Our little Noah is part of the group of babies who are affected by Cradle Cap, which according to Wikipedia happens to about half of all babies. Most medical sources of reference we checked stated that it was pretty harmless (apart from some extreme cases). So nothing to worry about. However after putting up with all the "flakes" on Noah's head for about 6 months we decided to do something about it as it wasn't getting any better by itself.

Unfortunately the midwives and helplines we consulted over the first few months weren't really helpful as the information was conflicting. Some said we should wash his head frequently (like once a day) - others said we shouldn't wash his head at all and wait until it clears. There was disagreement even amongst the "wash frequently camp" in that some said we should use lots of shampoo and olive oil after the wash, whereas others said we shouldn't use shampoo at all and stick to plain water.

As with many other "baby issues" I found that in the end you have to rely on your own judgement. So I checked a few resources about the causes of Cradle Cap - here's the entry on Wikipedia:

The cause of cradle cap is not clearly defined but it is not caused by an infection, allergy nor from poor hygiene. Possibly it has to do with overactive sebaceous glands in the skin of newborn babies, due to the mother's hormones still in the baby's circulation. The glands release a greasy substance that makes old skin cells attach to the scalp as they try to dry and fall off. There may be a relationship with skin yeasts (Pityrosporum ovale, newly renamed Malassezia furfur). Nutritionally oriented practitioners have speculated that the disorder is caused by the baby's immature digestive system being unable to absorb sufficient biotin and other vitamins of the B-complex.

The article continues to list many of the remedies we were given and points out that there is still a lot of controvercy over effective treatment (that doesn't involve drugs or special shampoos). We usually prefer natural remedies that don't involve any expensive products but in this case we realised that we weren't getting anywhere so we decided to try one of those cradle cap shampoos. We went with a European product called "Mustela" (by Laboratoires Expanscience).

Unfortunately I didn't do any before/after shots but the shampoo did really help. On average I'd say we used it about twice a week and after a few weeks we could see the situation improving slowly. Yesterday I removed the last few flakes of cradle cap from Noah's head. He still has a few new ones on his scalp but it is by far not as widespread as it used to be.

One thing less to worry about - until the next one turns up of course.

-Stef

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