The "Green Mask Stick" is a viral TikTok trend of a product that apparently reduces facial blemishes like acne, blackheads and dark spots on the skin. There are a number of seemingly sponsored TikTok videos of the Green Mask Stick with miraculous results, showing the product to significantly improve skin quality and appearance after only 10 minutes of use.
But is this product actually likely to improve the skin or is it just a scam? What are the ingredients in Green Mask Stick? And who manufactures this product?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions. We'll explain manufacturer issues, review every ingredient in the product and give our take on whether Green Mask Stick is worth your money.
Unclear Manufacturer
There are many “green mask stick” products online, as you’re probably aware if you’ve tried to purchase the same products used in the viral TikTok videos. There doesn’t appear to be one clear manufacturer of this product, and no branded website for this product shows up at the top of the search results on Google at the time of updating this article.
We noticed that a green mask stick brand called Meidián was the one used in most of the viral videos. The most viral TikTok video on green mask stick, which achieved nearly 10 million views, used the Meidián green mask stick. The most viral YouTube video on green mask stick achieved 9.5 million views and used the Meidián green mask stick.
We found the Meidián product on Amazon, and this is the green mask stick formulation we will be reviewing in this article.
Ingredient Review
Meidián green mask stick has four active ingredients: glycerin, kaolin, green tea extract and Vitamin E.
Glycerin is often used in cosmetic formulations for skin hydration, and we consider it an effective ingredient. A clinical trial found that a cream containing 20% glycerin improved skin hydration in volunteers, but the green mask stick company doesn’t publish the glycerin concentration of their product.
Another medical study published in the Advances in Dermatology and Venereology journal found that topically-applied glycerin was helpful in treating chronic dry skin. We’ll conclude that this ingredient is likely effective for skin hydration but not for treating skin blemishes.
Kaolin is a type of clay that’s often used in cosmetic masks. There isn’t much research backing its effectiveness. A medical review from 2021 examined the health effects of commercial clays, and concluded that “while many commercially-available bioceutical clays possess mineral constituents found in successful antibacterial clays, they do not possess any antibacterial effects.” This suggests that this ingredient would be ineffective for treating acne, which is often bacterial in nature.
We can’t locate any medical research suggesting that kaolin clay can improve skin quality in humans, nor does the green mask stick company share any, so we will conclude that this is an ineffective ingredient.
Green tea extract is the third active ingredient, and this is an effective ingredient choice. As we discussed in our review of the popular Hanacure mask, medical research has shown that green tea extract can significantly delay signs of skin aging due to inhibition of specific skin enzymes.
The final ingredient in Meidián’s green mask stick is Vitamin E, which is another effective choice. Vitamin E is proven in medical research to have a photoprotective effect, meaning it can reduce the damaging effects of solar rays on the skin, which are one of the leading causes of skin aging.
Another medical review found that Vitamin E was potentially therapeutic for inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. It can minimize inflammatory immune responses in the skin, according to the study authors.
Overall we consider Meidián green mask stick to be potentially effective for improving skin quality and for reducing acne, but we cannot recommend the product due to the brand's failure to publish a full ingredient list.
Failure to Publish Full Ingredients List
Like many low-quality brands, the manufacturer of Meidián Green Mask Stick doesn’t publish the full list of ingredients on their Amazon listing. There are four "key" ingredients shown in the product image from the previous section, and only one ingredient listed in the Ingredients section on Amazon (shown above).
Many skincare products contain some inactive ingredients, and inactive ingredients like fragrance and artificial dye may be unhealthy and irritating to the skin.
We strongly recommend that consumers avoid skincare products that fail to publish a full ingredient list. There may be allergenic or harmful ingredients that aren't listed as "key" ingredients, and it's impossible to make an informed purchase decision without the full ingredient set.
Dermatologist Reviews Green Mask Stick
One of the most popular reviews of Green Mask Stick on YouTube is published by a channel called "208SkinDoc" run by a dermatologist named Dustin Portela.
The video appears unsponsored and the dermatologist explains issues he has with this product:
Research-Backed Skincare Products
There are skincare products that contain ingredients proven in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality generally.
Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top skin cream pick because of its effective and clean formulation. It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging. We consider this to be the most powerful topical skincare ingredient. Most importantly, this serum is entirely free of questionable additives like artificial dye or fragrance.
Interested consumers can check out Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum at this link.
Hydraglow is our top moisturizer pick. It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects."
In the above-linked trial, topical bakuchiol reduced wrinkles, improved skin elasticity and firmness, and reduced photodamage (damage from UV rays). There are no questionable additive ingredients in this product.
Interested consumers can purchase Hydraglow at the secure checkout below:
The only oral supplement we recommend for skin quality improvement is Bulletproof Collagen Powder. Oral collagen supplementation was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to improve visible signs of skin aging as well as improve skin elasticity and skin hydration. The only ingredient in Bulletproof collagen is collagen peptides sourced from grass-fed animals. We recommend a dose of 10 grams per day.
Interested consumers can check out Bulletproof Collagen Powder at this link.
Green Mask Stick Customer Reviews
Meidián Green Mask Stick has been reviewed over 250 times on Amazon and only has an average review rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars at the time of updating this article, which is relatively unimpressive.
The product receives an "A" grade from Fakespot, which is a software tool that detects potentially fraudulent Amazon reviews, so at least all of the reviews appear to be legitimate.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Christopher Sullivan" who claims that the product is not effective but smells good:
"So.... this doesn't even kind of do what it's supposed to do. That said, my daughters still love them. They smell amazing and are very soft and gentle...These will NOT clean your pores or remove blackheads."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "dAnie" who claims the product is ineffective:
"Another advertisement for the green tea mask people place the item on their face and in seconds you see these blackheads, black hairs or dirt unclogging the pores- but not so for us. We didn’t see any of that, makes me wonder!"
Green Mask Stick Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Green Mask Stick Work?
We consider Green Mask Stick potentially effective for improving skin quality, but we do not believe the product is likely to work in 10 minutes as suggested by the promotional videos. Skincare products, even effectively-formulated ones, tend to take weeks to cause noticeable effects.
How to Use Green Mask Stick?
According to the instructions posted by the brand on Amazon, users should first apply the cream to the face and then allow it to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes and once the paste is fully dried, wash it off with water and gently dry the face.
Is Green Mask Stick Available At Walmart?
There is a Meidián green mask stick product available for sale on Walmart’s website, but it has a different listed manufacturer from the product we reviewed in this article. It also has no published ingredients and no reviews, so this product may be illegitimate and would recommend avoiding it.
There are other green mask stick products available on Walmart with different formulations from the one we reviewed, but we would recommend avoiding those as well because the Meidián brand seems to be the most popular version of this product.
Does the Green Mask Stick Contain Chia Seeds?
Some of the promotional TikTok videos of Green Mask Stick included chia seeds, but this ingredient isn’t in the formulation of the Meidián Green Mask Stick reviewed in this article. Topical chia seed may have a moisturizing effect, but we haven't come across any medical studies suggesting that chia seed has powerful dermatological effects such as wrinkle reduction.
