Celery sold in the market. Photo: IC

A research institute in East China has developed a rejuvenating facial mask made from celery and is developing others in vegetable series of facial masks.

The institute extracted the active ingredients in celery, concentrated and purified them and added other natural plant materials to make their new masks, according to a report of the Shanghai Morning Post.

"Before the mask goes on the market, we will do safety tests and evaluations, and make some cautions about possible allergic reactions," said Sun Shengnan, a researcher with the institute in Shandong Province.

Sun said a facial mask made from green onions is still in development but couldn't offer other details.

Many Chinese netizens said they can't wait to try the new vegetable facial masks, but some are worried the masks might leave a weird smell on people's faces, especially the masks made from green onions.

Sun said the extraction process will eliminate the smell of the original vegetables and researchers are looking at adding spices to the masks to give them a better scent.

"Please consider using other vegetables and fruits such as coriander. They are natural and nourishing," one of Sina Weibo users wrote. Another Weibo user recommended garlics as the vegetable can kill the germs.