When one of my daughters was a few months old I noticed that her scalp was starting to form yellow scales of skin. I'd read about cradle cap in one of my parenting magazines and so recognised the signs. My health visitor suggested I tried olive oil on it and as she was still so young I was happy to go with a natural approach. However I was disappointed to find that this didn't make any difference to it at all. Although the cradle cap didn't seem to bother her it did look unsightly so I decided to try something stronger. I went to my local chemist where I saw this Dentinox cradle cap treatment shampoo and decided to give it a try.

Packaging
The shampoo comes in a box in the familiar green and yellow of the Dentinox brand. The box provides you with all the information you need to make a decision on whether the shampoo is suitable for your needs such as ingredients and directions for use.
Inside the box is an information leaflet which tells you a bit about cradle cap, possible side effects and allergy information. It also explains how to use the shampoo and tells you it is suitable from birth.
The bottle itself is very plain with similar information to the box printed on it. It has a flip top lid and it's easy to squeeze out the small amount needed.
This shampoo has a long expiry date, about 2.5 years on the one I bought which is good as a bottle lasts a long time.

Using the shampoo
You need to use about half a teaspoon of this shampoo per application and massage it into the scalp. It doesn't create much lather but enough to be able to be able to massage the scalp. You need to do 2 applications and use it at every bath time to start with. You need to avoid contact with eyes when using this shampoo which I can imagine is difficult if your baby doesn't like having their hair washed. I was fortunate that it was the twin that doesn't mind having her hair wash with the cradle cap and I've have never had any problems with it hurting her eyes.
This shampoo has a rose perfume to it which is lovely for a medicated shampoo and leaves her hair with a nice smell to it.

Does it work?
Yes, this shampoo started working quite quickly and soon cleared the worse of her cradle cap. When it first starts working some hair comes off with the cradle cap, this worried me but had no lasting effect and the hair grew back. The cradle cap still comes back if I don't use this shampoo every week or so but I only have to do one application.

Price and availability
I purchased my 125ml bottle from Lloyds chemist for £2.59, although it is currently (August 2012) available for less in Tesco (£1.95) and Boots (£2.09). The one bottle has lasted me 1.5 years so I feel it has been good value.

Would I recommend?
Yes, it worked really well at clearing my daughters cradle cap and now prevents it from coming back.