Cradle cap - the facts - Mouths of Mums

Cradle cap is a skin condition (a type of seborrheic dermatitis) that affects babies for the first few months of life.

It sometimes lasts longer but rarely past the age of one. Unlike other forms of dermatitis, it’s not usually itchy.

A red, greasy scalp with yellow crusts or flakes suggests cradle cap. It may also appear on eyebrows and behind the ears.

What causes Cradle Cap?

Cradle cap is an oily rather than a dry skin problem. Glands in the scalp make a substance which oils and waterproofs the skin. Babies may have high levels of certain hormones in their bodies after birth, which react with the glands, making surplus oil. There may be a genetic element involved as babies who get cradle cap often have family members with dermatitis, eczema or asthma.

Prevention and Treatment

Cradle cap usually clears by itself after a few months. Treatment involves removing the skin’s flaky crusts – but they can continue to return for as long as the glands continue to make surplus oil.

Some suggestions for removing crusts include applying a baby organic skin care cream to the area. Wipe the area with a washer when bathing, and then brush baby’s head with a soft brush.

Cradle cap may be unsightly but it’s usually harmless. Always see a doctor if the cradle cap seems to worsen significantly or scaly patches spread to other parts of the body. It is possible for an infection to occur underneath cradle cap, indicated by very red skin and blisters, which may weep. Antibiotics may be needed in these circumstances.

A baby who develops cradle cap may be prone to other types of seborrheic dermatitis when they’re older, such as dandruff – so it can pay to get into the habit of choosing organic skin care products.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

50 Comments

- - ChiWren said
  - 07 Jan 2024
    1:41 pm
I thought my baby was developing cradle cap, so I used a face washer on his head and gently wiped it when in the bath. After drying, I would use either a moisturizer or oil on his head, Gaia brand products. Within a few days the dryness went away and never became full blown cap. Thank goodness, he had little to no hair so the combs wouldn’t have done much.

- - ella12 said
  - 09 Jan 2018
    4:34 pm
An interesting and informative article, thanks.

- - mom81879 said
  - 17 Nov 2015
    11:14 am
Cradle cap is so hideous looking. Whenever I see it, I just want to sit and pick it off. Ugh!

- - dannsbuild said
  - 17 Sep 2015
    5:11 pm
This is interesting! Thank you for sharing this!

- - mom113991 said
  - 30 Mar 2015
    11:16 pm
cradle cap is so annoying…my first bubba had it a lot…

- - mish06 said
  - 31 Jan 2015
    9:49 pm
We used MooGoo on our children to remove it.

- - kab85 said
  - 14 Jan 2015
    5:05 pm
My baby has a big patch at the moment, I think I’ll try the baby oil on it if he doesn’t fuss too much.

- - Newmum21 said
  - 09 Jan 2015
    10:12 pm
Great article, I now understand why my baby suffers from it and thanks for the different remedies to get rid of it.

- - keeleynme said
  - 01 Jan 2015
    10:11 pm
This is all false. I had problems with this, after I had my second child my mum told me it was from not completely drying babies head after bath, so I made sure head was fully dry every night and never had the problem again except on odd occassions when I forgot to dry head properly.
- mom94125 replied
  
  18 Oct 2015 , 1:37 pm
  yeah i suppose it might be different for different people. i guess a lot of people dry their kids head properly but still get it so
- - Lucy26 said
  - 27 Dec 2014
    3:25 pm
My 7 month old had a chronic case. Every bath time meant slowly ‘peeling’ it off his head. Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind.

- - mom109463 said
  - 23 Dec 2014
    8:28 pm
My Daughter had this really bad, only thing that worked was baby oil and light brushing and wiping, it lasted about 6 months and it was horrid, unfortunately she was bald so it was noticeable and ironically she had twin brothers and they had heaps of hair and not one bit of cradle cap, typical boys!!

- - mom94125 said
  - 15 Dec 2014
    9:23 am
yeah my kids only had the tiniest bit that came off easily.

- - stepmom107932 said
  - 04 Dec 2014
    10:35 pm
hmm interesting and good to know the facts

- - carlene80 said
  - 02 Dec 2014
    12:23 pm
Great article, thanks for sharing, and love the tips from some of the other mums too!

- - mom93821 said
  - 02 Dec 2014
    10:44 am
Thanks for sharing this interesting article; helpful.

- - pakeko said
  - 28 Nov 2014
    9:05 pm
It is s horrible thing when they have it bad

- - mel1 said
  - 25 Nov 2014
    3:17 pm
I also used olive oil for my babies. It only lasted a short time and then went away.

- - cloverstorm said
  - 17 Nov 2014
    4:03 am
I was lucky that this wasn’t an issue for my little one.

- - linda197 said
  - 15 Nov 2014
    1:59 pm
Thank you for writing this article my son still gets this – great to understand the cause.

- - curlytops said
  - 13 Nov 2014
    9:22 pm
my first child had this and it looked horrible! poor thing!