Taking good care of your skin health implies choosing the right skin products, which will make your skin well hydrated, moisturized, and provide your skin with the required nutrients – of course, according to your skin type.
If you don’t want any acne breakouts (I doubt you would want that), you definitely want to choose products that will not clog your pores, but give you healthy and glowy skin.
In this article I’m going to take a closer look at mango butter which recently became popular cocoa butter alternative.
Let me start by saying that mango butter works great for almost all skin types. If you have dry skin or sensitive skin, I’m sure you will love it.
However, the jury is still out whether it may bring you luck if you have severe acne or very oily skin.
According to some experts, there is a low chance it may clog pores if you have this type of skin. In that case, you may opt for other types of body butter, like shea butter.
Therefore, you should be cautious with the use of mango butter in some cases! Read this article to find out whether mango butter is good for you and your skin type.
What Is Mango Butter & What Are Its Benefits
Body butters, in general, are great moisturizers, rich in nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids your skin needs. Some of the most popular ones are shea butter, cocoa butter, and, recently, mango butter.
Mango kernel butter is body butter extracted from mango seeds. It is lightweight, non-greasy, and non-comedogenic. The latter means it (most likely) won’t clog your pores.
Mango butter can help nourish and hydrate your extremely dry skin. Moreover, it is antibacterial and can help you soothe acne and inflammations due to acne, to some degree, if existing acne is not severe.
Mango butter benefits vary from moisturizing dry skin to healing scars and stretch marks. It is a magical and completely natural ingredient for healthy skin cells and skin softening. It work great on the combination skin, too.
Nowadays, mango butter is present in many skincare products on the market, including creams, lip balms, lotions, masks, and emollients.
On the other hand, you may use it as pure butter, alone -especially if your skin is feeling dry. The essential fatty acids in it make this butter have a rich texture1.
Some of the benefits of mango butter are:
- It will help you moisturize your dry, cracked, or damaged skin – and repair it,
- It can make your skin soft and smooth,
- It may contribute to soothing irritated skin,
- It protects your skin against sun damage,
- It can clear up stretch marks and scars (including acne scars),
- It may be used in sunburn treatment,
- It may reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and rejuvenate your skin,
- It may be used in treating frostbite and bug bites,
- It can reduce symptoms of skin issues related to eczema or psoriasis,
- It may reduce itching due to various skin conditions (including skin dryness),
- It protects you from skin damage.
You can read more about mango butter benefits for hair and skin in this article.
Is It Safe To Use Mango Butter On The Face?
Yes, it is safe to use mango butter on your face skin. But, have in mind that, although it’s entirely safe for most skin types, you should be careful if you have severe acne.
In any case, you can apply mango butter on your skin up to twice a day. If you have existing acne, or your skin is prone to them, you can rather use mango butter a few times a week.
Mango butter may act protective on your skin, as it contains vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A), minerals, and fatty acids. It has nourishing properties, and – as it encourages collagen production, it is a great choice for mature skin, as it reduces your fine lines.
As mango butter contains vitamin C, it also has powerful antioxidant properties. So, it fights free radicals and protects you from external stressors, including UV rays.
Does Mango Butter Clog Skin?
If you have acne-prone skin or oily skin, you may wonder – does mango butter clog pores?
Mango butter is non-comedogenic. In other, more understandable words, it doesn’t clog your pores.
There is actually a comedogenic scale that represents the ranking of how likely is for a specific ingredient to cause clogging of your pores. The scale uses a numbering system of 0 to 5.
What Is The Comedogenic Rating Of Mango Butter?
So, we now know that the comedogenic scale describes 5 comedogenic ratings for different natural ingredients or products, from lowest to highest. But where is mango butter?
Mango butter has a comedogenic rating of 2, which means it has a moderately low likelihood to clog pores2.
Non-comedogenic ingredients have a comedogenic rating of 2 or less. So, mango butter is generally non-comedogenic, but still, there is a small chance this creamy butter may clog your pores3, especially if you’re already dealing with pimples.
Mango butter is high in fatty acids. In fact, oleic acid is probably responsible for such a comedogenic rating, as it has a higher comedogenic rating. On the other hand, it is great for wrinkles and aging, or dry skin.
Does Mango Butter Cause Breakouts & Blackheads?
Generally, mango butter is not likely to cause breakouts and blackheads. Furthermore, when mango butter comes in contact with oxygen in the air, it produces salicylic acid.
Why is that important? Salicylic acid is a bet-hydroxy acid that is used to treat acne by exfoliating the skin, unclogging skin pores, breaking down oils, and reducing skin inflammation.
Salicylic acid in mango butter may help with “comedonal” acne caused by clogging of the pores, including whiteheads and blackheads. However, it will not help you with severe inflammatory acne presenting with redness and swelling.
Therefore, for skin that is very oily or is severely affected by acne, it would be better to choose some other among different body kinds of butter – for example, shea butter.
Keep in mind that mango butter is non-comedogenic in general, although it has a greasy texture. Make sure you keep a healthy oil balance on your skin.
Is Mango Butter Good For Acne-Prone Skin?
If you have milk acne, mango butter may have some benefits for your skin (despite the fact your skin may be feeling greasy after putting on the mango butter).
Mango butter will keep your skin hydrated, and may help you fight acne to some degree, due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
However, if you have very oily skin or skin prone to breakouts and severe acne, or struggle with clogged pores, mango butter may not be the best choice.
How To Use Mango Butter In Safe Way
In some very rare cases, it may cause reactions, such as skin irritation, allergic reactions, rashes, dermatitis, or others.
If you suspect you may be sensitive to mango butter, or you are already allergic to mango fruit, you can perform a patch test before you start using it regularly.
Put a small amount of butter on some parts of your skin (the forearm is most commonly used for this purpose, or a side of your neck).
If you notice any reaction or simply itchiness after applying mango butter, don’t use it anymore.
It is not likely that mango butter will be causing reactions – but keep this in mind before utilizing it in your everyday skincare.
What’s interesting, you can make your own, homemade skincare product based on mango butter.
For making DIY mango butter, simply mix mango butter or mango seed oil with a few drops of essential oil, as mango butter is scentless. You can even mix it with your regular skincare products and massage it onto your skin.
Last, but not least: although it may last for up to 2 years, try to keep it stored in the refrigerator, to make the best out of the mango butter’s diverse benefits.
And, for best results, put it on your skin while it is slightly damp.
Now you may enjoy your butter care-free.
The purpose of this article is informative and entertaining. It’s not a substitute for medical consultation or medical care. The author of this article does not accept any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, from any information or advice contained here. Safety should be your priority.
Resources:
- https://link.springer.com/
- https://www.byrdie.com/
- https://www.healthline.com/
