How To Treat & Cure Baby’s Cradle Cap Naturally
You know the stuff. That yucky, yellowish, scaly build-up on baby’s scalp. I don’t know what causes it, I’ve heard it’s shampoo residue, and I’ve heard that it’s a type of fungus, but whatever it’s from, it isn’t pretty to look at.
Baby Xia developed a moderate case of cradle cap, though it was hard to see underneath all of that hair. Nevertheless, it was gross, and I had to get it off.
So the other day I sat her down, dampened a cotton ball with pure Tea Tree Oil, and rubbed it generously onto her scalp, parting her hair to get it in there good. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I used a baby comb to gently massage her scalp. And those nasty flakes… they came right off!!
It took a little while, and a lot of combing, but eventually her entire scalp was free from the build-up, and looking beautiful. I gave her a quick bath to wash all of the yuckies out of her hair.
I’m happy to report that there’s no sign of cradle cap returning. When Jada was a baby I had asked her pediatrician about treating her scalp, and he’d recommended an antifungal cream. Who wants to put that junk on baby’s head?? I’m really glad to have found a natural alternative that works!
Have you had success treating cradle cap naturally using something different? Let me know what you do for baby’s delicate scalp!
Baby oil was our success. We let it sit for an hour or more and then scrubbed and it came right off. I tried the expensive treatments and they didn’t help. A $1.00 bottle of baby oil did the trick for us.
What a cutie!
I’ve always heard that you have to put sweet almond oil and rub it out gently. I don’t think I’d try tea tree oil, that stuff is pretty hard on the skin. if you say it works I take your word though.
Sophie,
It does have a strong smell, but it really hasn’t been hard on any of our skin. Even when Xia gets a bad diaper rash I’ll put Tea Tree Oil straight on it, and rub it in, and it works miracles. And my kids have very sensitive skin. Maybe some people have reactions, but none of us ever have
April,
Baby oil is definitely a heck of a lot cheaper than tea tree oil!!
I just used hair conditioner and a fine comb on my son when he was a baby.
I would recommend diluting the tea tree with olive oil rather than using it neat on a baby… unless you’re only using a drop or two. That way it can go further without having to use too much of it.
Also – for those of you using mineral oil – just know that mineral oil, even though marketed as baby oil, isn’t necessarily the greatest choice – google it and you will find a few reasons why this is. Here is the first link I found – http://www.beautybythebatch.com/articles/naturalbabyoils.asp
Washing their head with Baking soda did the job every time. After a couple of washes, the cradle cap was gone for good.
This is crazy that you just posted about this. Georgia had the same thing, and last week at her Dr. appt, he prescribed her an anti-fungal cream. I, not wanting to put that on her skin, decided to give tea tree oil a try instead and it has worked wonderfully! How funny
Shaye,
Huh. Funny! I’ve wondered all this time if my pediatrician was crazy for recommending that cream. At least I know it’s pretty standard now. I’m so glad you tried a natural treatment first though! Good job mom
Kendra, where is your recommended source for purchasing this ? Do you have an online source? I was also wanting to get some lavendar oil for headaches and such. Do you know a good place for that?
I found olive oil to be very useful. It takes a little bit of elbow grease to massage it all in and scrub the yuckies off with a brush, but after one washing, it really does the trick! My older son developed a weird buildup on his scalp when he was around a year old and for about two years I just kind of let it go. I never could get it off with soap, so eventually I FINALLY tried the olive oil and it came off right away!
Rachel,
What do you do with the lavender oil for headaches? Do you just smell it or drink it or what?
i used olive oil and it worked fine on one child. this time it didn’t work as well so i used my healing balm. directions are on my blog via the search box. my dr. had said head and shoulders, but that sounded too harsh.
Tea tree oil is amazing. Like you said it has a strong odor but very good for the skin!
I second Olive Oil and coconut oil works well also for the cradle cap.
I have found a good resource for purchasing Essential oils is http://www.vitacost.com. I use them to purchase oils, elderberry syrup, medicinal teas, organic foods, not organic foods, Dr. Bronner’s products, vitamins, etc. They have TONS of products that I LOVE and can find it cheaper here than almost anywhere else AND shipping is cheap!
Here is a good site for explaining Lavender: http://www.suite101.com/content/lavender-s-healing-properties-a6987
BTW-you can drink a tea made from lavender flowers but you do NOT drink the essential oils. It is good for diluting with water and using as a air spray or for spraying on your pillow/sheets. Or use the oil directly and apply to your temples. For babies mix in with some almond oil and use as a baby massage oil or add a bit to bath water. I had a bad colic baby and this helped a lot to get her to calm down and sleep better. Aanother colic remedy I HIGHLY recommend is Gripe Water which can be found at vitacost as well. Oh yeah if you make your own laundry soap add lavender oil to give it a light scent or just use vinegar and a few drops of lavender oil for your fabric softner.
Okay off that rabbit trail, Lavender relaxes! I also LOVE tea tree oil for so many types of ailments, so kudos to you Kendra!
Tea Tree Oil is excellent stuff. We found it (pure) in the pharmacy area at WalMart. For cradle cap I prefer Arbonne Baby Oil (their products are unique in respect to quality, no petroleum bt’products). We use their Unwind spray for restfullness. The children call it sleep spray because when they were little I would spritz it on their pillows before napping or night night. They still ask for it. It was very effective. BTW, PLEASE read about mineral oil, parrafin, and petroleum products (and baby sunscreens)They are toxic to all ages… and can really mess up hormonal balance in both genders.
We used pine tar soap on my stepdaughter…worked great!
My daughter had it really bad when she was younger, so I used baby oil and a soft, soft, baby toothbrush. Sophie loved it, I guess it felt like a little massage! haha. And it worked like a charm!
My daughter gets it too. Her dr also recommended Head and Shoulders. No way was I going to use that on her. I used Jojoba oil, massaged it in, then shampooed it out.
I used olive oil. My older children have this a little bit in the winter. I have heard it is a reaction to shampoo also. My 4 year old calls is cradle crap……cute
Someone asked where to get essential oils. I get my essential oils from Creation Farms at http://www.creationsoap.com . I have met the owners and they were very helpful and knowedgeable. The tea tree oil is 4.99 and lavender is around $6. I don’t know how much shipping is. If anyone has a hairloss problem, try their rosemary shampoo bar. It made a huge difference in my hair loss problem.
Coconut Oil works really well too, and is so good for moisturizing the scalp. A little bit goes a long way, so don’t put on too much. Rub it into the scalp to saturate and then use a damp cloth to wipe away. (I should mention that all of my babies have just a little bit of thin hair) One problem: I have trouble keeping the cats away from my babies afterward… they love to lick their heads!
I am so glad mother of 12 brought up problem with petroleum products. I was warned in La Leche League in the 70′s and 80′s that mineral oil (in baby oil) leaches Out vitamins. That was enough to steer me away. We used olive oil to good effect.
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