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The use of Shea Butter dates back to the time of Cleopatra. She used jars of shea butter as a cosmetic treatment to shield her from the damages caused by the heat of the sun. Mango fruits, on the other hand, were used in medicine and healing long before but its extract was discovered to be very beneficial to the skin.
Not many people might know about it, but both kinds of body butters actually have excellent skin and hair benefits. They are usually blended with various kinds of oils and other ingredients for body massages and treatments. But which is better – Mango butter or Shea butter?
Let’s take a closer look at each one’s benefits:
What is Mango Butter?
Mangoes not only provide internal nourishment, but also keep the skin smooth and healthy. Mango butter is a soft solid collected and refined from the seed kernels of the mango tree. It is loaded with excellent properties that are great for skin and hair nourishment.
Mango butter is rich in oleic and stearic acid. These fatty acids soften and soothe the skin and hair. This butter is high in antioxidants and Vitamins A, C and E. It resembles shea butter in that it is solid at room temperature and melts on contact with the skin.
It has a thick, creamy white color and a slight sweet fragrance.
Mango Butter Skin Benefits
Here are some good reasons to use Mango Butter for your everyday skin care.
- Mango butter is effective in moisturizing and soothing dry and chafed skin.
- It helps protect your skin from UV radiation.
- It can provide skin protection and healing from frostbite and sunburn damages.
- It treats skin rash, dermatitis, and eczema.
- It relieves itchiness from insect bites.
- Mango Butter can be used to detoxify skin from impurities due to dirt and pollution.
- It can help prevent stretch marks due to pregnancy.
- You can use Mango Butter to smooth acne scars and wrinkles.
- Mango Butter can serve as a shaving cream for a smooth shave.
Mango Butter Recipe
Because it is so hard at room temperature, mango butter is easiest to use when mixed with a liquid oil as well as essential oils for massage and nourishment.
A good essential oil to use with Mango Butter is Rocky Mountain Oils’ Baby Skin Essential Oil Blend. The final product is called Baby Skin Essential Oil Massage Cream, and it helps in reduction of skin blemishes and stimulates the skin’s natural healing. It works best for oily and mature skin.
For this blend, you will need:
- 30 drops Baby Skin Essential Oil Blend
- 5 drops Sandalwood Essential Oil
- 1 cup Mango Butter
- 1 teaspoon Fractionated Coconut Oil (FCO)
Directions: Soften Mango Butter and add FCO. Mix in the essential oils. Put in a container and set aside to cool. Close lid and then label. Apply onto the affected area twice or thrice daily.
Mango Butter Hair Benefits
You can also use Mango Butter for hair nourishment. The following are the benefits you can get from using Mango Butter as a hair treatment.
- When applied to the scalp, Mango Butter restores and maintains the skin moisture, and stimulates cell regeneration. A healthy scalp builds up a healthy hair growth.
- Mango Butter holds various antioxidants and vitamins A, C, and E which have great influences to the growth of healthy hair.
- As Mango Butter protects skin from UV rays, it also serves as a sunscreen for hair and scalp for any possible sun damage.
What is Shea Butter?
Shea Butter is an off-white or ivory-colored fatty substance that is extracted from the nut of Shea Trees found in West and Central Africa. It is commonly used in the cosmetics industry as an ingredient in skin and hair products. Shea Butter is also edible and it is used as a cooking oil in African countries. They also use it for candle-making, hairdressing, and as a constituent in medicinal ointments.
High in Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamin A and E are strong antioxidants that repair the skin. Vitamin F is a rich source of fatty acids, it softens and rejuvenates the skin.
Shea butter has a natural beige color unless it has been refined. It has a mild nutty-smoky scent, that some people find a bit off-putting, though it quickly goes away after application.
Shea Butter Skin Benefits
Just like mango butter, there are advantages to using Shea butter on your skin:
- Shea Butter is an excellent skin moisturizer for dry skin due to its concentration of natural vitamins and fatty acids.
- It can serve as an anti-inflammatory due to the cinnamic acid.
- Shea Butter is also a great treatment for some people with acne scars.
- It eases skin irritations like eczema and psoriasis.
- It helps produce the natural collagen in the skin which reduces the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and stretch marks.
- Shea butter comprises of antioxidants such as catechins, and vitamins A and E, which protect the cells from environmental damages and free radicals.
- The cinnamic acid in the Shea Butter helps protect skin from UV radiation damages.
Shea Butter Recipe
If you want a much better treatment for your skin, here is a good recipe that incorporates Shea Butter with essential oils that can help relieve pain and prevent the formation of minor scars and bruises.
The recipe is dubbed as Mother's Touch Essential Oil Flexibility Cream, and is best made with Mother’s Touch Essential Oil from Rocky Mountain Oils.
Here are the things that you will need:
- 30 drops Mother's Touch Essential Oil Blend
- 15 drops Relieve Me Essential Oil Blend
- 2 ounces Shea Butter
- 1 ounce Beeswax
- ½ teaspoon Green Clay
Direction: Heat and soften the shea butter and beeswax and together. Remove from heat and mix in the clay. Add the essential oils and transfer into another container. Set aside to cool completely. Apply daily as necessary.
