Cradle Cap - What it is and How to Treat it

Cradle cap (or neonatal seborrheic dermatitis), according to Wikipedia, can be easily recognized by the patch of yellow crusty skin rash that usually appears on the scalp of newborn babies. The greasy and scaly condition doesn’t bother the baby, and can also appear around the ears, in the eyebrows or on the eyelids.

Though the cause is unknown, it is believed to be a result of overactive oil glands due to the mother’s hormones still being in the baby’s body. While it is very rare for the condition to get severe, occasionally it has been know to return when the child was a toddler, or even up into adulthood, although by then it is often diagnosed as dermatitis, eczema or, rarely, psoriasis.

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We asked a group of mothers to share how they dealt with cradle cap in their babies. Here’s a summary of their recommendations for effectively dealing with this common infant skin condition.

Baby Oil – Many of the mothers mentioned that they would apply baby oil to the scalp and allow the oil to soften the crust. Then would use a soft baby brush or comb to gently brush or comb the crust away.

NOTE: There is some evidence that if the cradle cap is a result of a yeast, that the oil will actually worsen the condition, since Malassezia yeast thrives in oil.

Shampoo – Some mothers chose to simply use a gentle baby shampoo and really work it gently into the scalp to loose up the crust. Many found that if one bath session did not take care of the condition, that a second bath would usually see the disappearance of the scaly patch.

NOTE: One mother mentioned that her pediatrician actually recommended Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo and that it worked beautifully! However, according to Wikipedia, dandruff shampoos contains sodium dodecyl sulfate, a known skin irritant.

Most of these mothers used either a simple shampoo or oil treatment combined with gently massaging the area with a soft baby hair brush or comb to loosen the dead skin. However, there are some other treatments that have been found to be successful in dealing with this scalp condition..

Massaging borage oil into the scalp twice a day was found to be effective during a Swedish study. Other home remedies are burdock or chamomile washes, aloe gel or tea tree oil or shampoo. The last two remedies have been found to be effective treatments for cradle cap in medical trials.

So, you can see, cradle cap is not something to panic about. Instead a bit of baby oil or shampoo and a soft baby brush will work miracles in getting rid of cradle cap.

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