By Dr. Wendy Hunter

Cradle cap is harmless, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with it. If the idea of oiling up your baby’s head makes you cringe, there’s finally another option. With microbiome-friendly ingredients and a parent-approved delivery, Buddle Clean Cheeks just might be the new MVP in your diaper bag and on your baby’s scalp.

If your baby’s head looks like it belongs to a lizard, don’t panic. Those yellow, greasy scales are called cradle cap (the medical term is infantile seborrheic dermatitis), and they are super common. I see it on healthy babies every day in my office. Cradle cap usually pops up in the first few months of life. Why? We think it’s partly because androgen hormones (the same type that cause teenage acne) cross the placenta during pregnancy. Those hormones rev up your baby’s oil glands, and that extra oil traps flakes on the scalp. As those hormone levels drop after birth, the oil production slows down and cradle cap often disappears on its own by the time your baby turns one.

Do you have to treat it?

Not really. It doesn’t itch, hurt, or bother your baby at all. But let’s be honest: most parents would rather not stare at a scaly head…and grandmothers are always bothered by it! For years, the go-to approach has been to slather the scalp with an oil or balm, let it sit, and then brush or comb out the flakes. It works, but you’re often left with a baby who feels like a buttered turkey!

A fresh, non-greasy alternative

That’s where Buddle Clean Cheeks No-Rinse Foam Cleanser comes in. Originally created as a gentle cleanser for the diaper area, parents started using it on baby scalps and... it worked. Really well.

Clean Cheeks is formulated to support the skin’s natural microbiome, that invisible ecosystem of bacteria and yeast that lives on our skin and helps keep it healthy. When that balance gets disrupted (by moisture, irritation, or too much oil), we see rashes, redness, and cradle cap.

What’s exciting is that Clean Cheeks helps restore microbiome balance without clogging up baby’s hair or leaving behind a greasy mess. Think fresh, clean scalp, no rinse needed.

Here’s how to try it:

Pump 1–2 times onto baby’s scalp.
Massage with clean hands, a soft cloth, or baby brush.
Let sit for 1–2 minutes.
Gently comb out the flakes.
Repeat daily until clear.

It's gentle enough for daily use, and works on other sensitive spots too, like neck folds, armpits, and behind the ears.

The science behind the clean

We’re learning more every year about how the skin microbiome influences everything from diaper rash to eczema. Clean Cheeks doesn’t just wipe dirt away. It’s thoughtfully crafted with soothing botanicals like arnica, chamomile, Mexican hyssop, and witch hazel that calm irritated skin while protecting the good bacteria.

For families who want a cleaner, more cosmetically elegant approach to cradle cap (and fewer greasy onesies in the laundry), this may be the next generation of cradle cap care.