Cradle Cap and Gut Health: What’s the Relation?

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When your baby experiences cradle cap (the official term is seborrheic dermatitis), you probably don’t correlate the flakes and scales with gut health – after all, it is a skin condition, right?

While cradle cap is a common condition that involves your baby’s scalp, those scaly patches may be the result of the gut flora. When technically speaking, cradle cap is considered a yeast infection by definition.

But does gut health impact when babies get cradle cap?

Let’s take a closer look at cradle cap and gut health, what causes cradle cap, and our best recommendation for treatment.

Understanding Cradle Cap

Cradle cap is an inflammatory skin condition that causes scales and flakes to appear on the baby’s scalp. This condition when experienced by adults is known as seborrheic dermatitis, which is a severe form of dandruff.

Cradle cap usually causes thick, yellow, greasy scales to appear on the baby’s head and forehead, which is why it gets the name cap. However, some other common symptoms of cradle cap include

Redness behind the ears, around the nose, in skin folds, diaper area.
Inflammation
Mild itching
Oily skin.

It is believed to be caused by a yeast that is naturally present on our skin known as Malassezia yeast. When there is an excess production of sebum. The oil on the skin helps the yeast to thrive more easily. A skin reaction towards the byproduct produced by sebum and yeast is what you see as flakes, scales, and inflammation.

Is Cradle Cap Related to Gut Health?

“Trust your gut” has always been a meaningful phrase, but did you know that people also call the gut the second brain?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, we refer to the gut this way “because the enteric nervous system relies on the same type of neurons and neurotransmitters that are found in the central nervous system, some medical experts call it our ‘second brain.’”

The way you take care of this important system has a direct impact on overall health and wellness. This also heavily involves the skin. In fact, some doctors say that an unhealthy gut will have a major effect on your skin and could lead to conditions like inflammation and eczema.

In this way, the relationship between cradle cap and gut health might be more clear. However, there’s still no evidence that shows the direct impact that the gut flora has on cradle cap.

Is Cradle Cap Preventable?

Since the cause of cradle cap isn’t concrete, it’s not a preventable condition either. The best you can do to treat the condition is to use medicated cradle cap shampoo designed specifically for seborrheic dermatitis and leave the scaly patches alone.

Make sure to avoid:

Picking at the flakes and scales on your newborn baby’s scalp
Using strong anti-dandruff shampoo designed for adults
Applying essential oils

Letting your baby’s cradle cap go away on its own requires a lot of patience, and is an option.

Cradle Cap Treatment

While cradle cap shouldn’t bring pain or discomfort to your little one, we understand the desire to get rid of it and gain peace of mind while you wash your baby’s hair. Instead of going for natural remedies like petroleum jelly and coconut oil (that can clog your baby’s oil glands and potentially lead to infection) we recommend using a specially formulated shampoo for cradle cap.

Use the medicated shampoo two to three times a week or as recommended by a pediatrician.
Wet the baby’s scalp and body.
Apply the shampoo and gently massage it focusing on the areas most affected.
Leave it on for a minute or two before rinsing it off.
While the shampoo is still on you can use a cradle cap brush to gently remove the loose scales and flakes.
Rinse thoroughly and make sure to leave no residue behind as it can cause dryness.
Pat dry the skin and scalp with a soft towel.

Best Cradle Cap Shampoo

If your little one is experiencing cradle cap and you’re actively looking for an effective yet gentle cradle cap shampoo then we have got a great option for you. Happy Cappy Medicated Shampoo and Body Wash for Babies was named as “Best Seborrheic Dermatitis Shampoo for Babies” by Verywell Health in 2024.

It is the only shampoo specially formulated by a pediatrician to treat flaking and irritation of the skin for children of all ages. Dermatologist-tested and loved, it is hypoallergenic and free of skin-irritating chemicals like parabens, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic colors, and synthetic fragrances.

It contains pyrithione zinc as an FDA-approved active ingredient that helps in controlling the production of Malassezia yeast on the skin and reduces the flaking and scaling associated with cradle cap, seborrheic dermatitis, and dandruff. Say goodbye to flakes and hello to a healthy scalp!

Conclusion

Cradle cap is a skin condition in babies that causes scaling, redness, and inflammation. It usually appears as thick, greasy, yellow flakes and scales on the baby’s scalp. Some people think that it is related to the baby’s gut health.

There is no authentic research that proves that cradle cap is caused or related to gut health. However, gut health does have a connection to healthy baby skin and maybe a culprit in causing skin conditions like eczema.

The scaling, inflammation, and redness can be easily reduced by keeping the baby’s scalp clean with the help of pyrithione zinc shampoo for babies.

Beyond our Medicated Shampoo and Body Wash, we also have baby eczema moisturizing cream, Daily shampoo, and much more.

Shop our products for relief, soothing, and prevention today!

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Dr. Eddie Valenzuela

Dr. Eddie Valenzuela is an award winning pediatrician and the founder and CEO of Pediatric Solutions, LLC.

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Is cradle cap linked to gut health?

Cradle cap causes thick scaly patches on the baby’s scalp. Those scaly patches may be the result of gut flora. However, there is not much research done to prove the direct connection between cradle cap and gut health.

What is the root cause of cradle cap?

The exact cause of cradle cap is still unknown. However, it is believed to be caused by a combination of factors such as hormonal changes in the baby’s body, excess oil or sebum produced by the sebaceous glands, and overproduction of Malassezia yeast on the skin.

Which skin conditions are linked to gut health?

The most common skin conditions that are often believed to be linked with gut health are atopic dermatitis (eczema), psoriasis, rosacea, and chronic itch.

How to treat cradle cap fast?

The best and fastest way to treat cradle cap in babies is by using a cradle cap shampoo that contains pyrithione zinc as an active ingredient. This ingredient will help remove the scales and prevent future buildups.