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View Full Version : Help! My baby girl has cradle cap (seborrheic dermatitis) (old thread)



jewelotn
April 1st, 2009, 06:46 PM
DD2 who is about 7 months old has cradle cap or seborrheic dermatitis. Some say to soak the scalp with mineral oil or olive oil for 10-15 min then shampooing.

I already know that I WON'T be going anywhere near the mineral oil.

But does the rest of the above regimen sound about right? I also plan on finishing with an ACV rinse since some articles felt that fungus overgrowth contributes to cradle cap.

And I have some Aveeno shampoo+body wash. Can I use that as the shampoo? Do I need to brush while I shampoo to help the flakies come out?

Ugh, ugh, I'm so clueless b/c DD1 never had cradle cap...

Elphie
April 1st, 2009, 06:57 PM
I used A&D ointment (a little goes a long way!) massaged onto the scalp and then a gentle baby comb to loosen the flakes. A mild shampoo after but it may take a bit before the hair isn't greasy.

icydove
April 1st, 2009, 07:49 PM
Before LHC and knowing the evils of mineral oil, I treated my DD's cradle cap by massaging creamy mineral oil on her scalp then washing it out with baby shampoo. Within a week, it was pretty much gone. I don't see why you couldn't use any other oil instead. I think the Aveeno body wash/shampoo should be fine. I would probably stick to using fingers instead of a brush for gentleness.

SimplyLonghair
April 1st, 2009, 08:08 PM
Oil is best, I would wonder about aveno on a young child though, but that is my celiac disease talking. I think about allergies and it has oats which I cannot use.

A very gentle brush would work, I used a plastic nail brush on my oldest when he had it. The bristles were soft plastic and very gentle. It was a hospital nailbrush.

ACV would be okay if diluted enough to be gentle.

Good luck!:cheese:

Naava
April 1st, 2009, 09:42 PM
Last week I used coconut oil for my 9 month old daughters hair and it worked great! I put it on, left it there for about an hour and then combed it carefully before taking her to bath. It was all gone after this :)

Teazel
April 1st, 2009, 09:51 PM
I used to leave olive oil on my son's scalp for a while, then gently loosened the flakes. He had it for many years: I know it's ugly, but try not to worry about it too much. :flower:

I have seborrheic dermatitis myself. Coincidentally, I saw a dermatologist about it yesterday. I mentioned that ACV rinses helped, and he said to get the most effect from it I should leave it on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing it off.

If you use ACV on your daughter's scalp, be very careful to dilute it well. I actually 'burnt' my shoulders and chest, once, when my ACV rinse was a little too strong. It was a recommended dilution, but evidently too strong for me... baby skin is very delicate, as you know, so take care.

Good luck! :)

DragonLady
April 1st, 2009, 09:56 PM
Baking soda and olive oil was the best mix for my daughter when she had a bout of it.

manderly
April 1st, 2009, 09:59 PM
There's nothing WRONG with mineral oil. All it's doing is sealing the skin from the elements, allowing it to keep its natural moisture from being evaporated. I hate hearing AHHHHH mineral oil!!!! Our mohters, our grandmothers, our great grandmothers all used it, and none of us are dead or bald because of it.

That being said, I don't see why another heavy oil wouldn't work the same way, such as olive or coconut oil as was mentioned.

Michou
April 1st, 2009, 10:37 PM
I use olive oil in our house and a very soft toothbrush to loosen the flakes. I've used mineral oil for the kids ears at times, wasn't aware it was a huge problem.

kimi
April 2nd, 2009, 02:50 AM
I was an OB and neonatal nurse for years. When we did baby care classes in the unit, we always told parents mineral oil for cradle cap. Course, this was about 7 years ago, and I don't see how olive oil, well any oil, would be any different. A gentle brush, after letting the oil sit on the scalp a bit, and a gentle shampoo or rinse, and probably repeats, and in time it clears. Good luck!

jewelotn
April 2nd, 2009, 09:39 AM
There's nothing WRONG with mineral oil. All it's doing is sealing the skin from the elements, allowing it to keep its natural moisture from being evaporated. I hate hearing AHHHHH mineral oil!!!! Our mohters, our grandmothers, our great grandmothers all used it, and none of us are dead or bald because of it.



