cradle cap

Has your infant's scalp developed dry flakes or crusty yellowish scales? It's likely cradle cap. Known as seborrheic dermatitis when it appears elsewhere on the body, cradle cap is a noncontagious skin condition that commonly affects infants in the first few weeks and months of life.

Although the exact cause of cradle cap isn't known, some doctors believe one factor is a mother's hormonal changes during pregnancy, which stimulate the baby's oil glands. Unlike other common infant rashes such as eczema and diaper rash, cradle cap isn't itchy or uncomfortable for a baby. While cradle cap usually resolves itself within a few weeks or months, many parents prefer to try the following cradle cap treatments to hasten the healing process.

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My sons were both blessed with full heads of hair when born. Within a week, both then developed cradle cap. My older son's was easily treated with a little olive oil and a baby toothbrush. My younger son's was a bit more persistent, becoming infected with his scratching and eventually requiring a topical antibiotic to rid his scalp of the itchy scales.

Fast-forward 15 months, and I recently noticed that my younger tot has been scratching his head a lot lately. A quick search of his scalp revealed the same yellowish flakes he had when he was born. His cradle cap was back. While some doctors believe that the condition's presence in older children is related to dandruff, repeating our oil and soft toothbrush routine cleared it up within days. I only wish I had known that the condition could occur long after a lil one has graduated from the cradle.

My two older kids never really got cradle cap, but my little guy had it for a couple of weeks after he came home from the hospital. Hesitant to scrap the scales off of his scalp, particularly his soft spot, I waited to see if it would clear on its own. Since he has blond hair, it wasn't terribly noticeable, but eventually tiny flakes settled in his eyebrows, irritating his eyes.

To solve the problem, I took a super fine-tooth comb and massaged his head with a quarter-size dollop of Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Treament ($7). The oily lotion works wonders. I ran the comb through his hair in a back and forth motion, which pulled the flakes out without irritating his lil head, and took time to rinse the comb in between. After five minutes and a final sudsy shampoo and rinse, my guy was cradle cap free, and it never came back.