If you’ve ever eaten a mango, you know how delicious and juicy this fruit is – and, while you probably toss the seed out, those seeds are actually what’s used to make mango butter. Mango butter is a soft, creamy butter that has a very mild scent. It’s extracted from the de-shelled fruit kernels of the mango tree, and then heated and boiled in order to achieve the ideal consistency.
While mango butter shares many of the same uses as those butters you’re probably more familiar with, like shea butter and cocoa butter, its fatty acid profile differs slightly, and it has a greater level of vitamins and antioxidants. Its rich nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin C, palmitic acid, arachidic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid. That’s why it’s so effective for healing and improving the appearance of your skin and hair.
1. Soothe a sunburn
Sunburns are no fun, but you can help soothe and treat one using mango butter. While you can use it on its own, rubbing the mango butter between your palms to melt it and then gliding it onto your skin, this recipe for a cooling cream with mango butter is ideal for healing sun-damaged skin and sunburns.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp mango butter
- 2 tsp aloe vera gel
- 3 drops sea buckthorn oil
- 3 drops peppermint essential oil
Instructions:
Melt the mango butter in a double boiler and then add the aloe vera gel. Mix well, and then add your sea buckhorn oil and peppermint oil. Place it into the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Remove it and then whip using a hand mixer until creamy. Smear the results lightly onto your sunburned or damaged skin. It has a shelf life of up to 18 months if stored in a cool, dry, dark location.
2. Prevent stretch marks
Stretch marks are common during pregnancy, but you can help prevent that deep scarring with mango butter, thanks to its many nutrients. The best way to create a super powerful DIY stretch mark preventer is to combine it with coconut oil, that also helps to restore damaged skin. When used together, it offers the most dramatic results. To make it, all you have to do is combine equal parts mango butter and coconut oil and smear it onto to areas prone to stretch marks like the abdomen, hips, and breasts.
3. Heal scars
While preventing stretch marks is easier than eliminating them once they’ve developed, you can use mango butter to help heal them, and other scars as well, like acne and even age spots. You can make a potent scar cream using mango butter combined with shea butter and cocoa butter, as all three are known to be effective for healing. Here’s how to do it:
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp mango butter
- 2 tbsp shea butter
- 2 tbsp cocoa butter
- 7 drops lavender oil
- 7 drops helichrysum oil
- 4 drops carrot seed oil
Instructions:
Melt all of the butters in a double boiler. Once melted, stir in all essential oils, lavender, helichrysum and carrot seed, which are also known for their scar-fighting powers. Pour the mixture into a Mason jar or other glass, lidded-jar and use to apply on your scars at least once a day.
4. Treat skin conditions like eczema & psoriasis
Mango butter is not only incredibly soothing, it offers anti-inflammatory properties that can treat inflamed, dry, itchy skin caused by eczema or psoriasis. You can easily make your own healing cream at home using mango butter by combining a quarter cup of soft mango butter and a half cup of soft, but not liquefied, coconut oil in a high-speed blender. Blend until a creamy, white mixture forms and then store it in a mason jar. Use it after a shower, and whenever you want to moisturize or treat your skin.
5. Reduce the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles
Thanks to mango butter’s naturally high concentration of vitamin A, it encourages healthy cell production and turnover. It can help keep your skin firmer while also reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by stimulating skin cells that are important for keeping skin toned and taut. It’s also deeply moisturizing without being greasy, helping to keep your skin nice and smooth. Simply use it as your moisturizer as part of your regular skincare routine.
6. Battle acne
You might be surprised to find you can even help clear up blemishes using mango butter. That’s because it’s readily absorbed into your skin, effectively providing moisture without clogging your pores and is also rich in both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It’s important to use unrefined pure mango butter, because using a product with chemical additives like fragrances and dyes, can irritate your already irritated skin.
Wash your skin with a cleanser first to remove dirt, oil and other residues to ensure that mango butter’s properties are able to treat and rejuvenate your skin. Once your skin is clean and dry, apply mango butter using a small makeup sponge rather than your fingers, which will introduce more oil and bacteria into breakouts. Once you’ve applied a thin coat, it’s important to avoid touching your face which is why you may want to use it just before bed. Allow it to absorb first to keep your pillowcase clean.
If you’re dealing with a major breakout, you might want to make this special blemish-fighting cream.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp mango butter
- 1/2 tsp rosehip oil
- 1/4 tsp vitamin E oil
- 3 drops lavender essential oil
- 3 drops helichrysum oil
Instructions:
Add the mango butter, rosehip oil and vitamin E oil to a 4-ounce jar. Combine well by using a popsicle stick. Next add the lavender oil and helichrysum oil, which also provides blemish-healing powers. Use it to spot treat blemishes, or apply it at bedtime and leave it on overnight.
7. Heal minor wounds faster by making a healing balm
You can protect, moisturize and heal minor wounds like cuts and nicks using mango butter too. You can use it directly or make your own healing balm. To do so, melt two tablespoons of mango butter with equal portions of beeswax and coconut oil and then add 5 drops of tea tree oil. Pour the mixture into a small glass jar, or into empty stick tubes. Before using, allow your balms to completely harden and cool first.
8. Stop the itch of a bug bite
Bug bites can be extremely irritating – in fact, that incessant itching can even keep you up at night, but fortunately, mango butter can come to the rescue. Just dab a little onto any bug bites for relief. In addition to stopping the itch, it will reduce inflammation and help heal your skin faster.
9. Moisturize your hair
If you’re suffering from dry tresses, especially if your hair is thick and/or curly, mango butter makes a wonderful moisturizer. It’s best used as part of the following recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup mango butter
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp aloe vera gel
- 10 drops lavender essential oil
Melt the mango butter in a double boiler and then stir in the avocado oil, aloe vera gel and lavender essential oil. Pour the mixture into your blender, but don’t turn it on just yet – remove the container and place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes until it’s hardened. Now place the container back onto your blender and blend until the result is a creamy texture. You can store it in a mason jar and then use it as a leave-in conditioner on damp hair, applied mainly on the ends and avoiding the scalp.
Where To Buy Mango Butter
When purchasing mango butter it’s important to buy the “real” thing and not merely a cheap imitation. Look for an unscented, 100% pure expeller pressed, unrefined mango butter. This one from Better Shea Butter available on Amazon is widely regarded as the best mango butter.