Cradle cap
Also called milk crust, infantile seborrheic dermatitis, ISD, scurf cap
Cradle cap is a common, harmless condition that leaves greasy, yellow, scaly patches on a baby's scalp. It usually clears up on its own within a few months.
How it's said
DS1 had cradle cap and it seemed to last forever and smelt really musty.
My little one had such recurrent cradle cap. I would remove it with olive oil, but it was persistent.
Cradle cap: what actually works?!
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- Atopic eczema often starts on a baby's face and scalp too, so the two get mixed up. Cradle cap isn't usually itchy.
- Cradle cap is the baby form of seborrheic dermatitis. In adults the same condition is known as dandruff.
Where it came from
Doctors call it infantile seborrheic dermatitis, a form of seborrheic dermatitis that stays on a baby's scalp and shows up soon after birth. Older names include milk crust, its Latin form crusta lactea, honeycomb disease and scurf cap.