Cradle Cap still, she's 3! (added photos)

[Electra375]

Does anyone else have a child w/ cradle cap? My dd will be 3 tomorrow and I need to sit her down w Apricot Oil and comb out the build up, again. It's orangey in color and always in the front, it gives her hair a reddish tint - that is sort of the sign that it's time to comb the scalp clean again.
I combed out the build up about 6 mo ago. We wash her hair 1X per week, maybe 2X. After the last time, I tried to be sure to use my figures on her scalp to prevent build up, I gues that didn't work.
Just a tid bit -- We aren't bath people (nb has had 3 baths, maybe 4 in his 8 weeks of life : ) Hey, a Pedi told me w ds1 that if the diaper area was kept clean, baths were not necessary daily. And people always comment on my kids beautiful skin!
I hate to think I'm going to have to sit down and do this every 6 months for the rest of her life.
Any suggestions? Shampoo options?

[alllyssa]

You might try dandruff shampoo.

[JanB]

We're not really huge bath people either (I didn't bathe my daughter until she was like 7 weeks old -- not as a matter of principle, more out of laziness and not really feeling like it was necessary. My mom nearly had a heart attack when we told her at 6 weeks, "Er, she hasn't been bathed yet..") but we have had huge problems with cradle cap (I almost mistyped that as "cradle crap" HA!) and I do think that more frequent washing does help, much though I hate to deal with it.

What we do is rub oil (we use olive oil, but any oil is really fine) into the scalp about half an hour before bedtime. Then during bath, we shampoo, making sure to work through the scalp really thoroughly. Afterward, I pick out the loose bits with a comb. When my daughter's got really, really bad for a while and it looked like it might be getting infected, we escalated to using Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo on her hair. I hated doing it, because it's really harsh, but it was also very effective.

Anyway, you're definitely not the only one. My son just got over the last vestiges of cradle cap and he just turned 5.

[caiesmommy]

Im not into giving my son to many baths hes 7 months old and just starting to get dirty!!
Id try a tea tree oil shampoo!!
I used apricot oil and olive oil on my son for dry skin and cradle cap.
Im not sure what to tell you nut I always had cradle cap and still do in my scalp and eyebrows! Hasnt been so bad for like two years but it was pretty bad in highschool!

[bec]

My hairdresser told me that anyone can get cradle cap at any time in their life.

My "cure" is to massage the scalp in oil (olive, almond, whatever) and let it sit there for a little while before bathing and washing the hair really well. I will use a come to help lift the scales up. It usually takes a couple of treatments and it's gone.

[Maple Leaf Mama]

Dh had cc until he was 6.
DD also had it for a long time. I was getting irritated that it wouldn't go away, like you.
I tried massaging olive oil into her scalp and combing it out. But it took about 3 washes to get that stuff out. (Thanks to the baby fine hair at the time)

So ya know what i did? I scrubbed the heck out of her head and behind her ears with a wet wash cloth during her bath until it was gone. (I know you're not supposed to, but I just couldn't get rid of it)

And that was 2 years ago and it has never come back. Not even the crusties behind her ears. No flaming please. (it DID work after all)

[Hatteras Gal]

I tried olive oil on dd2. Very messy enterprise. I got tea tree and lavender body wash/shampoo from California Baby and it got rid of it.

[greenjenny]

I use olive oil, a toothbrush and a lice comb, my daughter is 3 too. She is just starting to grow longer hair and it is a little more difficult to see the cradle cap. I put the oil on and let it sit a while then lightly brush with the toothbrush, and then run the lice comb through to get all the scuzz. Works pretty well but I have to do it every 4 months or so. good luck

[bratmobile]

thank goodness we aren't the only ones!!!!!!!

[meowee]

2 of my kids had cradle cap into childhood. For my son, I shaved his head with clippers, put oil on his head, and then scraped every scale off his head. It bled a little bit but from that point on it never grew back.

The problem with a girl is that you don't want to shave her head . So just combing out the scabs through the hair won't work as well as when it's shaved. So I'm in the same position. My daughter has beautiful hair and I will not shave it.

Have you tried the t-gel shampoo?

[Electra375]

I've used NFB for dandruff w/ Lavender, TTO, and Rosemary EOs. She said it burned tonight, this was hours after I used a comb to scrap the scales off her scalp.
I can imagine the T-gel would burn like fire.

[Steady101]

I thought we were the only ones still dealing with this.

[JanB]

Originally Posted by Electra375

I've used NFB for dandruff w/ Lavender, TTO, and Rosemary EOs. She said it burned tonight, this was hours after I used a comb to scrap the scales off her scalp.
I can imagine the T-gel would burn like fire.

Yeah, I would avoid for a child with sensitive skin/scalp. My dd has no complaints, but then she has never had particularly sensitive skin.

[Electra375]

I'm going to try to remember to use the NFB dandruff shampoo and conditioner EVERY time we wash her hair. And hope for the best...

I am hoping to have time tomorrow to re-wash her hair, just to get the rest out. It's her birthday tomorrow, she is turning 3, so I've got some things to do. If her hair looks good dry, then it might have to wait.

I am glad to know I'm not the only one with a child who has "cradle cap". She is the only one thus far.

BTW- I love the NFB shampoos and conditioners. My dd's hair was easier to comb out tonight than it has been adding Nexus Humetress after her baths!!! She is VERY CURLY, kinky on one side, softer on the other and kinky underneath the top softer curls. I was able to comb by section, I usually can't get her hair apart to section it.

[**guest**]

My son is 4 and still has it really bad. It's so thick. I've tried the oils. I've tried tea tree oil. NOTHING works. He has a check up on Thursday afternoon and I'm going to ask about it. I haven't shaved ds's head yet, but I will if he still has it when the weather gets warmer.
I'm so afraid that ds's teacher will see it and think that my son isn't clean or something.

[Rockies5]

I thougth it was simply called dandruff after a certain age.

My curliest haired son has a few scales now and then. The worst was when he was just 2, I had no idea (he has dark, long, curly hair at the time) and he had PILES of it under the fluffiest part of his hair. I just scraped it all off and it never came back to the same degree.

[jomomma]

My dd has been cradle cap free for over 2 years now (is it possible to just outgrow it?) -- but what seemed to work for us was using apricot oil and a baby toothbrush. I would dip the toothbrush into the oil and rub it around spot by spot over her entire head. The baby toothbrush was soft enough so that I wasn't hurting my dd when "scrubbing", yet abrasive enough to almost entirely lift the scales. Then I'd follow up with a mild baby shampoo - being careful to gently massage it into the scalp (we used to use Tom's of Maine Honeysuckle Shampoo, but it has since been discontinued).

[Kewpie]

My 3 year old still has it. But she's a strawberry blond/red head so you can't even see it. I'm inclined to just leave it alone. It's not hurting anything and the thought of getting her to sit still enough to message any sort of oil onto her scalp then long enough to wash our the oil makes me . Not gonna happen. It seems to be getting a bit better with The Body Shop's Scalp Conditioner, but we only wash 1-2x per week.

And we LOVE California Baby's Spray Conditioner/Detangler for getting through the tangles.

[oceanbaby]

My 2.5yo still has it. Not bad enough that you notice it unless like me you play with his hair all the time while he's nursing. I haven't sat down and done the olive oil/comb thing since he was a baby, but have been thinking about doing it again soon.

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

I just noticed a few weeks ago that my oldest ds's is gone finally.. he turns 4 in April My DD still has a little and turns 2 on May 2, and my baby has none LOLOL.. and he will be 1 on May 10