Has your baby’s beautiful little head started to develop some yellowish, oily, scaly crusts that are not easy to remove? This is called cradle cap. It isn’t itchy or painful for your baby. But you should not scratch it.
It’s thought that cradle cap happens when a baby’s skin makes too much oil called ‘sebum’, which interferes with the natural shedding of skin on the scalp, so a build up of dead skin occurs. So what’s the underlying cause for cradle cap?
Well, the cause of cradle cap isn’t entirely clear but what’s discussed is either hormones disturbed or overshooting and weakened immune system, which overreacts to the yeast on the scalp, which then causes inflammation.
And here is where baby skin products come into play. Many of baby’s topical products like baby shampoo or lotions or baby balms or moisturizers will contain chemicals. And these chemicals do interfere with the baby’s hormone system and weaken the immune system even more.
Chemicals in topical baby products can actually disrupt your child’s developing hormone system, contribute to hormone imbalance, lead to the development of asthma, trigger eczema flare ups, and the development of other allergies.
So, what can you as a mother do to help your child?
It is definitely smart to stay away from these chemicals – they for sure don’t make the underlying issue better.
Cradle cap will clear up on its own with time, but you can help it along by getting rid of the crusts.
As often as needed, apply a baby-safe, water-free, chemical-free lotion to the area along with a soft brush to loosen and gently remove the crusts.
Avoid all topical skin products for your baby that are not water-free. Because lotions, moisturizers, shampoo etc that contain water will contain chemicals. And we know what these chemicals do to your baby. Choose only baby-safe, water-free baby skincare products.
