If you're not familiar with using an oil or plant butter as a natural remedy then the notion of using shea butter as a natural decongestant might sound strange at first. But it is actually a Traditional Nigerian Medicine remedy. Research has also shown that shea butter is as effective as conventional nasal drops, and that it can help reduce nasal inflammation, so we wanted to put it to the test...all we needed was a cold.
Then, winter came as did early morning commutes and being crammed onto the tube and soon enough I had a virulent cold that I proceeded to share with my housemates. All in the name of science ;) For this trial we had 3 testers, all suffering from a pretty nasty cold.
As the research suggested, we applied 2-3grams of shea butter inside our nostrils (being careful to melt, or at the very least, soften it).
On first application, the effects set in almost immediately and lasted about an hour, a tiny amount needs to be used, but when the effects wear off you FEEL it. Stuffy head, mild headache and earache all come back to you within 1-2minutes, the blocked nose however isn't half as bad.... Thankfully it's pretty easy to re-apply.
Once you have re-applied 8 times, the effects still set in almost immediately but they last a lot longer; up to two days.
So we can say that it works and it is much nicer than vicks, it doesn't mean you have to keep sniffing menthol or eucalyptus mixes, or use those nasal stick inhaler things that are advertised a lot at this time of year.
Do you have any folk remedies that you would like to share? Have you ever used shea butter as a decongestant?
