Understanding Cradle Cap: Safe Home Care For Your Baby’s Scalp

Cradle cap is a very common, harmless skin condition that appears as flaky, scaly, or slightly oily patches on a baby’s scalp. The scales can be white, yellow, or tan and may look dry or a little greasy. It often shows up in the first few weeks or months of life and can also appear in the eyebrows, behind the ears, or in skin folds (1). Even though it can look dramatic, cradle cap is not painful, itchy, contagious, or dangerous. Most babies are completely unbothered by it.

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When it comes to the causes of cradle cap, there are likely a few natural, normal processes happening at the same time:

In the womb, your baby’s skin was surrounded by warm protection and coated in vernix. After birth, your baby's skin suddenly has to do a lot more on its own:

• Hold moisture in
• Keep dryness out
• Shed old skin cells
• Grow and renew continuously

Your baby’s skin is absolutely capable; it just takes a little time to find its rhythm. During this learning process, some areas (especially the scalp) may hold onto older skin cells a bit longer. This is what forms those soft flakes or patches.

In the first months of life, babies often produce a little more natural oil than they will later on. This is because the oil glands were stimulated by pregnancy hormones and are now slowly adjusting to their new job (2). This extra oil is not a problem; it actually helps protect the skin while it matures.

Sometimes, the scalp produces a little more natural oil while the skin is still adjusting to how it sheds. When extra oil and slower exfoliation happen at the same time, the skin cells can build up on the surface, creating the familiar cradle cap patches (2). 

Every baby is born with their own unique skin microbiome - a community of friendly bacteria and tiny yeast that help protect the skin and teach it how to stay healthy. One of these tiny helpers is Malassezia, which lives on the skin of every human - infants, children, and adults. On baby scalps, where natural oils are a bit higher, Malassezia can sometimes be a little more active while the skin adjusts (2). This isn’t an infection, and it isn’t harmful, and in most cases, balance restores naturally with a little time.

Just like some babies have more hair, or different sleep patterns, or unique feeding rhythms, every baby’s skin learns at its own pace. Nothing about cradle cap means you are doing anything wrong or your baby is uncomfortable. It simply means their skin is growing, adapting, and figuring itself out.

Cradle cap improves gradually as the skin barrier matures. That said, if you’d like to gently help the skin along, the most supportive approach uses gentle softening + light scrubbing + gentle cleansing, repeated over time.

Most importantly, refrain from picking, scraping, and using harsh shampoos.

This cradle cap care routine supports the skin on your baby's scalp without any harsh chemicals, picking or scraping.

Apply a thick, even layer of your fragrance-free baby moisturizer directly to the patches of cradle cap 10–20 minutes before bath time.

Our Cleanest Care™ Nourishing Daily Lotion (With Botanical Calmplex™) is a great option here - it contains calendula, chamomile, and jojoba oil, which help soften flakes and support the skin barrier without clogging or irritating delicate skin.

This step helps:

1. Soften the flakes
2. Hydrate and calm the skin
3. Support the skin barrier as it matures

For many babies, moisturizer alone is enough to gradually loosen cradle cap over time; however, if you find that moisturizer alone is not enough, and some patches seem thicker or stuck, you can try adding a few drops of MCT oil to the moisturizer in your hand, mixing, and applying the mixture.

Let the moisturizer sit for at least 20 minutes, before moving on to the next step.

Wash the scalp with a gentle, fragrance-free baby shampoo, then rinse well.

After the bath, pat the scalp dry. You might notice more skin flakes coming off. Apply a light layer of your baby moisturizer again.

It’s common to see olive oil and coconut oil suggested online for cradle cap, but they’re not always ideal for cradle cap because of how they can interact with the infant scalp microbiome.

• Olive oil has a high oleic acid content, which can sometimes make flaking and dryness worse.
• Regular (whole) coconut oil contains long-chain fatty acids that can feed Malassezia (3), the yeast commonly involved in cradle cap.
• MCT oil (fractionated coconut oil) contains medium-chain triglycerides, which do not feed Malassezia the same way.

That said, every baby’s microbiome is different. If olive oil or regular coconut oil are working well for your baby’s scalp, and you see improvement, it’s okay to continue. 

Most cradle cap is mild and improves gradually with gentle home care. However, it’s a good idea to reach out to your pediatrician if you notice any of the following:

• Your baby's skin becomes very red, inflamed, or irritated.
• There is cracking, oozing, or signs of infection.
• Your baby seems uncomfortable, fussy, or bothered when the area is touched.
• The cradle cap spreads quickly to other parts of the body (like the face, neck folds, or diaper area).
• You’ve been caring for it consistently, and little to no improvement is happening over time.

You might like this article, too: Baby Skin Care 101

Cradle cap typically resolves on its own within the first year, but sometimes the skin benefits from a little extra support. In more stubborn or severe cases, your pediatrician may recommend:

• A short course of a low potency topical steroid to calm inflammation
• A gentle, infant-safe antifungal cream or shampoo if Malassezia imbalance is significant

These treatments are usually short-term and can help the skin return to balance when needed. Always follow your provider’s guidance if medication is recommended.

Cradle cap is a normal and harmless skin pattern in infancy. It happens as the scalp learns to balance moisture, natural oils, and the developing skin barrier. Most babies are not bothered by it at all. The gentlest way to support cradle cap is to soften the flakes with moisturizer before bathing baby, lift only what comes away easily, and wash with a mild baby shampoo. Over time, as the skin matures, cradle cap typically improves and fades on its own. In more persistent or severe cases, your pediatrician can offer options to help the skin return to balance.

1. Victoire A, Magin P, Coughlan J, van Driel ML. Interventions for infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis (including cradle cap). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Mar 4;3(3):CD011380. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011380.pub2. PMID: 30828791; PMCID: PMC6397947.
2. Nobles T, Harberger S, Krishnamurthy K. Cradle Cap. [Updated 2023 Aug 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531463/ 
3. Tenagy; Tejima K, Chen X, Iwatani S, Kajiwara S. Long-Chain Acyl-CoA Synthetase is Associated with the Growth of Malassezia spp. J Fungi (Basel). 2019 Sep 21;5(4):88. doi: 10.3390/jof5040088. PMID: 31546626; PMCID: PMC6958399.