Translated from Latin, Prunus amygdalus dulcis means “sweet almond”. While typically grouped with other tree nuts, an almond is actually a drupe, a fruit with an outer hull encasing a shell with the seed inside. Sweet almond seed meal is a yellow to light-tan loose powder made from ground sweet almond seeds.

In skin care, sweet almond seed meal functions as a gentle abrasive that has natural cleansing and exfoliating properties. Products that contain sweet almond seed meal as an abrasive will help to exfoliate the top layers of skin, removing makeup, excess oil, dirt, and other impurities that may have accumulated during the day. Due to these properties, sweet almond seed meal can often be found in cleansing products, as well as anti-aging and acne treatments.