I don't have anything against mineral oil. I use it to take off my mascara. It's a tad too emollient for my face, otherwise I'd use it on my skin. I use a drop or 2 of camellia sinesis every morning and night instead. I don't need lotion on my face now b/c of it. Works beautifully.

My reason for avoiding mineral oil for DD2 is that DD1 is allergic to it. My MIL put some on when she was a few weeks old and she broke out in hives right away. Didn't really feel like doing a test patch last night on DD2 to find out and potentially dealing with THAT in addition to the cradle cap. :)


I was an OB and neonatal nurse for years. When we did baby care classes in the unit, we always told parents mineral oil for cradle cap. Course, this was about 7 years ago, and I don't see how olive oil, well any oil, would be any different.

Even w/o the allergy thing, I would've gone with an oil that is edible since we're dealing with babies/kids. This way if ANY oil happens to get onto a part of the body that baby can touch, I won't have to worry about keeping it away from her mouth.

As it were, DD2 did very well but some oil did end up on her forehead, even after we wiped. She was sleepy, started rubbing her face and voila, some oil got onto her hands. She is teething like crazy and her hands are always in her mouth. It was messy business putting on the oil on a very fidgety baby. The last thing I wanted to worry about was keeping her away from the head area as well.

When you do infant massage, nearly all will recommend you go with an edible oil like grapeseed or olive oil b/c you don't want baby accidentally injesting something like mineral oil and it's impossible to be 100% vigilant in that situation. IDK, that recommendation makes sense to me so I ran with it.

Oh, and I forgot that olive oil has some anti-bacterial properties so that's an added bonus for me.



Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

manderly
April 2nd, 2009, 03:07 PM
My reason for avoiding mineral oil for DD2 is that DD1 is allergic to it.


Oh, well than absolutely steer clear :D So many people just have an irrational fear/hate of mineral oil, like they're using crude oil out of the Texas oil rigs or something :flower:

bjjowett1993
April 2nd, 2009, 03:13 PM
I would think tea tree oil would be amazing, for the fungal issue. Cradle cap is a fungus, I'm only in high school, and I had parenting last semester, and I passed with an 87. Also, I wouldn't recommend the Aveeno shampoo, and very gentle scrubbing would be called for, and after, try using coconut, olive, (Definitely not mineral!, it's not just bad for your hair, but your health in general.) or any other moisturizing oil. :)

sapphire-o
April 2nd, 2009, 05:56 PM
Is it bad? My first son had it but we didn't do anything with it. He had enough hair so it's not too obvious. Eventually it went away. We did reduce the frequency of bathing him and I brushed his hair with a soft brush, trying to clean it a bit. I think my second son got it, too, but he's got tons of hair so it's very hard to see. It went away after a couple months as well. I think it might just be a phase when their skin's regulating itself.

jewelotn
April 3rd, 2009, 01:10 AM
Sapphire-o: well, cradle cap isn't detrimental, if that's what you mean. DD2 wasn't uncomfortable but I sure had a rough time not picking at her scalp like I do with pimples. :D

We put a ton of olive oil so I used J&J baby shampoo. I know, pretty harsh stuff but I figured with the oil coating everything, scalp/hair would be fine. The cradle cap must not have been too bad b/c it's all gone now.

We'll be giving DD2 another bath probably tomorrow or maybe Sat. I think we'll go back to CO since the flakies are all gone and bathe her more frequently.


bjjowett1993-I forgot about tea trea oil! Thanks for the reminder. =)

Manderly-I know, there are many differing opinions on mineral oil. I've made my peace with it. =)

Eden Iris
April 3rd, 2009, 11:38 AM
I used olive oil on my daughter's cradle cap. I put it on when she was napping, so no fidgeting. I didn't shampoo it out afterward; it seemed to just soak into her skin and hair after a few minutes, and I could gently massage the skin to remove the flakes. No need for ACV rinse on an infant, and I think I would avoid tea tree on a young one in the rare event it got on her fingers or in her eyes. Olive oil is also antifungal.

Naava
April 3rd, 2009, 12:39 PM
Is it bad? My first son had it but we didn't do anything with it. He had enough hair so it's not too obvious. Eventually it went away. We did reduce the frequency of bathing him and I brushed his hair with a soft brush, trying to clean it a bit. I think my second son got it, too, but he's got tons of hair so it's very hard to see. It went away after a couple months as well. I think it might just be a phase when their skin's regulating itself.


