OMG the Acne! And now cradle cap!

[Panthira]

My lil baby has the worst acne ever. The poor guy has it all over his face and scalp, and most of the time it looks very red and angry. I notice it gets worse when he gets hot, but I read other places it's caused by hormones. He also has swollen titties, and I read that's my hormones still in his system? Or something lke that and it will go away.
I ran into a woman at the natural baby store we have here in town, and her beautiful little girl is 6 weeks old and has the most gorgeous skin. She told me that she ate some shellfish the other day and her baby broke out for a couple of days. Could it be what I'm eating?
My other children had next to no baby acne, so this is new for us.
Now he's starting to get cradle cap. I hate to say this, but dead, flakey skin makes me a little ill. It's some weird aversion I have. It doesn't make me love him any less, or show him any less affection, I try to ignore it. How long does this stuff last on average, anyone know?

[spiralmg]

I don't know, but we were having both of these problems the past few weeks - cradle cap just last week - and then they suddenly disappeared.

[aisraeltax]

Ethan has had bad acne since birth, which is one reason i put off doing his announcements. it was really hard to find pix that didnt show it.
my doc said it was due to hormones...dont know how long it will last.
it doesnt help that a friend keeps asking when it will go away!!!
hang in there..itll go away soon!
rach

[Taedareth]

You could try rubbing some oil into his scalp and then combing the flaky stuff out.

[risala]

I second the oil for cradle cap. I used a mix of oils that I use for making bath products: joboba, sweet almond, fractionated coconut oil, etc. Just comb the flakes away afterwards. A well-meaning friend gave me this complicated, store-bought treatment, and after she explained the four step process, she added, "And it makes your baby's head stink." Why would I want to use that?

[Emmy142]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say I'm sorry you are going through all this!

[birthjunkie27]

Samara has acne too (after my first two had no acne). It's on her face, chest, and back. Dr said I could try cutting dairy and wheat out of my diet and it should clear things up...but also said it's not necessary if the acne doesn't seem to bother her, which it doesn't.

She doesn't have cradle cap (yet) but she does have SUPER dry and flaking skin all across her brow. I gently rub with a washcloth then put oil on it. it helps a bit but it hasn't really cleared up yet. It keeps coming back.

[amis2girls]

My first two had both acne and cradle cap; Savannah has neither but has eczema!

The acne is supposed to go away on its own. My ped. said rubbing baby's hair with a brush and an anti-dandruff shampoo would get rid of the cradle cap. It tends to be stubborn, too. You may have to be persistent.

[Raynbow]

What do you use to wash his hair? Unless you just use water, stop using it. They don't need soap or shampoo to get clean - simple warm water and a gentle washcloth will do very nicely - and without the nasty side effects of shampoo!
My DS is now three and I've been washing his hair with just water for over a year now - and he has the most beautiful hair - he had "cradle cap" right up until a few weeks after I stopped using baby shampoo (and I used the "gentle, natural" stuff - even Aveeno, etc).

[rapscallions]

hmm, raynbow, i'll have to try the water only thing. i've been using the mild baby castille soap because baby's head is so greasy and gets pretty stinky after a few days of the boys rubbing and kissing all over it.

panthira, if you can't wait for the water only thing to kick in and if you don't have all of those yummy oils recommended, i've used extra virgin olive and it works fine. slather in and use a fine comb. then rub the rest in (and rub and rub and rub!) it takes awhile and it's messy but it may help if you're having an aversion to it. myself, i must be kind of a freak b/c i love picking on my kids' skin (flaky ears too, is this tmi??) anyhow, i did the oil thing once on ds2 b/c he was about to be baptised and i didn't want all his flake falling in the holy water!

edited to ask -- anyone ever seen researched anywhere that the acne is mama-diet related? i've only ever seen that it's hormonal! BUT... ds 1 and 3 have had it tho and ds2 did not and interestingly i had to cut all dairy with ds2 because of his sensitivity to it. wonder if there is any merit to that totally circumstancial evidence?

