Cradle Cap. What To Do About It.
What exactly is cradle cap, you might ask. If this is your first baby, you may not have seen it before. For those of
you who haven't, it's actually flaky skin that appears on the child's scalp. It looks a little like dandruff,
but can be yellowish or brownish, and sometimes oily.
When you see this condition don't worry, it's very
common in young children. As a children's hairstylist, I tend to see it in children from the age of just a few
months to 8 years of age. However, I have heard of children having it as old as 13 years, which is very unusual, but
never-the-less does occur.
The bottom line with cradle cap is that it is not a serious condition, but
there is a way to get rid of it anyway. Indeed, as far as treating it, applying natural oil such as olive or almond oil works
with a little light
scrubbing using a soft tooth brush after leaving the oil on for approximately 15 minutes. This can
be repeated over a period of days. If you don't get it all out, don't worry it eventually goes away over time.
The good news is that once you've gotten rid of it, it doesn't comeback. If you find that the condition
is irritating your child or spreading beyond the scalp, consult a physician to obtain a prescription or over-the-counter shampoo.
Customers often ask me what the cause of cradle cap
is. My answer is that the causes of it are unknown.
However, there
is a theory that it is as a result of hormones received by the baby from the mother at the end of pregnancy which
over stimulate the oil producing glands.