Could last for years. My 27mth old still has it, but he has loads of hair so you can't see it unless you really try. Both my daughters continued to get small patches behind their ears until they were about 5, I think.

This is despite treating it - olive oil, then brushing it out and washing the oil out with mild baby shampoo - it went away for a while then came back.

Certainly sounds like cradle cap to me - a photo would help to be sure. We used coconut oil - but I'm not sure it ever helped. You can just ignore it, to be honest - it'll go away eventually. Just don't pick at it, or it will make your baby's head sore. (Obviously when the flakes are actually loose in the hair, that's a different matter.)

My son now 4 months had really bad cradle cap on his head eyebrows and ears when he was a month old, i used olive oil as its very natural. covered him in it before he went to sleep and in morning brushed it off with soft baby brush every night for a week, cleared it all up and it hasn't come back.

While I think you have gotten plenty of advise, I must put my two cents in, my son had cradle cap at 4 weeks old, all of sudden one morning.Treatment: I lathered his head in baby oil, put a hat on for a couple of hours to soften the skin, then bathed him, while gently scrubbing his head with baby shampoo and a baby hair brush, I had to do this for 3 days in a row but once it was gone, it was gone for good. Good Luck!

My daughter's doctor said just to ignore the cradle cap and eventually she would out grow it. With my son, I did, gently, pick at it, but only when it got so thick that his scalp started to look orange. The downside to scratching it off is that it can remove some of the hair at the same time.

Lightly brushing it in addition to baby oil can help.

I used a baby brush and baby bath or baby shampoo. When I bathed my daughter I would gently (very gently) scrub her head with the baby brush and baby bath or shampoo. It took less than a week to get rid of. Her's was completely gone by the time she was a month old. I never had any more problems with cradle cap after that.

The nurses in the hospital told us to put baby oil on it, leave it for 10 minutes and then use a soft baby brush to gently brush it out. It works well!

Based on my experience, I suggest using a regular baby shampoo vs. a head to toe wash. The head to toe wash is not as effective in clearing up the scalp.

My wife and I noticed some dry, scaly skin on our daughter's scalp. We're a little hesitant to try the accepted solution, but we have tried SL.Nicholson's suggestion to use the shampoo rather than head to toe wash.

We're also trying out a product we found at Babies R Us: Little Remedies Cradle Cap Lotion It seems to be working pretty well, but we've changed up more things than just this (using the shampoo, washing with a rag rather than just a hand) along with it.