by Dr. Marli Botha
Mango (Mangifera indica) is a sweet and delicious fruit with many benefits. It is also known as the “king of fruits” due to its impressive nutritional profile. But guess what? Mangoes aren’t just good for dessert and satiating our sweet tooth, they can also be used to beautify your skin too. Here are a few interesting beauty benefits of mangoes:
- Applied topically to the skin, mangoes can help to support a healthy skin. It does this by penetrating the skin and working directly on problem spots. Lather it up, but also remember to eat or drink mango products to double the health benefits!
- Mango butters are made from the seeds of the mango, this creamy mango seed butter is full of antioxidants that deeply moisturize your skin and leave your skin glowing. It also boasts skin cell repair due to antioxidants which defend skin against damage caused by free radicals.
- The alpha hydroxy acids in mangoes are excellent at chemical exfoliation, helping you remove dull and dry skin. The pulp of the mango fruit can rejuvenate your skin and serves as a natural moisturizer for dry skin.
- Mango skin extract can reduce dark spots and patchy skin tone. Use the powder in a mixture with milk or egg white to cleanse your face regularly. In order to make powdered mango skin, first you must dry out the skin. You can accomplish this by peeling the skin with a potato peeler then drying the pieces in the oven. The oven method can take up to seven hours at a low heat. With our heated South African summers, you can dry the peeled mango skin outside for a few days. Once skins are dried, the peels can be crushed into powder with a mortar and pestle.
- Mangoes are a rich source of vitamin A that may improve hair health. Vitamin A can activate the hair follicles. This can improve the sebum production and promote scalp health. Mix a bit of mango pulp with a bit of yoghurt and 2 egg yolks, and we are in beauty business! This mask applied to your hair for 30 minutes makes it shiny, smooth and manageable.
It is important to mention that no food is meant to be a cure-all for any condition, though there are certainly health and skin benefits contained within them. The one thing you should always do before using a new skin care product is to do a patch test to look for allergies and sensitivities.
