Haircutter said my almost 5 year old has cradle cap???

[TripMom]

Getting haircut today for my almost 5 year old. The lady who was cutting his hair called me over and said "Look - this is cradle cap"?? My son has thick curly hair which we let grow and grow before we cut it. What she was showing me was a few patches in his thick hair that was flaking and crusty - and underneath the scalp showed red and raw?

Is this cradle cap? In a 5 year old?

Haircut lady told me to "scrub it out" -- but it looks raw underneath and I am really second guessing that advice.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I would love to hear what this is - what causes it - and how I should best treat it.

Thanks in advance.

[Yooper]

My dd still has it. I remember that my sister also had it well into her early years. I just gave dd the "treatment" last weekend. My dd also has curly hair and it is hard to see ehr scalp. I put her in her highchair on the deck. The full sun helps to see and being outside makes me less uptight about drips. I slather her head with massive amounts of apricot oil. Really rub it in. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then take a fine-tooth comb and comb her scalp gently to loosen the cap. Before ehr hair got so long, I could comb it all the way out of her hair. At this point, I just get it off the scalp and hope the flakes all come out in the wash. Then I wash her hair several times. She is not used to getting her hair washed so I lay her on the kitchen counter with her head over the sink and sue the sprayer. At this age we have to retreat about once every 6 months.

[Juvysen]

It does sound like cradle cap. Baby oil or another kind of oil (as pp said) and just comb gently. I'm sure your dc will let you know if it's hurting them. You can probably do it over the course of a few days if your child seems bothered by the brushing... or get him to brush and brush up there. I found a comb works best to get it off, but that might be tough with lots of curly hair. Although, when there's a bunch of oil in it it might work ok. My dd had it when she was a baby and I would even sort of lightly scratch with my fingernail. She didn't even flinch until she got bored of sitting on my lap and wanted to crawl away.

Anyway, to keep it away if you give him a good brushing once a week or so it should keep the build up of oil and skin (which is what cradle cap *is*) to a minimum.

[mistymama]

My son is 4.5 and he still gets it occasionally. Our Dr. suggested using a tiny bit of Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo. It works like a charm.

[BelovedK]

to the oil you may want to add a bit of lavendar essential oil to ease any inflammation Good suggestions everyone.

[the_lissa]

I read cradle cap is just seborrhea dermatitis.

[candipooh]

My dd who is almost 6 gets this sometimes.

[ashleyhaugh]

i had killer cradle cap when i was a baby, and it turned into killer dandruff as a child and an adult. treat it now, lol

[kathywiehl]

My dd had that and all the oil in the world wouldn't help. She was about 5 years old when we had to turn to Selsun Blue and it worked like a charm. It's not the most gentle, but if I didn't use it she'd end up with huge clumps of ick on her head. I would just put a little on her head, let her play in the water for a bit and then scrub a bit with my fingernails to get it all off. It was red and raw underneath but always looked fine within a few hours.

[*Aimee*]

my 11 month old has this realllly bad. Do you think the Burts Bee's apricot oil would be okay to use? I'm out of olive oil.

[ashleyhaugh]

it probably would. i think any oil works. i know people use baby oil too. thats what my mom was told to use, but she was also told it would make my hair fall out (not true with any of the kids ive seen, lol) which is why she didnt use it, she figured it would clear up

[ThreeBeans]

Originally Posted by *Aimee*

my 11 month old has this realllly bad. Do you think the Burts Bee's apricot oil would be okay to use? I'm out of olive oil.

That's what I used. Oiled her up, let her sit for a bit with a cap, then shampooed it out and used my comb and fingernails to get the rest

Her head smelled DELISHUSH!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I have psoriasis on my scalp which is white or yellow flaky patches and red and raw underneeth. You might want to get that ruled out

[momto l&a]

I am 32.

When I first started going to my hairdresser 5 months ago she said I had something that looks an awful like cradle cap.

[dubfam]

Originally Posted by Yooper

My dd still has it. I remember that my sister also had it well into her early years. I just gave dd the "treatment" last weekend. My dd also has curly hair and it is hard to see ehr scalp. I put her in her highchair on the deck. The full sun helps to see and being outside makes me less uptight about drips. I slather her head with massive amounts of apricot oil. Really rub it in. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then take a fine-tooth comb and comb her scalp gently to loosen the cap. Before ehr hair got so long, I could comb it all the way out of her hair. At this point, I just get it off the scalp and hope the flakes all come out in the wash. Then I wash her hair several times. She is not used to getting her hair washed so I lay her on the kitchen counter with her head over the sink and sue the sprayer. At this age we have to retreat about once every 6 months.

: ds is 4 and still has it...he also has really curly hair! I was wondering if he was the only one...

[fishface]

I have psoriasis on my scalp which is white or yellow flaky patches and red and raw underneeth. You might want to get that ruled out

That's what I was thinking. My BF has this and if flares up usually in dry weather (like winter months). I survey his head and massage the areas w/ a damp washcloth to loosen/remove stuff and then put some precription stuff on. I forget what it's call. It's not a cream or gel, it's kind of runny but it does the trick.

[A&A]

Rub in olive oil, then shampoo.

Make sure your ds's hair/scalp gets a daily brushing. Don't merely pick it out with your fingers because that could hurt and cause an infection.

[littlehawksmom]

I have heard that it can be the body's reaction to food allergies/sensitivities: sloughing excess protein which could be toxins from the allergen the body is trying to get rid of. Same for dandruff.
I am not sure of the truth of that statement, but my dandruff and my son's cradle cap (at age 3)have seemed to go away on their own since we took out gluten.

[TripMom]

Originally Posted by A&A

Rub in olive oil, then shampoo.

Make sure your ds's hair/scalp gets a daily brushing. Don't merely pick it out with your fingers because that could hurt and cause an infection.

OK - I NEVER brush DS hair -- it is a mop of curls - I just wash it and towel dry it - that's it. Could that be part of the prob? I see a lot of moms posting here that have curly hair kids?

[A&A]

Originally Posted by TripMom

OK - I NEVER brush DS hair -- it is a mop of curls - I just wash it and towel dry it - that's it. Could that be part of the prob? I see a lot of moms posting here that have curly hair kids?

It at least needs to be combed daily, or you can massage his scalp with your fingers daily--the scalp just needs more stimulation than merely towel drying. But try the olive oil. It will really help (but it gets the hair greasy!)