How to Get Rid of Severe Dandruff or Cradle Cap in Childrens' Hair

Children can get dandruff just like adults. Sometimes though, with as quicky as children develope and change hormonally, what would normally be a mild case of dandruff can turn into severe cradle cap or chunky dandruff. With a couple simple items found at your local store, you can give your child back their beautiful hair.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baby Oil
• Dandruff Shampoo
• Moisturizing Conditioner
• Fine Toothed Comb
• Tea Tree Oil
• Hair Dryer

1. The firs step is to determine how bad the dandruff is. If you help your child wash her hair every day, you will in most cases catch the dandruff early. However, if your child is fairly independent and washes her own hair, you'll want to check every couple of months to make sure her scalp is healthy.

2. The best way to get rid of dandruff is to prevent it. Make sure your child uses clean water - i.e. if she's taking a bath, then she needs to shower afterward in order to wash her hair - and that she gets ALL the soap out of her hair. Any residual shampoo or conditioner can gather on the scalp and cause buildup.

3. 

   If you've caught the dandruff early and it's just flakes, then a simple dandruff shampoo like Head and Shoulders will work to bring the scalp back into control. Make sure to help your child wash her hair until the dandruff is gone (a couple of weeks at least) and then help your child learn how to properly rinse her hair so it doesn't come back.

4. If the dandruff has had a while to build up, don't panic. You're not neglectful of your child, and no one's going to yell at you. Just take the steps to correct it.

5. 

   A couple hours before your child's shower, soak the caked areas in baby oil. This will help to loosen the clumps of dandruff from the scalp and make rinsing in the shower more effective.

6. 

   During the shower, use a strong medicated dandruff shampoo like T-Gel to help break up the flakes. Make sure you rinse all the shampoo out of her hair.

7. If the dandruff or cradle cap is extremely severe, you will want to wash her hair twice. On the second time, see if you can run a comb through the hair to help pull some of the flakes off the hair roots.

8. Be careful with this step. If the case is severe enough, you can actually pull the hair out from the roots if you pull too hard, and then it just becomes a painful event for your child and a heart breaker for you.

9. 

   If you can't get a comb through the hair during the shampoo part, don't sweat it. After you've rinsed the shampoo, apply a generous dose of moisturizing conditioner. I've found that Suave Kids has a very good line of both shampoo and conditioner.

10. 

    The conditioner will help the last little bit release from the scalp and help to smooth the hair so you can run a comb through it. Be sure to run AGAINST the grain of the hair, so that you pull up on the roots and catch the most dandruff.

11. After you've combed her hair pretty thoroughly, be sure to rinse her hair completely. No soapy suds, no small bubbles, nothing. Use luke warm water so you're gentle on her head, but still break down the soapy suds in the shampoo.

12. 

    After the shower, towel dry and then blow dry her hair. Make sure her hair is dry when she goes to sleep at night, so that her scalp has room to breath while against the pillow.

13. You'll need to do this for a couple weeks, at least. Be sure your child washes her hair at least every other night, and that you use baby oil before the shower to help loosen any clumps.

14. 

    If after the first few nights you aren't seeing any improvement, buy a bottle of tea tree oil and add it to your shampoo to help push the dandruff shampoo over the edge.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. Dandruff will not just disappear at the snap of your fingers.
• You'll need to make sure that your child rinses all the shampoo and conditioner from her hair. If she doesn't, it'll just cause further buildup and defeat all the effort you've put in.
• If the symptoms progress beyond a couple weeks and you've been diligently working to rid the dandruff, then contact your pediatrician immediately. It can be a sign of more serious medical conditions.

[TheDon]

on 11/16/2008 That sounds like a lot of work! I'll make my kid do it and then I won't ever have to worry about them neglecting their hair again. Great Article.

[Jennialine]

on 11/14/2008 what about mineral oil?

[buitenstaander]

on 10/8/2008 Wow, I didn't think of using all these products as you explained. Great article!