Mango Butter

A natural history

The mango has been cultivated in South Asia for thousands of years and is so cherished it is widely crowned the king of fruits. Indian tradition prized far more than its sweet flesh. The large flat seed at its center, usually thrown away, holds a kernel rich in fat, and folk and Ayurvedic practice pressed it into a soft butter used to soften dry skin and condition hair against the heat and dust.

That butter is what skin care reaches for today. Pale, rich, and a touch lighter than cocoa or shea, mango seed butter melts at the warmth of the body and absorbs into the skin, which is why it became a treasured conditioner long before it reached the wider cosmetic world. In its homeland, nothing of the prized fruit was wasted, least of all the seed.

What it does for your skin

Mango butter is a rich emollient whose fats, mostly oleic and stearic acids, give it a cushioning feel that melts close to skin temperature.^[1] Reviews of the mango kernel note it also carries antioxidant vitamin E, phytosterols, and polyphenols, and single out its butter for cosmetic use.^[2] In a formula it is a softening, conditioning butter that helps dry, rough skin feel cushioned and smooth. Those benefits come straight from its rich makeup of nourishing fatty acids and vitamin E.

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