When my first child was in her first year of life, I felt that I had to bathe her every day. Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. I bathed her and washed her hair with what I was told, the best shampoo for babies out there. That was over five years ago and today there are an incredible amount of baby shampoos and a walk down the baby product isle can be overwhelming. Even with all of these options that claim to ‘keep your baby’s skin soft, smooth and healthy” and “clean without drying”. My question is, how often should a baby have their hair washed?
While researching this topic, I found out some other interesting information about the frequency of washing a baby’s hair. According to HealthyChild.org, the primary area of focus for a baby during their first year of life is in and around the diaper zone. It is no picnic when a bowel movement occurred with such gusto that it shoots out and up of the diaper area. There is no question that this scenario would require a serious bath. There are other zones of a baby that need to be “watched” and washed more frequently. Even areas around the mouth and other dirt cacthers such as underneath the chin and in between the crevasses of little fingers and toes. A wash cloth will do the job and clean the area sufficiently. Don’t worry if you don’t have time to run the bath. A Full-blown bath with bubbles is not necessary every day, in fact, a couple of times a week would be just fine. As my mother would always say, “how dirty could a tiny baby get anyway?” The baby, not very dirty, but the hair on the head? That is another story.
Hair on the head of a baby is both a blessing and a curse. My babies were blessed with thick, curly tresses. While lovely to look at, these hairs have been the welcome “mat” of many a apple puree, mashed banana, and crushed avocado. A quick Kodak moment and then off to wash that “mush” right out of their hair.
Another situation that would warrant frequent hair washing for a baby from 0-12 months is a condition called cradle cap. This condition is extremely common and typically goes away on its own before your baby blows out their first birthday candel. Sure, it may be embarrassing to show up to the family reunion when your baby has a raging case of flaky, dry skin that looks like dandruff. Other times cradle cap appears in thick, oily, yellowish or brown scaling or crusting patches.
Whether your relatives walk away from you because they think that you have poor hygiene or that your baby has something contagious, they shouldn’t. According to an article on cradle cap that was posted on babycenter.com, the answer as to why cradle cap happens is that we just don’t know. Babycenter added that, “some experts believe that the hormones a baby receives from his mother at the end of pregnancy overstimulate the baby’s seborrheic (oil-producing) glands, resulting in cradle cap. But there’s no consensus on the cause”. That’s all good, but how to get rid of cradle cap?
Believe me, we’ve been there and we also thought our baby would have dandruff for life. Before you decide to buy stock in Head & Shoulders, you should know that cradle cap normally clears up on its own in about six to 12 months and in very few scenarios babies have it for several years.
Since this is more of an issue for the mama, or maybe it doesn’t bother the parent at all, there are some things that can be done. Frequent shampooing would be necessary. Just as important, brushing the baby’s scalp with a soft brush or using a terrycloth towel.
Have you ever noticed a baby with cradle cap? Have you ever heard of other cradle cap remedies out there?
