 |
| Anneliese getting the cradle cap treatment |
When I was a newlywed, I worked babysitting kids. There was this one baby, Sarah, with really thick cradle cap on her head. It was the first time I ever really noticed cradle cap, and I found it quite revolting, to be honest. I wondered why her mother didn’t “just do something about it”, why she just left it there… I felt the cradle cap really made this baby unattractive and I had a hard time bonding with Sarah because of it.
So, what exactly is cradle cap?
Well, instead of getting into the scientific makeup of it, I’ll just describe what it looks like. Imagine dead skin cells mixed with ear wax. Imagine that caked onto a baby’s head, within the hair line, either in little patches or in large swatches.
Yea, quite nauseating, which is why I didn’t include a pic, but if you insist on seeing one, here’s a link to a pic.
I’ve read that there is often a link between celiac and other food sensitivities and cradle cap, especially in older kids. That’s interesting, because Ike, my kid with the most food sensitivities, had cradle cap until he was nearly three. Once we cut out gluten (and dairy) from his diet, the cradle cap went away.
Anneliese also has cradle cap, and being off gluten hasn’t done it for her. Her hair fortunately is long enough to cover it most of the time, but when I make pigtails for her or any other hair style, the cradle cap shows through… Ick.
I read that magnesium deficiencies can cause cradle cap, and I recently bought magnesium oil that I will start using to hopefully help with that.
But in the meantime, how do you get rid of the gross cradle cap?
Simple.
Just take some oil, ideally a solid oil like coconut oil or palm oil, and massage it into the scalp and hair with your fingers, and possibly even with your nails. Rub it. Leave it in for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, using a fine comb, comb through your kid’s hair, making sure that the comb rubs the head as you’re doing so. Move the comb back and forth repeatedly, gentle, over the same spot if you see the cradle cap isn’t coming off the first time. Do this to loosen all the cradle cap.
Then give a bath and wash off the hair with shampoo and warm water. Comb out the hair once more to remove any loosened cradle cap stuck into the hair.
Enjoy your baby’s clean scalp! It may be a little reddish when you first remove the cradle cap, but it shouldn’t hurt.
If the cradle cap comes back, it won’t be for a long while, at least a good few months or more.
Do your kids get cradle cap? Until what age usually? How do you deal with it? Are you as grossed out by cradle cap as I am?
