{"id":1278,"date":"2025-06-18T22:05:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2026-10-13T11:13:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T15:13:38","slug":"seborrheic-dermatitis-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/pediatrics\/seborrheic-dermatitis-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cradle Cap (Seborrheic Dermatitis)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/pediatrics\/\">\u2190 Back to Pediatric Dermatology<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Flaky or greasy scale on a baby\u2019s scalp can look dramatic but is usually not dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>We examine whether it is simple cradle cap or another scalp condition and talk through gentle care that does not irritate the skin.<\/p>\n<p>Treatment is usually simple, but inflamed or persistent cases may need medication.<\/p>\n<h2>What Parents Should Know<\/h2>\n<p>Seborrheic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin condition that can affect infants and children. In babies it is often called cradle cap and may cause greasy scale, flaking, and mild redness on the scalp, eyebrows, behind the ears, or in skin folds.<\/p>\n<h3>Does it damage hair follicles?<\/h3>\n<p>Usually no. Pediatric seborrheic dermatitis does not typically scar the scalp or permanently damage hair follicles. Temporary shedding can occur when inflammation is significant, but persistent patchy hair loss should be evaluated for another diagnosis.<\/p>\n<h3>How is it treated?<\/h3>\n<p>Mild cases may improve with gentle shampooing and softening of scale. More persistent disease may require medicated shampoo, topical antifungal medication, or a short course of anti-inflammatory treatment appropriate for the child\u2019s age and body site.<\/p>\n<h3>When should I call a dermatologist?<\/h3>\n<p>Evaluation is helpful for severe redness, crusting, spreading rash, hair loss, drainage, poor response to home care, or concern for psoriasis, tinea, atopic dermatitis, or infection.<\/p>\n<p>For older children and adults, facial\/scalp dandruff and petaloid patterns, see <a href=\"\/medical-dermatology\/seborrheic-dermatitis\/\">Seborrheic Dermatitis &amp; Dandruff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Related reading from Borealis<\/h3>\n<p>Explore these topics for more background and questions to discuss at your visit.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/blog\/facial-redness-isnt-always-rosacea\/\">Why facial redness can have different causes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-service-back-bottom=\"1\" style=\"text-align:left;margin-top:40px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #d7d7d7\"><a href=\"\/pediatrics\/\">\u2190 Back to Pediatric Dermatology<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cradle cap and infant seborrheic dermatitis evaluation with gentle scalp-care guidance and treatment for persistent or inflamed cases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":1279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pediatrics"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phqUFp-kC","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/borealisderm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Seborrheic-Dermatitis_1933066757.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3504,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions\/3504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borealisderm.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}