean a fungal infection.

[Chamomile Girl]

I wouldn't. California baby has a product you could try: http://www.californiababy.com/calend...sh-8-5-oz.html

[midnightmommy]

I second the California Baby for cradle cap. It's lovely, and worked well for my daughter, cuts the grease on my post postpartum hair, and my husband uses it to wash his face.

[tzs]

did you wash the olive oil off really well with soap/shampoo???
it took a couple sessions with the oil to get rid off ours (leave on 10 minutes, then rub flakes off with a toothbrush, then wash off well with soap...i think i've heard that oily scalp causes cradle cap so you want to get it off when you're done) i've also used baby oil when i didn't want to have to deal with that olive oil smell that made me crave pasta.
it's just soooooo much cheaper than buying something and it should work like a charm.

[Alisse]

I read somewhere about washing baby's head more often to help with cradle cap. We did and it only took a few days for it to go away.

[november]

I tried all the "green" options and nothing was working, not even the olive oil. I finally gave in and tried Selsun Blue. So not crunchy or all-natural, but it WORKS. I use it twice a week and it's like the difference between night and day. I had to do *something* -- I could tell it was itchy because she kept scratching her head.

I make sure to rinse it out really, really well and make sure to keep it out of her eyes. Then I use a soft baby brush when I'm finished and gently massage her scalp to loosen up any dead skin and then apply vitamin e cream and work that in really good. Cradle cap is gone!

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by tzs

did you wash the olive oil off really well with soap/shampoo???
it took a couple sessions with the oil to get rid off ours (leave on 10 minutes, then rub flakes off with a toothbrush, then wash off well with soap...i think i've heard that oily scalp causes cradle cap so you want to get it off when you're done) i've also used baby oil when i didn't want to have to deal with that olive oil smell that made me crave pasta.
it's just soooooo much cheaper than buying something and it should work like a charm.

I used coconut oil, let it sit for a bit, massaged gently with a baby hairbrush and then shampooed a couple times to remove the oil. Worked like a charm.

[Italiamom]

Our ped told us that the key with cradle cap was to let whatever you decide to use sit for a minute or two. Put it on thick, gently scrub, and then let it sit there while you wash some other body parts.

[EarthMamaToBe]

We use EVOO with a couple of drops of TTO massage in and then gently brush away the flakes then shampoo well. Works great!

[mommy212]

I used theraneem brand bar soap on my LO nightly and it got rid of it in a couple of weeks. Smells fine to me too. Very recommended! I started seeing it go away in a week or so.

[KristinaMarie]

I used California Baby as well. I would nuse him to sleep, then rub it into his hair, brush every direction for 20 minutes or so then he would wake up, bathe him, the cradle cap was gone in 3 days.

[beccabus]

Originally Posted by Alisse

I read somewhere about washing baby's head more often to help with cradle cap. We did and it only took a few days for it to go away.

The nurse at the hospital told us this too.. said that cradle cap is really just dandruff from their heads not being washed often enough and vigorously enough.

[Asparagus78]

Both my boys had horrible cradle cap. The only thing that worked was applying olive oil, putting on a hat and letting it work for a few hours. Then I would take a baby brush and brush (gently!) the scalp every hour of so (5-10 minutes at a time) during an entire day (I would take out the brush every time I sat down to nurse). It was messy, and my nursing pillow was covered in scalp flakes!!!! The next day, I'd shampoo the hair, and all the cradle cap would be gone, never to return.

[nola79]

I just use baby oil. When dd's was really bad, I would rub the baby oil in and brush the flakes out with a soft brush. Then, she went in the babytub and I would wash it out really good with shampoo. It worked great! Now, for maintenance, when I see her scalp getting dry, I keep baby oil by the babytub and when she first goes in, I rub it on and let it sit while I bathe her and then I wash her hair last. No more problems with it.
Oh and defintiely wash the hair everyday, we did that and still do. It helps.

[Sleepyheaded_Mama]

When my nine year old was a baby and developed cradle cap, the warm olive oil treatment worked beautifully and the problem was resolved.

Fast forward to now, when my four month old developed severe cradle cap that spread down his forehead, into his eyebrows and down the sides of his face - NOTHING worked, and if something seemed to maybe help, it was only a short term solution as the crusting came right back. He was just the crustiest baby, it was horrible. He felt like sand paper and I think it bothered him because he would rub and scratch at his little face and head and sometimes leave scratches if his nails got too long.

The list of things we tried include: olive oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, California Baby Calendula Cream, Weleda Calendula cream wash, tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, Selsun Blue, Head and Shoulders for sebhorreic dermatitis, an antifungal cream, and I'm sure a couple other things I can't think of right now. And of course then after his bath I'd have to take a baby brush and using the edge of the bristles, gently chip away at the flakes which took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We ruined two baby brushes this way.

What finally 'cured' him was this baby shampoo called Mustela Foaming Shampoo For Newborns. I read about it several places online and decided to order some as a last resort. It wasn't cheap, or organic, or even natural at all, and it wasn't an overnight miracle, but a few weeks later his cradle cap was gone. His little head and face are soft and beautiful - can't even tell how awful it had been. I like that it's a foam because I had to really rub some into his eyebrows and it didn't run (it's tear-free but I don't want chemicals in his little eyes, it's bad enough I put it on his skin). I still use one squirt of the foam on his head in his bath at night (or any spots that look like they're trying to sneak back), and then when I get him out, while his head is still wet, I slather on a generous amount of the California Baby Calendula Cream (the thick kind that comes in that little tub, not the lotion in the bottle). This has been the winning combination for us.

But if you aren't dealing with an extremely persistent case I would definitely try to stick with more natural ingredients.

[intrepidmother]

I used a baby brush- and it came off immediately. I would try that first!

[sunnyCA]

i tried everything on the natural front. Some improved the situation but nothing made it go away until I found the Mustela product Mustela Stelaker Cradle Cap Care. Totally works!!!