HomeOnTheRanch Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 My baby has had extremely dry skin since birth. He had no vernix on him at birth and his arms, legs, hands and feet had cracks on them. The nurses kept telling me to put cream on him, I did, then they would ask why I didn't do what they told me! The doctor said he looked like a 42-weeker with skin like that, although we are positive he was born at exactly 40 weeks. Now, his scalp is the worst. I put moisturizer on it (we've tried everything from J&J lotion, vit. E, baby oil, plain olive oil, etc.), let it sit for a few minutes, scrub with gentle brush (sometimes with a sensitive skin cleanser, sometimes with nothing), and then moisturize (I've even tried skipping the last moisturizer). His scalp will look great for a few hours, then it looks just as bad. If I wait longer than a day to wash it again he will start scratching it himself (he's 3 1/2 months). The only parts of his body that aren't dry and scaly are his cheeks and diaper area. I'm frustrated. He's a happy guy otherwise. Complete strangers comment on his scalp when we go out in public. The only photos of him are immediately after a bath because his head looks so awful at other times. I've googled, and it seems he has seborrheic dermatitis. Any other advice? I'm sure it isn't an allergy related to laundry detergent. I use only natural stuff and we use cloth diapers also. I'm wondering if it is related to something I'm eating? He's my fifth baby and I've never dealt with anything this bad. My oldest had slight cradle cap, but it went away pretty easily. By the way, DH is an MD, and he hasn't been very helpful except for saying it will go away eventually. Ugh. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB in NJ Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Honestly? The *best* thing I found for cradle cap was dandruff shampoo. Seriously. Wash it with Head & Shoulders, and it'll go away asap. I promise. The lotion, oil, etc. just doesn't work. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Cradle cap can be a fungal infection. Has the doctor suggested trying anti-dandruff or anti-fungal hair shampoo on him? Selsun Blue and Head and Shoulders are often suggested. http://mayoclinic.com/health/cradle-cap/DS01074/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs A more natural suggestion may be to try coconut oil. It has natural anti fungal properties. Edited February 11, 2009 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 We used an oil by Weleda. It didn't prevent it from coming back regularly but did make it comb off easily before the bath. You can also use it on the skin where it lasts longer than regular lotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 My doc told me to use Neutrogena T-Gel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 My baby also has very dry skin, but slathering him in Eucerin several times a day has helped, and now at 6 months it is not so dry. I only put it on his scalp about once or twice a week now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmomof2boys Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I second the coconut oil suggestion. My niece's newborn daughter had cradle cap last summer and I gave her a jar of coconut oil. She put it on her daughter's head and it cleared it up. I am not sure how long it took. Coconut oil works for fungal problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runamuk Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 My son had horrible cradle cap until he was 2. The only thing I found to work was the Nettle soap at Chagrin Valley. Her soaps are all natural and didn't irriate Malcolm's sensitive skin. Once I started using it, his scalp cleared up in a week or so. For his dry skin, have you tried putting lotion on him right after his bath while he's still damp? I need to do that for myself because of my super-dry skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Here's what I did for him and it worked beautifully: In the bath, I poured some olive oil on his head and rubbed it in with my fingers really well. I let it sit on his scalp while I bathed him and washed up his body, about 5 min. Then I took a wash cloth and scrubbed until it flaked, then took a baby comb and combed his scalp with the olive oil still on it. I continued to comb and comb until there were no more flakes. Usually I would have been very leary of the "soft spot", but he's my third baby and the Dr. would always apply pressure there during his check ups, so I figured it would be ok to keep combing there. Once the flakes were gone, I rinsed his head. The condition never came back, but if it had, I would have repeated this. It's way better than using T-gel or other dandriff product that would be painful if accidentally gotten in the eyes, not to mention they are so very harsh on such delicate skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Honestly? The *best* thing I found for cradle cap was dandruff shampoo. Seriously. Wash it with Head & Shoulders, and it'll go away asap. I promise. The lotion, oil, etc. just doesn't work. Good luck! :iagree: for each of my dc I used selsen blue. Worked like a charm. FWIW, ds was born at 38 wks and he was 'overdone'. I would put a&d all over his feet(they were the worst) and then put socks on and leave them on. It seemed to help. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I can vouch for the idea of putting on a heavy moisturizing ointment or oil and then leaving it on, covered. My ds had horrible cradle cap and finally I soaked his scalp in coconut oil, and put on a baby-hat overnight. In the morning I combed it all out - it took awhile but it did finally all come loose. Never had to repeat it overnight again. Hope you find something that works, or some answers for your little one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 As well as oiling on the outside, I would take some oils yourself- coconut oil, butter, fish oil, get some good oils into your diet to get through your breast milk into the baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pinkmoxie Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Two of our children had cradle cap, one really badly. Our pediatrician recommended tea tree oil, which came in a paste and can be bought at Whole Foods. It smells like eucalyptus and works wonderfully. Since it's a paste, it can't get in a baby's eyes. One baby had cradle cap for awhile, and tea tree oil took great care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Knoll Mom Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 My boys have ichthyosis, which is a dry, scaly skin disorder. You might want to check out http://www.scalyskin.org and see if you can get some help there. Lots of good info there on how to de-scale skin and scalps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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