# Crusty 5 year old scalp??



## Phoebe

My 5yo ds has a seriously crusty scalp and I'm not sure what to do about it. There are large patches in various spots that resemble cradle cap but extra extra crusty and thick. I also noticed a crusty scap at the base of his neck at just in the hairline. I think this might be a mosquito bite that he has been overly scratching.

Any idea how to treat this scalp condition? I don't want to pay $200 to take him to the dr. to figure it out but I'm at a loss what to do otherwise.

Anyone??

TIA
Amy


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## Red Pajama

My boys have this, too, and I assumed that it reflected our shampooing habits. They only shampoo once a week, and I thought it was a form of cradle cap.
A cousin of theirs with similar bathing habits had it also, and his mother referred to it as cradle cap.


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## SweetPotato

MY dd is 3.5 and still has cradle cap, too. Since her hair is still thick and healthy I don't really worry about it (drove me nuts when she was tiny and had little wispy hair, though, because it was sooo noticeable). If it really bothers you or him or seems exceptionaly thick/nasty, a friend of mine had some success using the over-the-counter cradle cap shampoo (she got it at Target, I think- it had Winnie the Pooh on the bottle) We also go apringly on shampooing dd-- maybe once a week.


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## zeldamomma

My oldest had that for the longest time-- at 8 1/2 she seems to have finally outgrown it. Here's what we were told when I finally took her to the doctor about it.

Pick a cradle cap remedy (use oil or baby shampoo to soften the gunk) and work on VERY GENTLY reducing the layer of scalp gunk (it's a vicious cycle-- the gunk irritates the scalp, and the scalp produces the gunk as a result of the irritation). If you aren't gentle, you can pull out hair follicles, and they may not grow back.

Then once you've got the gunk to a manageable level, start trying out various dandruff shampoos to see which brand your child's dandruff responds too. We used Head & Shoulders advanced something (it uses a different chemical than all the other head & shoulders). Some people have success with Neutrogena's dandruff shampoo. They all use different chemicals, and different ones work for different people. They're not "no tears" unfortunately, but sometimes you gotta do what you've gotta do.

HTH!


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## birdie22

My 4.5 yo still has it. He also has exceptionally thick, beautiful hair.










We don't shampoo very often, because too-frequent soapy baths seem to irritate his skin. Maybe once a week for a full shampoo. When I do shampoo, I lather him up and let it sit for a couple of minutes, then use a washcloth on the bad spots, scrubbing them GENTLY. The crust comes off, but the hair stays put. After the rinse, I carefully comb out the loose flakes, but try not to scrape at the scalp at all.

My dh still has the same problem, but unfortunately his hair is not as thick and lustrous as ds.


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## mainemommy1

it can be related to a food sensitivity or lack of essential fatty acids. We saw a naturalpath dr who helped us with my sons never ending cradle cap. However, he is 4 and still gets it every now and then so it's not solved completely but much better. We use olive oil and a comb to clear his head=just a little at a time....he hates it but it works well.


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## darcytrue

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Red Pajama* 
My boys have this, too, and I assumed that it reflected our shampooing habits. They only shampoo once a week, and I thought it was a form of cradle cap.
A cousin of theirs with similar bathing habits had it also, and his mother referred to it as cradle cap.

My DD had the "cradle cap" at 4-5 years old too. I started washing it more often and used a cradle cap type shampoo. It eventually cleared up.


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## DWAXSMOM

I had severe ezcema on my scalp as a child. The neutrogena tar shampoo worked wonders. I would use only a few times a week on your child. You can try this but there were times when I needed more than just the shampoo. You also want to make sure there is no major infections going on. It is most likely not from a lack of hygeine.


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## mags

Wow, I had no idea that older kids could still have cradle cap. My 5.5 yr old has had a, "scaly rash" on his scalp for over a yr now and cradle cap is about the best I could describe it as. However, I thought it was odd, b/c I had never heard of child his age with this problem before.


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## Sharlla

DS2 had this and I switched him over to Jason Kids shampoo (natural) and it eventually went away.


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## JollyGG

My son is six and his cradle cap just cleared up in about the last year or so.

It was suggested I use dandruff shampoos. I even went to the doctor and got prescription junk for it. But really what worked best for us was just put baby oil on his scalp to soften the crusty stuff and comb it out. Then wash his hair. We usually had to do a couple of days of the baby oil to get it relatively cleared up. Then we would repeat when it got to built up and scaly. We probably did it every month or so. Eventually it cleared up on it's own. Washing his hair less frequently seemed to make it better as well.


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## abeliamama

My son had cradle cap (or Cradle Crap as we affectionately referred to it as) until he was 5. One day at the pool he was lying on my lap and I started to scratch a little off. In this relaxed state he was open to it, though in the past he wouldn't let me. It came off easily. After a few more session like this it was all gone, never to return. In our case, it was just leftover cradle cap.

