As a first time mum you become overwhelmed with so many emotions. From excitement about the new baby’s arrival to anxiety about the best approach to parenting. It is definitely an extreme sport taking care of an infant. In my case I experienced everything a new mum has ever experienced including cradle cap.
Before my baby arrived I had prepared everything I thought there was to prepare but when the baby came I was shocked at how little I knew about caring for an infant. One of the things that my new born suffered was cradle cap and the shock of seeing this skin condition on my baby’s head made me go in search of a cure.
It was overwhelming thinking I did something wrong that caused my baby to have this skin condition. I blamed my hygiene and suspected a lot of things to be the cause. But one thing I learnt early about parenting is to seek medical intervention for any health related issue my child might be experiencing. This is what I did in this case and the cradle cap treatment I got is what I will be revealing to you today. Before we get into that let us first define cradle cap to those who don’t know the meaning.
What Is Cradle Cap
According to medical practitioners cradle cap is a crusting and white or yellow scales on a baby’s scalp. It is a common skin condition in newborns and babies that causes rough patches on their scalp. This could be as a result of excessive oil production by skin glands surrounding hair follicles.
Cradle Cap is common and harmless. It is regarded as the baby form of dandruff. Cradle cap usually clears up on its own within 6 to 12 months. But if you are uncomfortable about the look of your baby’s hair like I was, then there are things you can do to make it better. We will be discussing them as we go along.
Cradle Cap Causes
From my extensive research and enquires from medical practitioners I discovered that there is no exact cause of cradle cap. In my case my baby had the skin condition but it could not be tied to any particular thing I did. My doctor advised me to keep calm that anything could be the reason for my baby’s skin condition.
One major thing he said could be a contributing factor to this skin condition is hormones that pass from the mother to the baby before birth(through the placenta). These hormones can cause too much production of oil (sebum) in the oil glands and hair follicles. The hormones cause the oil glands in the skin to become overactive. These extra oil may cause dead skin cells to stick to the scalp.
Cradle Cap Symptoms
The easiest way you can tell if you baby has cradle cap is by looking at your baby’s hair. There will be scales in the scalp that sticks to the hair like dandruff. But unlike dandruff it does not itch. These skin flakes fall off when you pick at them but have it at the back of your mind that it is not advisable to pick at them as your baby’s hair will fall off with it when you do that.
These skin flakes vary in color and this can be determined by your baby’s skin color. Some of these flakes are white while others are yellow. They are not painful when removed and cannot be transmitted from someone else. Like I said earlier the easiest way to be sure that what your baby has cradle cap is to pay a visit to your pediatrician.
Cradle Cap Treatment: What I Used On My Baby
Now that you are sure that what your infant has is cradle cap( you have visited your pediatrician). There are things I did that help loosen the flakes on my baby’s hair and at the end of the day relieved my child of this skin condition. Immediately I noticed the flakes glued to his scalp, I spoke to my child’s pediatrician who advised me to either be patient as it would go or do the common hair treatment that works. As a mom I chose the latter.
- I ordered a cradle cap shampoo to wash my baby’s hair. There are several good ones you could buy that are specifically tailored to treat cradle cap(e.g mustela shampoo). Initially when the flakes were much I washed my baby’s hair with the shampoo everyday. When I started seeing improvement I started washing his hair three times a week.
- Another thing I did was to order a cradle cap brush from Amazon. These cradle cap comb are specifically made to help loosen the flakes from your baby’s scalp. The importance of the brush is to remove the cap without loosing too much of your baby’s hair. Because one thing cradle cap can cause if not handled well is hair loss. If you cannot afford the hair brush you can also use a soft tooth brush to comb out the flakes while washing with shampoo.
- Coconut oil is another thing I used to moisturize my infant’s hair when I was treating this skin condition. If you don’t have access to natural made coconut oil you can buy a cradle cap moisturizer and apply that.
How I Used The Cradle Cap Kit
After I bought the things listed above which made up my cradle cap kit. I started the treatment by applying the natural coconut oil on my baby’s scalp 30mintues before his bath. This was to help loosen the flakes. At bath time I would get the cradle cap shampoo and apply to his hair.
I wash it a bit with my hands then use the cradle cap brush to comb his hair. While combing you will see some of the flakes falling off. Then I rinse and dry his hair. After his bath I also use the comb to brush his hair and dress him up. At the initial stage I was washing his hair daily and I wouldn’t apply any moisturizer on his hair after bath. This helped in removing most of the flakes but it also made it dry and tangle easily.
When I noticed there was improvement in the treatment I started washing his hair three times a week and applying very little coconut oil to it so it could be easy to comb. I stopped using soap on his hair, and apply only shampoo. In the days when I don’t wash his hair, I run water over it to get it wet and then comb it.
I did this cradle cap treatment for a while and finally I saw great improvement. His hair became flakes free and the shampoo made it soft and healthy. My baby’s hair was admired anywhere I went and in turn I became a much happier mother.