working parents tip #1: cradle cap

for my first tip in honor of working parents month, i'm employing the time-saving caveat that i won't be defining most of the terms in these posts. not enough time. as the daughter of a librarian, while growing up i heard all the time from my two working parents as a response to my endless questions, "go look it up". which in my childhood meant go to the leather bound encyclopedias in dad's office and look it up. here, go look it up here means google it or wikipedia it.

tip #1: cradle cap

both of my children were blessed with full heads of hair. which makes them photogenic and cute when most babies are bald. but it also makes them susceptible to cradle cap. after scouring my usual sources for information on how to rid my babies of this benign, but oh-so-maddening scaly skin condition, through trial and error, i have found a good solution - jojoba oil.

benefits:

- not petroleum-based like baby oils made from mineral oil
- not olive oil, which was on the right track, but too gooey, didn't absorb well into the scalp and didn't seem to prevent it from coming back
- not an adult-shampoo like selsum blue or head & shoulders that can get into and irritate baby's eyes
- widely available and inexpensive at trader joe's ($6.99) or local health food stores

how to:

1) drip jojoba oil on your baby's head and lightly rub it
2) let it sit for at least an hour
3) wash baby's head with washcloth and baby shampoo. you can do this quickly by holding baby's head under the kitchen sink faucet with lukewarm water without undressing/doing the whole production of a baby bath. you working parents know what i mean.
4) dry vigorously with towel
5) use softbrush to brush out sebum flakes and encourage scalp circulation

repeat nightly for one week or until cradle cap is gone. once gone, repeat every 3-4 days to prevent return.

cradle cap is also common behind the ears and along brow line, which makes the skin very sore looking and even crack in the creases. do this scalp treatment on all affected areas to treat and prevent.