Has your son always had this or is it reoccuring? If it is coming back, I would go to a doctor or Naturopathic healer.


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## Ceili

My 5 year old has this too. He has very thick hair and we don't wash it very often. It's not really noticable unless you're looking for it. I've found that a natural boar's hair bristle brush is a gently way to break most of it up.


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## Raene

This is a reassuring post...I thought my daughter was the only one. She's 5.5 too and has it pretty badly. You only notice it where her hair is parted, but it's not pretty.

I figured it was from only washing her hair once a week, but even now with summer and washing more often to get the chlorine out, the cradle cap is still there. Maybe it really is a food allergy like someone mentioned?


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## LionessMom

my DS is 14 and just quit having issues a month ago.

i keep an eye on DD but she doesnt really seem to have it.

my dad has bead dandruff, and i have seborrheic dermatitis.

so i tried to help DS with it. the only thing tha worked for him was AXE shamppo and daily showers. i have to use head and shoulders.


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## mags

Have any of you tried goat's milk shampoo for this? My DH went to the health food store today to get some gripe water for my newborn and the lady behind the counter sold him on this goat's milk shampoo for older DS's scalp issue. She insists that it will clear up in 2 wks. We shall see...


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## Phoebe

Great, thanks for all the suggestions! It reassures me that my son isn't the only one. We don't wash his hair but maybe twice a week and he has really thick hair. He has a pretty sensitive scalp so we'll have to try a few things to see what he'll tolerate.

Thanks!


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## snoodess

Both my girls had this. When the toddler would nurse I would pick it off. It was so gross! Someone suggested rubbing her scalp with virgin coconut oil and gently combing the crud out. We washed it afterwards with a gentle shampoo. It worked wonders and cleared right up!


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## runnerbrit

Both of my boys have it off and on. Our hairstylist said that is caused by a combination of things including hormones. She also said it is very common. What we do is once a week the boys will lather up their heads with shampoo and then I will comb through it make sure we comb over the scalp (gently). This lifts off any lose cradle cap. They then rinse and go on with their day. This has proved very effective.


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## Aufilia

DD is 3.5 and also gets what appears to be cradle cap still. I think it's her bathing habits that contribute... she's a sensory child and hate, hate, hates to have her hair washed, so I don't do it very often. Like every other week. Her hair looks lovely all the time so it's not like it's hurting her hair any to avoid shampoo, but her scalp gets the cradle cap going on once in awhile. Last time I just rubbed in lots of conditioner and had her sit in the tub with it on her head for awhile, scrubbed vigoriously, rinsed, and when used a comb to remove what was left when she was out of the bath. It resolved fairly easily.


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## Nosebite

Rose Water - I swear by it. When my DS was about 16M he started getting what looked like cradle crap. The only thing that really worked was rose water.


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## AnnieA

Olive oil treatments have worked well in our house. DSD 11 gets cradle cap because her hair is very thick and she doesn't have good scrubbing habits when she showers. Unfortunately, we just had an outbreak of lice and she had it the worst. They seemed to be concentrated around the cradle cap so I am pretty sure that the cradle cap contributed to her having a worse case than her siblings. I did daily olive oil treatments in addition to the OTC lice treatment and in a few days the lice and the cradle cap was gone.

The way that I do the olive oil treatment is to coat the hair fully with olive oil and rub it down into the scalp. Then I pile her hair up into a bun and cover her hair with plastic wrap. She sits and looks at magazines for 10-15 minutes and then shampoos the olive oil out. She usually has to do 2 shampoos to get all of the oil out. Then I help her comb out her hair and her scalp is clean in 1-2 days.


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## Abylite

I haven't read all the previous posts....just want to mention that when my DS as an infant and constant cradle cap, etc. he was dx with food allergies...after eliminating these from me (nursing him) his head and skin, and other issues cleared up.


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## EviesMom

For us at least, it goes along with eczema from corn products. DD is 5 and now rarely gets the eczema patches behind the knees and in the elbow creases (she used to a few years ago). Now she just gets the cradle cap flare up. Change of seasons, sweating head, and corn trigger it for her.

Swimming helps, I presume the same way chlorine baths do for kids with eczema flare ups. When it gets bad and I see her scratching, I get put olive oil on her scalp and use a fine tooth baby comb to loosen the crud and comb it out. Then we shampoo. She doesn't like washing her hair, but I've done washing from 1 to 5 times a week, and honestly, it doesn't seem to make much difference in the level of crud. I think it's seasonal and allergic reaction.


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## mommy2two babes

I was told that it was cradle cap.
Both of mine have had it at between 2-3 yrs.
I have found that scrubbing the scalp good with my finger tips seems to help clear the build up.


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