Treating Cradle Cap: Gentle Naturals Treatments or Baby Oil?

New parents will soon become familiar with the crusty, yellowish skin rash that occurs on a newborn baby's head commonly known as cradle cap. Cradle cap usually appears sometime in the first three months-it does not hurt the baby, and nearly half of all infants are affected with a mild version. Most commonly it appears on the scalp, however, in some severe cases it can be found on the eyebrows or around the ears.

The traditional treatment is to rub the scalp with baby oil and let it soak in for awhile. The parent then takes a fine tooth comb and combs the cradle cap (which looks a lot like dandruff) out of the baby's scalp. This must, of course, be done very gently to not irritate the baby's sensitive skin. Some other parents choose to rub the baby's head with Vaseline, let it soak in overnight to soften the cradle cap, and comb the softened flakes out in the morning.

Gentle Naturals (produced by Baby Orajel) has come out with their own Cradle Cap treatment to "moisturize baby's scalp and remove crusty scales". This formula includes natural ingredients such as Calendula, Jojoba, and Vitamins A, D, and E. A bottle of the Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Treatment costs between $7.00-$8.50 and can be purchased at stores such as Target and CVS, or it may be ordered online.

So, which works better: baby oil or Gentle Naturals Treatment? I have tried both on my babies. Obviously baby oil is well less than half the price of the Gentle Natural's product. However, the Gentle Naturals would probably last through a dozen babies, as you only use a tiny bit of the product, and it comes in a 4 oz. bottle. As for their effectiveness, they both get the job done. Both work in a similar manner: rub the product into the scalp, and then let it set for a few minutes before combing out.

Gentle Naturals has an advantage in that after you have removed the cradle cap, it is much easier to rinse the solution out of the baby's hair. Baby oil is extremely hard to wash out. Gentle Naturals is overall less greasy, and leaves baby's hair smelling fresh. I have also noticed that the cradle cap seems to reoccur less frequently with the Gentle Naturals Treatment than with regular baby oil--perhaps it has something to do with the additional vitamins in the Gentle Naturals formula.

In conclusion, the Gentle Naturals is worth trying and does work, but baby oil will also be effective if you do not want to spend the extra money. Be sure to check with your child's pediatrician before beginning any new treatment.