getting rid of cradle cap?

Question

what is the best way to get rid of cradle cap ive tried using the special shampoo but to no avail its on my babys scalp as he has very thick hair i dont want to resort to cutting it

Answer 1

Eventually it will go away. However, try Vaseline or baby oil. Rub it throughout their hair and take a soft baby brush or toothbrush and brush close to the scalp.

Answer 2

How can I help to get rid of this?

Cradle cap is a skin condition which commonly occurs on the scalp of infants. The medical term is seborrhoea dermatitis, which is just a fancy name for irritation around the oil-producing sebaceous glands of the skin. It usually shows up in the first month, and generally goes away within a few months.
It looks like scaly, yellow flakes. It may give the appearance that your child's head is dirty or has a bad case of dandruff.

In more severe cases, the areas involved may include the ears, forehead and eyelids.

Parents should keep in mind that this condition is not caused by poor care or poor hygiene. In fact, the cause of this condition is not completely understood.

The sebaceous glands of the skin produce oils, and the glands are stimulated by hormones. The infant is exposed to high levels of hormones in the womb, and these hormones linger for some time after he is born. It is thought that exposure to these hormones makes cradle cap more likely in those prone to it.

Cradle cap will eventually go away on its own. However, there are a few things you can do to help with the baby's appearance and keep the area of involvement in check. The basic strategy is to gently loosen the scales so that they may be easily removed:

If the scales are dry, rub olive oil into the scalp prior to washing. This will help loosen the scales
Wash your child's head with a baby shampoo daily.
Massage the scalp with a toothbrush to loosen the scales.
Brush your child's hair gently to help get rid of the scales.
For the most part, the above suggestions - plus the tincture of time - will allow for cradle cap to subside. Some physicians and parents have suggested rubbing oil into the scalp even after shampooing the hair. Some suggest using a dandruff shampoo when the cradle cap does not seem to be getting better.
If your baby's scalp seems to be significantly irritated, your GP may prescribe hydrocortisone ointment. Be sure to contact your GP if you notice:

Redness
Irritation
The cradle cap extends to cover the skin of the face, neck or trunk
The condition seems to worsen, despite your best efforts

Answer 3

As a career in childcare has taught me that the best way to get rid of cradle cap is to rub some oil into baby's scalp and leave it to soften up (baby oil or ordinary Olive oil is fine) over night. Then brush gently using a very soft baby brush to loosen and a gentle shampoo with a treatment shampoo should work. Once clear brush baby's hair regularly at least morning and night to stimulate the blood circulation to the scalp.

Answer 4

something soft and gentle for babies with my son i tried the cradle cap cream which was no good it made his head sore, but with my daughter i used oil left it in for a an hour or two then washed her hair, i have also been told that if you put shampoo on there hair neat and rub gently then wash it out it helps to loosen up the scalp and cradle cap i never did try this trick has my daughters had gone. hope this helps if not you can always see you health visitor but be careful as some stuff can leave there head sore like my son good luck.

Answer 5

My health visitor told me you shouldn't pick at it because it can pull the hair out and damage the scalp. The best thing to do, and what worked for my son, is massaging baby oil into his scalp then gently combing his hair - it brings out almost all the cradle cap very easily. It does leave the hair looking a bit greasy but just give his hair a couple of washes straight after to get the oil out. If a bit of cradle cap remains, just do this again a day or two later.

Answer 6

Warm olive oil rubed into the scalp will help loosen the cradle cap leave on over night and wash of repeat for a few days and it will have go i had this with all my 3 babies and it worked each time i used this method the shampoos are rubbish good luck

Answer 7

You should not pick at it or cut it.

Gently rub on olive oil before bed. In the morning, gently brush through using a soft baby brush, and shampoo (ordinary baby shampoo is fine). You will find that lots of the 'scaly' bits come away when you brush., but be careful not to overdo the brushing as it will cause baby's head to become a little red and sore.

You may need to repeat a couple of times to get rid of it all, and it is not a permanent cure - you will probably need to do it again in a month or so.

Answer 8

I've found the best and cheapest way to get rid of cradle cap is to use baby oil. Just massage plenty in leave it a bit then rub with cotton wool.

Answer 9

2 of my children suffered cradle cap, i would rub baby oil or vaseline in to their scalp, leave it for an hour or two then when the were asleep i would gently comb it with a fine tooth comb and it would peel away with the combing, then when they woke i would wash their hair with a baby shampoo, it was gone within a week of doing this

Answer 10

Both my boys had cradle cap. I would apply shampoo to thier hair and very, very gently rub a wash rag over the spots till it was gone. It really did help!!