Cradle cap is a common skin condition affecting babies. It’s completely harmless, non-transmittable and without any treatment, it usually disappears on its own in a few months. There are however things you can do to speed up the process of healing and shorten the time to only a few weeks.

Signs and cause of cradle cap

Cradle cap is a skin condition that commonly appears on the top of baby’s head in the hair line area, but it can also show on other parts of baby’s body, like eyebrows and nappy area.

Cradle cap can appear as patches of dry crusty layer of skin with yellowish colour. As the skin flakes away naturally, it can leave some redness on the skin. This is absolutely normal, but contact you GP if you spot any of the following:

• Swelling in the affected areas
• Any fluid leaking or bleeding in the affected area
• Cradle cap would spread all over your baby’s body
• If cradle cap wouldn’t improve after a few weeks of treatment

The cause of cradle is yet unknown, but it is not infectious and it cannot be transmitted.

Cradle cap shouldn’t be noticed by your baby at all, it doesn’t itch, hurt or bother your baby in any way.

Cradle cap treatment

Cradle cap is a harmful condition that will eventually go on its own, but there are simple ways to improve scalp health and to ensure new hair growth is not stifled.

• Regularly wash your baby’s hair with mild baby shampoo. It will loosen the dry flaky skin.
• Gently brush away loose flakes daily with a suitable soft baby hairbrush and gently massage away the flaky skin in the opposite direction of hair growth.
• Use baby oil or vegetable oil to soften the crusty skin. We recommend to use 100% natural Sweet almond oil. Gently massage the oil in the affected skin. You can leave it overnight and wash it of with a baby shampoo in the morning.

There are a few DONT’s that you should always follow, no matter if your baby has a cradle cap:

• Avoid using regular adult hairbrush as it could damage the scalp and baby’s fine hair
• Avoid using adult shampoo on your baby’s skin
• Never use peanut oil which could cause severe allergic reaction
• Never try to pick or peel off flaky skin

Do you have any questions or comments? Ask or comment below this article, we will get back to you.