After Weight Loss: Can You Fix Ozempic Face?

The term “Ozempic face” refers to the appearance of sagging, wrinkled facial skin and more prominent facial bones (looking gaunt) that can occur after significant, rapid weight loss.

It’s not truly a side effect of taking a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic (semaglutide), which is prescribed for weight loss or Type 2 diabetes management and other conditions like PCOS-induced insulin resistance.

This unwanted appearance follows significant weight loss because the skin has loosened and drooped, where fat is used to provide volume and stretch the skin. This can result from rapid weight loss, including taking a GLP-1, bariatric surgery, illness, or diet changes and exercise.

For this reason, some people who have lost significant weight elect to have surgical skin removal from their arms, torso, abdomen and/or thighs. This can leave people feeling more comfortable physically and with their appearance at their new weight.

While there are surgical options for the face, facelifts can be costly, require downtime, come with some level of risk (as with any surgery), and “they cannot be performed without a scar,” says Ariel Eber, M.D., a dermatologist at the University of Miami Health System. “Facelifts are not recommended if your weight may fluctuate.”

Instead, Dr. Eber recommends preventive efforts and non-surgical cosmetic treatments for unwanted facial fat loss and changes to skin elasticity following significant weight loss.

Is sagging skin on your face preventable?

Embarking on a weight loss journey and reaching and maintaining your goal weight is undoubtedly a challenge, but one that can improve your overall health, quality of life, and how you feel about yourself. Following significant weight loss, you may also experience unexpected emotions and reactions to the changes in your appearance. You may still “see” yourself at your previous size. Or, you may be startled by unexpected changes to your face, like the appearance of sagging, wrinkled skin or sunken-in eyes and cheeks.

On its own, sagging or extra skin may tighten a bit over time, but will most likely not return to its former appearance (unless you regain some weight). Those who lose weight more gradually and take much longer to reach their goal weight tend to experience less noticeable changes to their skin’s tightness (elasticity) and perceived plumpness (volume), as the skin has more time to retract gradually.

“Fat itself is metabolic,” Dr. Eber says. “There’s a lot of evidence to show that fat-derived factors help to promote increased collagen and elastin of the skin. This means that in the absence of fat, the area is not only physically volume-depleted, but also the skin quality changes due to diminished pro-collagen and elastin factors.”

Skin recovery without medical intervention is more likely to happen naturally for certain skin types and people younger than 40 due to hormone levels that support skin-cell turnover and collagen production. For men and women of all ages, significant weight loss in the face and body typically results in some degree of loose skin.

Lifestyle tips to improve the health and appearance of your skin

Before, during and after your weight loss journey, you can make an effort to limit the appearance of Ozempic face and sagging body skin with some healthy lifestyle habits.

• Stay hydrated (helps avoid dry skin).
• Avoid smoking, which can contribute to prematurely aged skin.
• Eat enough lean protein. (Consult a weight-loss specialized registered dietitian to determine the right amount to support your goals.)
• Consistently do weight/resistance training. (This can help replace some bodily fat loss with lean muscle gains. Muscle growth cannot, however, help reverse signs of fat loss in the face.)

Like fat, “muscle is also a metabolic ‘organ’,” Dr. Eber says. “With exercise and weight and resistance training, the increase in muscle mass can promote healthier skin.”

How to treat Ozempic face.

Beyond healthy lifestyle habits, you may seek out certain skin restoration treatments administered in-office by qualified dermatologists.

Dr. Eber recommends a multifaceted approach for patients on a weight-loss journey. “Even before you reach your goal weight, you can begin the following treatments, which include injectables and energy-based devices,” she says.

Biostimulators like injectable poly-L-lactic acid are prescribed to correct nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and wrinkles in the cheeks. “Recent evidence shows that biostimulator treatments like Sculptra® can promote tighter skin by working on the very same adipose-derived (fat-derived) factors I mentioned earlier,” Dr. Eber says.

Energy-based devices like radiofrequency with microneeding “can kickstart the pro-collagen cascade while you’re experiencing weight loss,” she says.

Adipose fat allograft can be injected into the face after weight loss. Dr. Eber says, “An adipose fat allograft treatment like Renuva® is excellent because it replaces lost fat in the face with your own fat.”

Dr. Eber cautions that hyaluronic acid-based fillers for Ozempic face are not as long lasting because metabolism increases can cause this type of injectable filler to be metabolized more quickly.

Find a qualified dermatology provider.

In South Florida, the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery’s Cosmetic Division at UHealth offers cosmetic procedures and a variety of skin tightening treatments performed by board-certified dermatologists.

To schedule a skin consultation, call 305-243-6704 or request an appointment online.

Tags: Anti-aging skincare, dermatology, Dr. Ariel Eber, Skin elasticity improvement, Weight loss side effects