Shea Butter Hair Benefits
Shea Butter is also great for hair nourishment and here are the benefits you can get:
- Shea butter is great for hair revitalization from damage and stiff hair. It helps in spreading and maintaining the excess oil in the scalp because of its non-greasy nature.
- It helps soothe a dry and irritated scalp. It also repairs split ends and breakage and soothes hair dryness with its Vitamin A and E components.
- It has a sufficient amount of SPF to protect the hair from damages due to sun exposure and UV rays.
- Shea Butter can also be an excellent hair moisturizer and natural conditioner due to the presence of Vitamins A and E.
- Shea butter protects hair from the pollutants and harmful free radicals found in the air and rain.
- It can be applied to the hair before swimming to protect it from salt and chlorine.
Mango Butter Vs Shea Butter
Both of these butters have similar properties, with a couple of minor differences:
- Mango butter is a bit of a lighter feel than shea butter.If you find shea butter too heavy, give mango butter a try.
- Mango butter is harder than shea butter at room temperature, making it more difficult to use on its own.
Fatty Acid Content
Mango Butter
- 40-46% oleic acid
- 40 - 45% stearic acid
- 3-4% linoleic aacid
- 5.5 % palmitic acid
- 2-2.5% arachidic acid
Shea Butter
- 40-60% oleic acid
- 20-50% stearic acid
- 3 - 11% linoleic acid
- 2-9% palmitic acid
- >1% linolenic acid
- >1% arachidic acid
Final Thoughts
Mango Butter may be a bit more expensive than Shea Butter, but they have very similar properties and benefits. These butters work well mixed with aromatic essential oils.
Find a good recipe and give both of them a try so you can find out for yourself what best works for your skin and your hair.
Try Mango Butter
Look for pure mango butter that has not been refined.
Try Shea Butter
Look for raw and unrefined shea butter.
How would you use mango or shea butter? Leave any questions in the comments below and we will do our best to help you out. If you liked this article, please share it with your friends 🙂
Yours In Beauty,
Andrea
Great Info! Good fact about Cleopatra, That is a fun fact I might be able to use somewhere down the line. My mom has been complaining about her hair being dry lately, I wonder if this would help her? Its good to know that there are still organic products out there that have been used for a very long time. How Long have you known about Mango Butter?
I have used Shea butter in my hair when it is very dry. You have to be careful not to use too much, otherwise your hair will get greasy. I find using a comb to spread it through my hair works well. I have known about mango butter for about a year now, I have yet to try it though 🙂
Hello Andrea !
Thank you so much for this information.
I find this post very helpfull to me since im trying to switch to a non-toxic llifestyle and now, I know a few alternatives to some of the regular products.
I will definitely let my girlfriend know the recipe. ,She will surely use it !
I wish you the Best
Santiago/James
Thanks James 🙂 Let us know if she likes it!
I love the idea of mixing my own skin and hair care products! So far I’ve used a ready made shea butter product for my skin, but although it’s made from organic ingredients, it also contains other ingredients that I don’t quite trust. Now I have a chance to eliminate many of those by making my own. I might give the mango butter a try. Thanks for the recipes!
You are welcome Ursi. I love to make whipped body butters with Shea and Mango butter.
Andrea , Thanks for sharing such a Nice product Information . I love Shea Butter Products .
You are welcome Russell 🙂
I plan to use mango butter to make my own body butter. This piece was quite informative. Let me know if you have nay recipe for that.. I have just lavender essential oil right now..
Unfortunetly, we do not have a recipe on our site for a body butter that could use mango butter. I am sure you could google a body butter recipe and find one. You can use the mango butter in place of shea or cocoa butter.
Very informative, I am wondering if Shea Butter & Mango Butter could be combined, along with Sweet Almond Oil? I appreciate your time, thanks so much for this article!
Yes Debra, that would make a lovely blend!
I started using shea butter for a month now together with black soap and there is a big difference in my skin. The guy I bought my shea butter from got mango butter in he ask me to try it. I did not know anything about mango butter so I goggle and found out a lot about mango butter
For me i prefer the shea butter at night and the mango in the day time. It is lighter and shea butter is heavier. But I love both of them.
Awesome to hear Lina! Thanks for stopping in and taking the time to comment 🙂 We love to hear it.
Love your post, have both mango and shea butter, will use both. Thank you
Thanks Angela!
“Holland & Milan Organics??” is a 100% All Natural, Organic, Plant-based, Handmade Hair and Skincare Line that will repair, rebuild and restore the hair and skin. WEBSITE:HOLLANDMILANORGANICS.COM, I.G + F. B @hollandmilanorganics Based: Ardmore Pa. 19003??
I have found mango butter to be excellent for body butters or products you want to custom scent. Shea butter has a much stronger odor which some pretty dislike. organic cocoa butter (Can be unscented) combined mango butter, and almond oil, can be a great base so that your choice of essential oils can shine or you can create an unscented body butter for more sensitive skin.
Thanks for the tips, Allison!