[hottmama]

Luka has had bad acne his whole life, too, but it seems to be getting better now (as in today!) I just cut dairy out 2 days ago because I realized it gave him gas/spit-up problems. My oldest had baby acne and is sensitive to dairy (but I didn't realize that until a few months ago and he's 3). Maybe try giving up dairy for a few days and see if it helps?
It really bothers me to see my sweet baby all covered in ugly acne.

[aisraeltax]

when i use shampoo on Ethan, i use Bert's Bees shampoo bar, which i thought was mild enough for every other day use, but its not. when i used that twice in one week, his scalp got very dry. now i only use it once a week and i just lightly touch the bar and rub his head.
when i did see the dry flakes, i was putting cocoa butter on my hands (OMG my hands are soooo dry from all these diaper changes and handwashings) and i just put a little on his head from my hands and it cleared up right away. i would think any type of oil, even baby oil, would clear it up quickly, but i am certainly no expert (on anything right now...but have a few minutes alone...can you tell?).
hope it clears up soon. Ethans got worse again today when i went to a dentist appt. and he sat w/ dad...i really think i am using too much detergent on our clothes. i keep reducing it but i think i have to continue reducing. once i saw that 2 tsp. cleans a $hit load (literally) of cd's, i am convinced i use WAYYY too much detergent.
good luck!
rach

[witchbaby]

hmmm... m has the acne, too. i've been thinking i need to cut out dairy but now i'm rethinking it as it doesn't bother him at all-- just me! i want to touch soft baby cheeks!

[kris10s]

The best treatment for cradle cap I've found is this

take a bit of baking soda in your hand (between tsp and tbs) and make a paste with a little bit of water and gently massage into the scalp then wash with baby shampoo immediately and rinse well. Sounds harsh but it works!

[A&A]

I second the olive oil for cradle cap.

[Panthira]

Today I went to the post officed to mail a bunch of eBay crap, and this postal worker asked if there was a baby in the pouch. I said yes, and she asked if she could see him. I inwardly groaned because this is the normal reaction I get: I pulled aside the pouch fabric and let her peek in at my sweet, acne covered baby (he's only 5 weeks at this point). She said he was cute and then asked if his skin was like that because the fabric irritated him.

I want people to see my cute little babe, not his acne, and it doesn't seem to be clearing up. I'm wondering if maybe he IS getting too hot. Our house is cold to me, so I dress him quite warm a lot, but I noticed in a lot of the pictures you all put up here that your babies aren't dressed to the hilt.
I'm going to try and dress him cooler and see if that helps at all.
His cradle cap has been under control by using oil (as suggested here), but I've been using Burt's Bees Apricot Oil. He's smells divine!

Can acne be caused by being too warm? It does seem to get worse when he gets hot..

[rapscallions]

hey panthira,
i don't know about the heat per se, but i do notice my baby's acne (which seems to be fading) seems to "flare" whenever his face is pressed or rubbed on fabric, ie. the sling. also, if he is up against your body, your clothes, or a sling washed in a harsh detergent, this could be irritating him. but if it is baby acne, it's going to go away regardless. i say screw what other people think about his face (it is so unbelieveably rude to comment, don't you think??) -- you know he's beautiful! and you should tell people that -- "yep, he's a bit spotty, but isn't he grand???"

[anonymous4_20]

Originally Posted by Panthira

Can acne be caused by being too warm? It does seem to get worse when he gets hot..

Forgive me for repeating myself (I know I've posted about this before), but I asked my pediatrician about Stuart's acne and he told me it was actually prickly heat!

I've been making sure I watch what I rest him on when he's nursing (I HATE my boppy!). If it's something scratchy like an afghan, I put a receiving blanket over it so it doesn't irritate him.

The doctor said if it's present on his shoulders and neck, it's prickly heat. If it's just on his face, it's acne.

I don't know if it's related, but we've had cradle cap, too. Olive oil worked well for us, as well as regularly combing his hair.

[StarCat]

we have the EXACT same thing and it is so much worse when she gets hot. Just being in the sling will make her flare up. Its not from the sling rubbing on her its just that she gets hot and sweaty. Dh is a sweater, too. And he breaks out really easily...i think she must just get it from him. We are getting the cradle cap this week. I am going to do the burts bees oil tonight.