Two words that scared the crap out of me when I read those baby books preparing for Ava's arrival. Why? Because every picture of cradle cap looks horrific. Apparently it's totally normal for babies to have problems with problems with their oil glands after birth. My daughter developed infant acne at 2 weeks which was severe for about 10 days and now she has a few minor breakouts a month. She developed cradle cap...just some light flaking in her third week covering her whole head in "scales" at 1 month. We had cleared the condition until about two weeks ago when we noticed her head was starting to get a rash and flake again. So this is going to be ongoing for us. Our pediatrician has helped us manage using a few tricks...
Selenium Sulfide 1% - the active ingredient in Selsun Blue and Head and Shoulders Max Strength.
We use this once a week applied gently with an extra soft toothbrush on her scalp. We stopped using it for almost a month and that's why her condition came back so we will be using this ongoing as a preventative. We have to be extra careful when we rinse her head so this doesn't get in her eyes.
Ah, my favorite smell. We use this once a week (on an opposite night as the medicated shampoo). I put a small amount on her head before her bath and use her baby hair brush at an angle to softly lift the flakes. I keep it on her head for at least 15 minutes before I shampoo as normal. Coconut oil mixed with Noodle and Boo shampoo smells just like a pina colada. And I inhale my baby the entire time we nurse.
She also has cradle cap in her eyebrows which is more difficult to treat. I like Aquafor healing baby balm - apply a tiny amount once a day to the dry areas which makes it look a lot better.
I don't really use anything for her mini acne breakouts now...but when it was really bad, with angry red patches of skin all over her face, I used Mustela Physiobebe no rinse cleansing fluid on a cotton pad once per day and a light application of Aveeno Baby Eczema lotion just on the inflamed areas. Now I just wash her face twice a day with warm water but I haven't had any issues full face redness in several weeks. The Mustela Physiobebe is awesome to keep at the changing table for freshening up baby after a particularly smelly diaper, it's not an absolute necessity but certainly nice to have.
If we choose to have more children I won't be so surprised to see cradle cap and acne, I think it's really alarming to new parents though and it's nice to know it's completely normal and temporary.
Aww! Glad you've found the right things to help with the acne and cradle cap! I've heard lots of people having that so it's good to know it's a common thing. I've also read some essential oils help if you wanted to look into that for an extra aid! :)
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