Mango Butter

As with most natural fruits, the seed has just as many benefits as the flesh. The mango seed can be formed into a powder, oil, or butter, depending on how it’s processed. Typically, the butter is cold-pressed from the seeds, and is said to be similar to cocoa and shea butters, in that it’s moisturizing without being greasy.

The mango itself comes from a tropical fruit tree (the Mangifera) native to South Asia, though the trees are cultivated in a number of locations now for their fruits, including India, China, Brazil, and Mexico. They grow up to be 130 feet tall with evergreen leaves and small white flowers. The fruit ripens in the summertime, and is usually a variety of yellow-orange color with a single flat pit that houses a single seed.

Beyond being an amazing skin care ingredient, mango butter is sometimes used in cooking, as an alternative to regular butter, and in baking recipes.