Mommy Needs Chocolate

How to Prevent Cradle Cap In Babies

Postpartum

This post may contain affiliate links, read our Disclosure Policy for more information.

How to treat cradle cap

Learning how to prevent cradle cap early on will help you avoid a whole host of problems.

When you bring baby home from the hospital it is one of the most amazing yet overwhelming experiences for a new mother.

You have this wonderful bundle of joy who has now come along to change your whole life.

There is so much learn from one another, it’s so exciting but yet so scary at the same time.

Baby has so many changes that they are about to go through in such a short space of time, therefore as a mother, there is a lot to learn.

Related posts:

Newborn baby cradle cap

One of the many changes a baby goes through is having cradle cap.

Learning how to prevent cradle cap from the start will mean that you avoid more severe complications down the line.

I remember back when I had my first child, no one told me about cradle cap so I wasn’t expecting it.

One day I began to notice a crusting on my son’s scalp and I had no idea what it was.

I didn’t know how to handle it and thought it would clear up on its own, but it didn’t.

I started picking at it whenever I saw it but it would always come back.

I wasn’t sure how to treat it or prevent cradle cap from happening so I would just leave it alone as my efforts to clear it up were failing.

When I did leave it alone it got a whole lot worse and thicker, and more attached to his scalp.

I found that the crusting would become very noticeable to the eye and catch peoples attention although they would never say anything.

Needless to say the situation with my son’s scalp was a hot mess and soon enough his hair was coming out in clumps.

It was horrific!

What is cradle cap?

Cradle cap is sometimes referred to as seborrheic dermatitis.  It sounds way worse than what it actually is!

Cradle cap looks like dry yellow crusting and it is usually formed on the scalp.

It can also appear on other areas of the body too such as the forehead and bum.

Cradle cap is just your baby’s body trying to adjust to life outside of the womb.

It soon finds its balance and everything calms down.

Ways to get rid of cradle cap

Is cradle cap serious?

No not at all, most babies get it at some point but if left untreated it could get a lot worse than what it needs to.

Cradle cap is not contagious so you don’t need to worry about your other children or anyone else in your household catching it.

In my personal experience with cradle cap, it seems to come on in bursts.

You may see it quite intensively for a couple of weeks then it will seem as though you’ve gotten rid of it only to find it has come back again.

If you are genuinely worried about your child’s cradle cap or not sure if it is indeed cradle cap then please consult a doctor.

5 ways to prevent cradle cap from getting worse

1. Wash your baby’s hair

It’s a good idea to wash your baby’s hair everyday especially when they are experiencing a lot of cradle cap.

Washing your baby’s hair will ensure that the hair is kept fresh, clean, and free from build-up.

If your baby does have cradle cap in more than just their hair then feel free to give them a head to toe bath.

I wouldn’t advise that you wash your baby more than once a day though as too much washing could lead to drying out your baby’s skin.

A newborn’s skin is very delicate at this stage so you want to interfere with it as little as possible.

There is no particular shampoo or bath soap that I would personally recommend for washing but if I was looking for something gentle then I would probably use the Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo. 

2. Use an oil such as coconut or olive oil

These oils will do wonders for your baby’s hair.  You don’t need to use both just one will suffice as they are both as good as each other.

Apply a small amount into your hands or use a spray bottle and gently massage into baby’s hair. Leave it to sit for a few minutes and it will help to loosen the crust on baby’s scalp.

This works particularly well after you have just given your baby a bath.  Coconut oil can also be used for cooking, so having it around will always be a good thing.

Cradle cap

3. Use a soft brush

A soft brush is a game changer for dislodging those annoying pieces of cradle cap.

Make sure it is a soft brush made for babies. You don’t want to use anything too hard on your baby’s head at such a young age especially whilst they have the soft spot.

You can pick up a soft bristle brush fairly cheaply from amazon here: Baby brush

Related posts:

4. Be Patient With the Cradle Cap

Be patient it takes time for cradle cap to clear up completely. Cradle cap can last until your baby is almost 2 years of age so you have to play the long game with his one and be patient with it.

5. Never Pick at Cradle Cap!

I know it can be really annoying to see those little flakes in your baby’s hair but you must never ever pick at it as tempting as it may seem.

If you pick at your baby’s cradle cap you run the risk of pulling out your baby’s hair or creating a wound.

Remember cradle cap is harmless so there is no need to panic about it, it will eventually clear up on its own accord.

If you know any more ways on how to prevent cradle cap I would LOVE to hear them!

Learn about the causes of cradle cap and how to get rid of it using some great remedies that you can try on your baby.

Related Posts:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Mrs.Dionne says

    Thank you for the good tips. But, also thank you so much the nursing pillow code.👍🏽👍🏽

  4. Kaizen says

    Życie przesycone jest abstrakcją i możemy coś z niego zrozumieć jedynie dzięki intuicji. – David Lynch

  5. Domaining says

    Great post! Are there any pespectives that you may be able to divulge in order to justify your last part a small amount further? thanks a lot

  14. Pianino Opis says

    Is there anyway I could get a copy of this wp topic? Ive been searching on wp.org and cant truly come across something I like but this will be perfect for me. Thanks in advance!

  16. Socjologia XMC says

    Well, that is my very first visit on your weblog! Were a group of volunteers and beginning a model new initiative in a group inside the same niche. Your weblog supplied us helpful data to work on. You might have carried out a marvellous job! Anyway, in my language, there are not much good supply like this.

  21. banquet halls says

    Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any helpful hints for inexperienced blog writers? I’d genuinely appreciate it.

  23. Click here says

    What i do not realize is in truth how you are not really a lot more neatly-preferred than you may be right now. You are very intelligent. You already know thus considerably relating to this matter, produced me individually imagine it from numerous varied angles. Its like women and men don’t seem to be involved except it is something to accomplish with Woman gaga! Your own stuffs great. All the time take care of it up!

  27. www.Filozofia.XMC.pl says

    Hi! There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  28. USA Transport says

    I am really interested about the way you write on this blog. Can you give me suggestions how to write and manage your blog? Thanks a lot for your attention

  34. tranny sex games says

    These types of interior designs keeps me more engaged with the interior design field and the concepts you made really very much attractive and boosts my confidence on learning the interior designing and I am really glad that I found this marvellous blog.

  37. route maps says

    Great ?V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs as well as related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, web site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task..

  55. this page says

    Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!

  56. here are the findings says

    I discovered your blog site on google and verify a number of of your early posts. Continue to maintain up the excellent operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Looking for forward to reading extra from you later on!…

  98. M106.COM says

    ive checked this cool site a few times now and i have to say that i find it quite exeptional actually. itll be nice to read more in the future! :p

  120. The Wellington Clinic says

    Thanks , I have just been looking for info about this subject for ages and yours is the best I’ve discovered till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?

  121. Blog Podatkach says

    obviously like your web site however you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the reality then again I’ll surely come again again.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.