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best way to get rid of cradle cap - for good?!


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Hi, I am embarrassed to say that my just turned 3 y/o boy has cradle cap, still. I thought it was almost gone. Then, today he got his hair cut and the lady showed me how bad it was. OMG. Total bad mommy moment. I peeled some off after she put on some Moroccan oil, and his hair came off with it! Now he has a little bald patch! Any ideas to get rid of it for good that have worked for you?

Thanks.

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If it is really that bad I would use TGel. It is harsh stuff, so only use it once a week or less, but it does work. My DD had cradle cap so bad her hair was not growing in on top. We tried everything! Finally the pedi said that some kids just need stronger stuff. We used the TGel once a week for about 2 months and it went away. She is now 7yo and has hair down to her butt, no bald spots.

 

My 3yo DS has a little bit still, and if I mess with the flakes it does come off with some hair. His is very minor though so I have not used the TGel on him yet.

 

It will be ok!:grouphug:

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If it is really that bad I would use TGel. It is harsh stuff, so only use it once a week or less, but it does work. My DD had cradle cap so bad her hair was not growing in on top. We tried everything! Finally the pedi said that some kids just need stronger stuff. We used the TGel once a week for about 2 months and it went away. She is now 7yo and has hair down to her butt, no bald spots.

 

My 3yo DS has a little bit still, and if I mess with the flakes it does come off with some hair. His is very minor though so I have not used the TGel on him yet.

 

It will be ok!:grouphug:

 

Thanks all, I know it sounds weird, but the pedi has looked at this too and does think it is cradle cap. I was told that until you get rid of ALL of it, it keeps coming back. I just thought it was almost all gone, and was surprised at how it came back. I will definetely watch it closer though and keep in mind about the allergy idea.

Where do you get TGel? I never heard of it before. Thanks again!

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I found picking at it with a very fine baby comb gently and a little at time helped. And making sure I was actually scrubbing really well when I washed their hair instead of gently doing it and rinsing quickly.

 

After a bath was a great time to gently pick it out while the scalp was still damp.

 

:grouphug:

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My nearly 3yo dd also has it... I just noticed it yesterday. Tea tree oil, just a little, plus her regular shampoo is usually enough to get rid of it. I have a stiffer bristle-brush for her, and will go through her hair more thoroughly for about a week.

 

My oldest had it worse than any of them... Tea Tree oil was the *only* thing that worked to get it all. gone.

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I know it sounds crazy, but try baking soda and water. You don't have to make it super-thick or pasty; just mix a few spoonfuls of plain old baking soda into enough warm water to make it a little gritty, but still pourable. (You'll end up with cloudy water, not a goopy mess.) Pour it (or apply it with your fingers) to the scalp and massage it in for a minute or two, and it seems to dissolve the yucky stuff. Then, just rinse it out and towel dry the hair, rubbing gently to get any remaining gunk out of the hair and scalp.

 

If the water is too cold it won't work as well, but obviously you can't make it too hot for a baby. The best thing about the baking soda is that it's not filled with chemicals, so I would think an allergic reaction would be less likely than with some of the special shampoos.

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Oh my goodness, you girls are all wonderful, thanks for the advice. I may not have made it clear enough with the hair falling out. It only falls out if I pick at the cradle cap and gently pull it out - the hair is so gooped up with it, it just comes out too. He doesn't even flinch or anything, makes me wonder if his hair will grow in thicker once it is all gone. He still has pretty fine hair since he was bald for so long.

Thanks again!

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It is a form of dandruff. Some adults still have it as well. Nothing to worry about. Your little one will prob grow out of it in time. It doesn't mean you are a bad mommy or that you haven't been washing his hair enough etc. There is nothing wrong with him. And really, the hair dresser should know better. S/he sees this all the time on adults and prob doesn't say a word.

 

Dandruff shampoo works very well. We found the type with coal tar worked very well. We just got the Target version. I had my son use it every few months just to keep it at bay. Eventually, it stopped coming back. My second son never had it at all.

 

My pediatrician's son had the same issue and he was the one who told me to try the coal tar shampoo.

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Thanks for this thread. You learn something new everyday. Possum still has cradle cap, just on his crown. All of my kids have had trouble with cradle cap (and only on the crown) until about 2.5 but it's always gone on its own. I might just try some of the recommendations here in the hopes of alleviating it sooner for Possum.

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Yeah, just use some dandruff shampoo. If I use *anything* else I get patches on my scalp that look like cradle cap, though obviously it isn't. As soon as I go back to anti-dandruff shampoo it goes away within a few days.

 

Same thing here, but it is related to my dairy allergy. My mother's head does the same thing.

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My youngest had it really bad and still gets it occasionally, when it was really bad I'd slather his head in aveno lotion (the baby kind) and let it sit while he's in the bathtub. Then I use a fine baby comb to go through his hair. This worked much better and isn't as harsh as the dandruff shampoos. I never had any luck with those.

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One of my kids had that for years. We used all sorts of dandruff shampoos, including T-sal and they all worked fine. (Nuetrogena T-sal that you can buy at any store.) He also has it in his eyes. His eyes started getting infected and the pediatrician diagnosed it as Seborrheic dermatitis. If he gets build up in his eyebrows, eyelashes or around the ears too, it is probably Seborrheic dermatitis. Sadly, it won't ever go away. :glare:

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You could also try Listerine.

 

Listerine contains a number of essential oils (thymol, eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate) that may have anti-fungal activity. Since dandruff appears to be caused in part by fungus (yeast), it stands to reason that a fungus fighter could provide some benefit.

 

I've heard some mix Listerine and baby oil, but I don't know the ratio.

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I don't know how helpful this will be, but when my oldest was born, he had a head full of blonde hair. The ped told me to avoid cradle cap by washing with a gentle shampoo, to use a soft plastic scrub brush to gently scrub his scalp while shampooing, and not to use any oils. I did this with all our kids, and none of them had problems with cradle cap. But I don't know if the protocol prevented it, or if it was just coincidence.

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Dandruff shampoo. My son is almost 10 and he *still* has it. Selsun Blue keeps in in check.

My son is 16 and has had it off and on all of his life.

 

That patch of cradle cap comes back on occasion -- the dermatologist says it is psoriasis/eczema. Head and Shoulders and Selsun Blue cause an allergic reaction so we have to use medicated shampoo. :glare:

 

NOT FOR INFANTS/TODDLERS: For the rest of us older folks, what really helps is the dermatologist dx'ing it with a wonderful prescription that helps: Derma Smoothe. It is a peanut oil with a topical corticoid steroid. It is amazing stuff for any skin rash or breakout!

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