Skip to Content

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

Goodbye Cradle Cap!

Sharing is caring!

Cradle cap, or as doctors call it, seborrheic dermatitis, is a very common condition in babies that is not painful or contagious. It isn’t known yet what causes these yellow or brown crusty flakes to appear on the head of the baby, but it can be a concern for first time parents.

what does cradle cap look like

There are so many easy and natural ways to treat cradle cap. When our daughter got it at around two months old, her pediatrician suggested that everyday for three days we put some olive oil on her head, scrub it pretty hard with a soft bristled baby brush, and then shampoo it out. We tried it, and it worked! She was cradle cap free.

9c164142df506028998dd9662414f534_best
We used a Safety 1st Soft Grip Baby Brush

Our son was born last September and when his cradle cap appeared, I wanted to see if it would go away on it’s own (those parents with more than one child know- you are super proactive with the first child. Second child? Not so much. Subsequent children? I dread to think). Well, we just got to six months and there was no sign of it disappearing. So out came the olive oil and baby brush.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of his head beforehand. But here he is at four months, and you can see that the cradle cap in the center of his head was visible from quite a distance.

baby smiling

So, I lathered some olive oil on his head, got the baby brush and scrubbed pretty hard. Flakes just started falling off all over the place. It was pretty gross but I kept scrubbing because I wanted it all gone! Then I took him straight in the shower and shampooed it right off. And here is what he looked like later that day. Much less flakiness then before.

baby cradle cap

You can still see a few brown and yellow areas, which I was prepared for, as I thought this would be a three day procedure. The next day, I did the same thing again. Olive oil and scrub. And here is how is looked after!

baby cradle cap

All gone! What a relief. It took three times for it to work on my daughter, but my son’s was gone in two attempts. He now has a flake free head. Time to take lots more photos for the grandparents!

Has your baby had cradle cap? Did you try to remove it? Tell us in the comments below!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

mamaof3boys

Tuesday 24th of September 2013

My son had cradle cap and i washed his hair with apple cider vinegar and water combed it in the tub rinsed and repeated and one day it was 98% gone, i only had a few small areas that could use a second wash. Awesome advice sis in law highly recommend for all babies.

Sarah

Thursday 1st of August 2013

Cradle cap can occur in adults as well. I know because I have it. It can be very painful if not treated properly. It feels like sunburned skin that has been scratched! Don't waste time treating it. :)

Kristina

Monday 8th of April 2013

I used Neutrogena T-gel shampoo everyday on my son and gently scrubbed it into his head with a baby hairbrush then rinsed. It worked great!!!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.