It's not really bad if there isn't a lot of it. In some cases if a child gets thick enough layer of it, the scalp underneath can get irritated.

I just like doing the whole oil thing with my daughter, I enjoy seeing the flakes come of. I know I'm gross :D

jewelotn
April 3rd, 2009, 01:32 PM
I just like doing the whole oil thing with my daughter, I enjoy seeing the flakes come of. I know I'm gross :D

LOL, I had to really stop myself from picking off her flakies (before I put the oil on). It felt good to get them off the scalp. :D

Aliya12
April 12th, 2017, 04:23 AM
Cradle cap is a favorable environment for the Pityrosporum ovale fungus’ development that can make the baby itching. In some rare cases, it can spread to other skin areas of the baby!
As children grow up, cradle cap becomes fewer, and when they are one year old it may be entirely eliminated. If cradle cap is just a thin layer, it is a normal physiological phenomenon. In contract, if it plays into thick foundation plastered to the hairline, it will cause itch so the baby will scratch their heads frequently. This leads to infectious complications in the scalp.
The symptoms of cradle cap are Hard patchy scales on the scalp, hair loss, greasy and chapped skin, inflammation, drainage, instant boil.
I recommend some effective home remedies to get rid of cradle cap for your children:

1. Vaseline:
Take an enough amount of Vaseline and apply it to the affected areas. Leave it through the night for the best effect. In the next morning, the cradle will be softened and easy to remove, use a soft toothed comb to rub and remove the scales from your baby’s scalp.

2. Coconut oil:
Take an enough amount of coconut oil and apply it to the head skin. Make sure that it covers all the affected areas. Then you can remove the flakes by scrubbing by a soft toothed comb. Finally, wash off the baby’ head with fresh water and a suitable shampoo and wipe with a soft towel.

3. Cradle Cap Brush
Remember to choose the best one that is suitable and safe for your baby. The one that has soft bristles is required.
When using the cradle cap brush, don't press too much or it can harmful to the sensitive and tender skin of your baby or in some cases, it can cause pain and lead to blood.
If you want to know more about this, you can find them all here https://authorityremedies.com/home-remedies-for-cradle-cap/

lapushka
April 12th, 2017, 05:23 AM
I had this too. I still have it, at (almost) age 45.

My mom at the time got it off with a damp wash cloth and some sweet almond oil (use sparingly, on the wash cloth). This is a EU washcloth, the kind you put your hands into, and a fine tooth comb to get the big scales out of the ends of the hair.

This worked for my mom.

These days I use a medicated shampoo (Nizoral 2%), and oils and conditioner on the scalp is a big no-no. It makes the environment more "oily" and you need to avoid that.

Agnieszka
April 12th, 2017, 08:41 AM
Warm olive oil, massage it on her scalp, put a cotton hat on her head for 15 min and then gently comb out flakes with fine tooth comb. I got rid of it with this method once for all. My two boys had it. Good luck!

parkmikii
April 12th, 2017, 12:19 PM
Guys..this thread is from 2009...

Agnieszka
April 12th, 2017, 01:32 PM
Oh my! Didn't notice :-) Thanks!

lapushka
April 12th, 2017, 01:36 PM
It could still be useful to whoever is looking for advice on this. :)

GillyGirl
April 27th, 2019, 04:59 PM
It could still be useful to whoever is looking for advice on this. :)

I just searched for cradle cap care. That's how I ended up here many years in the future of this post.

I have an herbal care book that recommends olive oil for cradle cap used in the same way as others have posted on here.
What I love to use on my babies is calendula infused olive oil. I made a full bottle of it while I was expecting and it has been great for skin care from diaper rashes to cradle cap.

milosmomma
April 27th, 2019, 05:17 PM
I read through this and was confused about what is so scary about mineral oil? And then why weren't any one worried about babies ingesting or getting tea tree oil in their eyes/mouths?

MusicalSpoons
April 27th, 2019, 07:10 PM
I read through this and was confused about what is so scary about mineral oil? And then why weren't any one worried about babies ingesting or getting tea tree oil in their eyes/mouths?

Ingesting MO = laxative, plus OP's first child was allergic to it so they didn't want to risk it with child 2.

Someone briefly mentioned being careful with TTO but I too was surprised there wasn't more caution mentioned!! (Tbh, if they were the only options I'd be less worried about MO ingestion than TTO! Although preferable is both staying out of the body, of course.)