Cradle Cap

Cradle cap or baby dandruff is a very common skin rash in babies that can last a really long time. Sometimes we still see bits of baby cradle cap on 3-year-olds. We usually start seeing these flakes occur around the time babies lose their “baby” hair in the first 1-2 months. The flakes are more of a hormonally controlled scalp/hair oil–release thing than a sign of skin inflammation, so there is nothing that we need to do for the flakes. If you use a topical emollient (any oil really will do—mineral, olive, coconut…) or a special shampoo or cradle cap lotion (again, emollients), the flakes will plump up and be able to be brushed away with a cradle cap brush, but often they will return in a couple of days anyway. So if you have some cute family baby pictures or events coming up, you can get rid of the flakes for a couple of days, but they will most likely come right back.