Poor little Alice had awful cradle cap as a baby. In fact, she is nearly three and still suffers from small patches every now and then. It’s such a common thing but I really struggled to find a successful treatment for it.
When she was born Alice had lots of hair but within months it had pretty much disappeared as the cradle cap had caused it to fall out in big clumps. She was pretty much bald except for a small comb over! Judging by the photo above I think she was just trying to copy her Daddy! I worried if it would ever grow back as every time it did it would quickly come out again.
I wanted to share some of the treatments I tried and would love to hear any amazing remedies you may have.
Washing & Brushing
Make sure you wash your baby’s hair regularly to help remove any loose flakes. Afterwards brush baby’s scalp with a soft brush. Try and move the brush in different directions as this will loosen the cradle cap.
Olive Oil
My friends used to say they could smell Alice a mile off when she was a baby because of the olive oil that was smothered on her head each day. If your baby suffers from cradle cap you will know how tempted you are to remove the thick crusty layers but please don’t. This can be the worst thing for it as exposes the skin underneath. Applying a layer of oil will soften it and help it come away naturally. Be prepared to get some oily marks on clothes or bed sheets but luckily it all comes out in the wash. I was advised to use olive oil but have since read conflicting views so please do let me know what you think on this.
Coconut Oil
If you want to avoid olive oil then coconut oil (or almond oil) is great for treating cradle cap. I wished I had used it earlier. Plus it smells much better than olive oil! It is soothing to the head and friends have said it has worked miracles on their babies.
Dentinox
If you want to try the medicated route I can recommend Dentinox. As nothing else seemed to be working I thought I would give it a try once Alice was older and I can honestly say it has really helped. I have noticed that if I don’t use it for a few days or use a different normal shampoo the cradle cap comes back so if you are happy I would say it is worth a purchase.
Camomile
A naturalist told me that camomile is great for treating cradle cap from the inside. I didn’t find this out until Alice was older so she suggested making up some weak camomile tea and once cooled giving that to Alice in her beaker. She wasn’t exactly a fan so I’m afraid I didn’t persevere with this route. Perhaps I should have? If you are breastfeeding apparently you can drink chamomile tea as as a means of passing the natural properties on to the baby. I have recently discovered the Earth Friendly Baby Camomile shampoo which I am using on Alice. Although her cradle cap is intermittent now it does seem to be helping. It smells lovely too. I’d be interested to see if anyone had success with this with smaller babies.
Have you discovered any great remedies for treating cradle cap? If so please do share.
Alice images by Sophie Hewitt Photography
My son had it and I used olive oil. What I didn’t realise is that you are supposed to apply it, wait for a bit and then wash it off! I used to leave it on and the smell was rancid! I used a brush to remove the flakes. We were lucky it did disappear with time and he kept his full head if hair that he was born with (which now requires a cut every 4 weeks)!
I didn’t know this either! Poor kids having to have stinky heads! x
We didn’t have much luck with continued use of Detinox, but found massaging our little girls head with coconut oil then using a baby brush in gentle circular motions was the best remedy. Also only using shampoo every other day to avoid drying out her scalp! After a week of very greasy hair due to the coconut oil and only shampooing every other day, it all but disappeared!
I am definitely thinking coconut oil is the way to go. It seems to have worked for most people I know. x
Ethan’s had some serious cradle cap for the whole two years of his life, but we finally got it under control the last few months. I smother his head in olive oil, leave it for a couple of hours and then take a very fine toothed comb to it, it never seems to bother him at all and all the flakes come right off. It tends to then stay away for a good 3-4 weeks before we need to repeat the process again. I did try the same thing with coconut oil, but it didn’t remove nearly as much. Apparently it should clear up on it’s own by the time they’re 3 or 4.
And my Dr friend says there’s no harm in removing the dead skin as long as it’s softened by something first, picking it off when it’s hard can thin their hair and even make their little scalp bleed! Thank God it’s not something we need to deal with as an adult!
I think I need to try this Naomi. Alice’s is mostly better but still a few patches that won’t go away. X
Coconut oil worked brilliantly on my little lady’s cradle cap. Same as Maddy, left on before bath and used Neals Yard baby shampoo every other day. Gone in 2 weeks and hasn’t come back so far!
I think I need to give the coconut oil a proper whirl x
The Dentinox shampoo really worked for my little girl, her head was much clearer within a few washes! However I know some people who it hasn’t worked for, but it’s worth a try and pretty cheap! I’ve heard that the Baby Bees shampoo from the Burts Bees range is good for cradle cap – I use it on my little girl but I only started with it after her cradle cap was long gone so can’t comment personally but lots of reviews online say it cleared up their babies head! Baby Bees is a lovely range for dry skin in general (it’s the only one I’ve tried that doesn’t flare my daughters excema up) so I can imagine it might help!
I really rate the dentinox but may give burts bees a try. I love their stuff xx
I tried olive oil but my little ones hated having their hair washed every day.Unfortuanately I hate coconuts and their smell! I then discovered Moo Goo scalp cream and it worked great and very quickly. All natural and no strong scent.
Moo goo sounds great! Will check it out x
My little boy is nearly three and has a fine head of longish scruffy blonde hair, but underneath patches of cradle cap are still there! I’m never sure if it’s still the ‘original’ from when he was a baby (if so, gross!) or if it just comes back. I do use detonix shampoo and try and rub his head with a flannel, but he hates having his hair washed/brushed/cut at the moment so it’s all a bit of a struggle!! Any nice soft brush recommendations for toddler boys v welcome!
I think little bits creep back. Alice’s seems to anyway. I’m also on the lookout for a brush so I’ll let you know if I find one x
Mabel has had cradle cap since she was born, it seemed to be getting better and then about 6 months ago it became really bad – her hair was falling out and some of the flakes would come off and leave sore weeping skin underneath. We were actually referred to a dermatologist as our GP was at a loss but whilst waiting for the referral I decided to stop all treatments (we tried everything – the tar shampoo from the doctors actually made her whole body break out in hives/eczema) and literally just wash her hair in my very mild unfragranced shower gel (Sanex Zero) and rub her scalp gently after every bath. Whether it was a coincidence or not this seemed to do the trick, she has a few little patches now but nothing major.
My poor baba had cradle cap and eczema head to toe – I took everything out of his bath with sulphates/nasties in and use organic aloe Vera shampoo and then dip him in waitrose baby bottom butter! This had worked a treat and his skin is lovely and soft again. Plus I can steal the bottom butter every night for s bargain night cream!
I LOVE waitrose baby bottom butter!! Best mummy & baby steal ever x
Thanks for this post Lottie, I tried the coconut oil/brushing combo for the last 2 days with my 3 month old and it has worked a treat- cradle cap is practically gone! X
Hooray! Glad to be of service! xx
I use a proprietary (is that the word?) baby oil blend which has olive oil, coconut oil and east cape manuka oil (must be like the honey??) Got this from a shop online.
I suppose you could make your own blend but I never have the time being a mum of five.
The crustiness softend and fell off at each bath time after I applied some, let it soak in and then about half an hour later (end of bathtime) I gently brushed off with a soft brush being very careful.
Cradle cap is a patchy, greasy, scaly and crusty skin rash that occurs on the scalp of infants and sometimes toddlers. It is a variant of seborrhoeic dermatitis that is confined to the scalp but can very rarely involve other areas of the body such as behind the ears, in the creases of the neck, armpits and diaper area.
http://www.drdivyasharma.com/cradle-cap/