cradle cap?

[wandasmart]

my baby has a dry patch on her scalp, i'm wondering what to do about it before it gets worse. i was told somewhere i should rub her scalp with olive oil, brush it and the wash it with shampoo?
i dont know if it is cradle cap... she's 3 months, does it happen at this age?

 

[shalom]

my baby has cradle cap at 2 mo old. and i ignored it until it turned really bad with hard dry crusts and it smells sometimes. i have tried mustela cradle cap shampoo, rubbing olive oil and leave it overnight, combed it with a soft comb to remove the crust the next day and then wash the hair and other methods. it took 3 month for it to be totally gone. i was told not to worry, it will go away by itself but it takes time. good luck!

 

[anita]

Yup, 3 months is right about the age for a case of cradle cap. My daughter also had it pretty bad at that age (baby acne too!). Combing and daily washings help but what's also important is to rinse shampoo off using clean, running water - NOT soapy bath water which will make the condition worse. There's not much else you can do except wait - the condition will disappear. It did after about 45 days in the case of my daughter. Good luck and remember cradle cap may look unpleasant but it doesn't bother baby!

 

[spsmok]

I used Johnson's baby oil on my daughter and it worked well.

Before bathing your baby, soak a cotton ball with the baby oil and gently rub the area. Then shampoo and bathe your baby like usual.

At first it may not seem to be working because it's somewhat hard, but as you continue to do it everyday, you'll see it going away gradually. Actually, the "dirt" will come off with the cotton ball like really bad dandruff.

 

[Cici]

agree with niterz
was told by my peads the same thing- wash hair with shower head to ensure constant running water, but before that rub almond oil on for 1 hr, comb to get rid of loose flakes, then rinse with warm water- avoid at all costs hats etc that can aggravate the condition- my sons cradle cap cleared up really quickly (thank god!)

 

[mummybee]

Mamalicious, notice this is an old thread. How is your baby's cradle cap going?

My baby too had VERY VERY BAD cradle cap when she was 2 mths old. I did the leave olive oil then shampoo method as well but find the flakes were not removed as fast as they were forming (probably hers is a very severe case). I modify the method and here it is if you still need it or for anyone who are interested:
(1) Pre-warm olive oil by standing in a dish of hot water (so oil is easily absorbed by flakes)
(2) Massage a liberal amt onto scalp, and leave overnight (2-3hrs wasn't long enough in her case)
(3) Next morning, imperative that you brush flakes off using a baby hair brush (or hairbrush with soft bristles) in direction against hair growth. You will see flakes instantly lifting off scalp. You may have to pick individual flakes off as they may remain attached to hair. I know people would advice you against this, but I used to pick flakes that need a little "persuasion" off. Use discretion, of course, don't pick off those that are still very much attached to scalp.
(4) Shampoo as per normal.
Repeat for couple more nights till everything comes off. I only need to do this 3 times before her scalp was absolutely gorgeous looking. I think it is cruel to leave cradle cap alone - they are very itchy!
My baby used to have this stubborn thick yellow patch on her left forehead that wouldn't come off no matter what, until hair has stopped growing in this area. For this, I religiously massaged olive oil onto the patch 3 times a day for 3-4 days then progressively brushed one flake by another off until skin was smooth again. Good luck!

 

[lidly]

The olive oil is a good one. But I found that mixing it with bi-carb soda into a paste worked even better. I just rubbed it into the scalp and then washed it out. it is very hard to wash out but it works very well. I did that a couple of times and the problem was solved.

 

[capital]

I don't think you can really cure, ityou just try to control it and eventaully it will go away. My baby got it at about 3 months and it was really bd for about 1 month, then it got better, now at 5 months he gets a small patch once in a while, and his scalp is also quite dry, he will scratch until it blleds. I use almond oil instead of olive oil, mainly becasue it smells better and I already have it for massaging, I also used to pick it off when it was really bad too.