Crunch! Snag! Snap! No, that’s not the sound of your favorite breakfast cereal. It’s the sound of dry, brittle hair compliments of Old Man Winter (and Ra, the Egyptian Sun God). The cold winter (and hot summer) temperatures have a way of wreaking havoc on your hair, but you can defeat it with an amazing butter.

Mango butter is a soft, mildly sweet smelling butter extracted from the kernels of the mango. Mango butter has been used on hair and skin for many centuries. It contains antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E, and oleic and stearic fatty acids. The fatty acids are what give mango butter its intense moisturizing qualities and emollient properties, which make your hair and skin soft and supple.

You can use mango butter alone by rubbing it between the palms of your hands to melt. Then massage it into your scalp and hair. This helps keep your scalp moist and healthy, not dry and flaky. The result is strong hair that’s not weak or brittle.

Melt mango butter in a double boiler over low-medium heat for a hot oil treatment. After the butter has melted, let cool to a safe temperature. Then apply the oil all over your hair and place a shower cap on your head for 30 minutes. Rinse out and cleanse hair with your favorite natural shampoo. Mango butter will increase your hair’s manageability, softness, sheen, and control frizz. All the curly girls out there rejoice.

Combine mango butter with other natural oils (DIY recipes), your favorite natural, nontoxic shampoo or conditioner to make an excellent hair moisturizing treatment.

When purchasing mango butter, always look for raw, unrefined, organic mango butter. Unrefined mango butter retains its regenerative properties. Refined mango butter is filtered and processed with solvents that remove its natural properties like color, aroma, texture, and vitamins.

End your relationship with Old Man Winter (and Ra). Say, “Bye-bye!” to dry, brittle hair. There’s a new sweetie in town by the name of mango butter.