Americans in GLP-1 drugs of great success such as Ozempic and Wogovy are quickly thinning, but for some, the price of that rapid weight loss is beginning to appear in the mirror.
“It makes the face much older,” Dr. Patrick Byrne, president of the American Academy of Facial and Reconstructive Plastic Surgeons (AAFPRS) told The Post.
Now, alarmed by the sunken characteristics and the fallen skin, the newly skilled patients are flooding spas and plastic surgery clinics, desperate for gigs, getting up and softening their path back to a youth brightness. These are some of the main treatments that are chasing in the war against the dreaded “face Ozempic”.
Hit the bulge, but surrender to the fall
Drugs like Ozempic and Wagovy work imitating a natural hormone in the body that tells your brain that it is full: cravings and helping many users fall pounds in record time.
“It is a much more dramatic and rapid weight loss than typically looks,” said Byrne. “Changes in the face seem more improved for that.”
The effects can be discordant. Byrne said that patients with LPG-1 often enter their office claiming that “hollows are seen. Think of the sunken cheeks, the emaciated eyes, the skin fallen from the neck, the surprise gates and the temples that seem to have yielded during the night.
And not only everyday people feel the effects. The LPG-1 are the most popular drugs in Hollywood, with several doctors who tell the Daily Mail who think that A-Listers such as Katy Perry, Sharon Osbourne, Scott Disick and Robbie Williams have been beaten by the alleged “Ozempic Face” failure.
While science is still up to date, Byrne suspects that middle -aged women can be particularly vulnerable to “Ozempic face” due to hormonal changes and a natural decrease in collagen production during the transition of menopause.
“Once our collagen begins to decrease, the skin becomes less elastic and volumetric changes under it become more evident,” Bryne said. “It looks worse.”
Filling solutions
For those who are not interested in going under the knife, facial fillings are a popular option.
“In younger patients and milder cases in which the elasticity of the skin is still reasonably strong, the fillings tend to work better,” Byrne explained.
When it comes to fillings, Byrne said that hyaluronic acid is often the best option for two key reasons.
“Looking in the mirror, suddenly I had all these wrinkles and fine lines that I had never had before.”
Mary-Beth Renfrow
“One is a natural substance within the skin and soft tissues, so there really is no significant risk of rejection or reaction,” Bryne said. “Two, is reversible.”
That means that if you are not excited with the results, it can be dissolved safely and easily with an enzymatic injection.
After throwing 130 pounds in LPG-1, Mary-Beth Renfrow was thinner, but not excited.
“Looking in the mirror, suddenly I had all these wrinkles and fine lines that I had never had before,” he said.
At first, Renfrow, 57, was not sold with the idea of the fillings, fearing that he ended with that frozen and exaggerated aspect. But after a push from his doctor, he decided to take the step.
“I thought for myself, you can have that, or it may be full of fat,” he joked.
Some fast shots of Juvederm, the popular stuffing of hyaluronic acid, around his cheeks, lips and eyes were all that was needed to bring his face and self -esteem, back to life.
“I get this confidence that I had never had before,” he said. “I felt legitimately beautiful, as if I had just over 40 years.”
Apart from a small bruise on the injection site, Renfrow had no side effects of the treatment.
However, there is a capture: the fillings do not last forever. The gel -shaped material is maintained for a few months, maybe until a couple of years, before your body absorbs it.
“He began to put everything in his place and lift him where he was supposed to be.”
Lindsey Sikora
Byrne said that other injectable fillings, such as Sculptra (a collagen reinforcement made with poly-lactic acid) and the radioesse (made by calcium hydroxyapatite), tend to last longer. But these options are not eliminated so easily, if it does.
“They carry a higher risk, so a greater judgment should be used in the patients who use them,” he said.
Laser power and ultrasound devices
The lasers are another main option to fight Ozempic Face.
While there are many types, Byrne favors radiofrequency devices that use controlled heat generated by electromagnetic waves to penetrate under the surface of the skin.
“We can stimulate collagen production, tighten the skin and address concerns such as wrinkles,” he said.
Another option: Resurgence of the fractional CO2 laser, which creates controlled micro ram to cause the body healing process, increase colgen and improve skin texture.
There are also microfocated ultrasound devices such as Sofwave that Zap directed ultrasound energy deeply in the skin, increase collagen and offer a more tight and high appearance.
Lindsey Sikora, who lowered 150 pounds through the diet, exercise and LPG-1, decided to give it a chance after detecting fine lines, falls, wrinkles and a “turkey neck” that appeared after its dramatic weight loss and the beginning of the perimenopause.
“He began to put everything in his place and lift him where he was supposed to be,” said Sikora, 41, who has also used Sofwave in his arms, stomach and buttocks. “The results are dramatic.”
So impressed with her results, the practiced nurse certified by the Board now offers technology in her own practice, fired Bar Medspa in Chicago.
“I have treated hundreds of patients, with or without an Ozempic face, and I have seen the anti -aging component of what that device can do,” said Sikora.
An inconvenience of Sofwave? It can take up to three months for the results to be shown. But Sikora says it is worth waiting for a treatment that does not require recovery time, unlike surgery.
“I like to use the analogy that to plant its garden, we are going to fertilize the ground, and then, in 90 days, its plants and flowers will grow,” he said, “he said.
The knife defends
Even with landfills and laser options in the market, cosmetic surgery is booming as Americans fight to fix their faces after weight loss.
“With a great loss of volume, especially when skin elasticity has decreased, surgical options tend to be more effective,” Bryne said.
Byrne said that the most popular procedures to which LPG-1 users are resorting to their “Ozempic” face include full and neck lifts, in addition to lower eyelid surgery to address fast weight loss toll.
He pointed out that some also opt for eyebrow and upper eyes, although less frequently, since these areas are less prone to the negative effects of rapid fat loss.
Also trends: fat graft.
In fact, facial surgeons reported a 50% increase in fat graft procedures in 2024, according to a survey conducted by AAFPRS.
This is how it works: liposuction takes fat from areas such as abdomen, hips or thighs. After processing, fat is injected into the face to restore the volume or soft wrinkles.
“It’s a good option,” said Byrne, but warned that it is still an “unpredictable” procedure, even for the general population.
“In the best circumstances, we cannot know precisely how much of the fat that is harvested from the belly or thigh and injected into the face will actually survive in the long term,” said Byrne.
The studies show that typically around 50% to 70% of the fat survives and is integrated into the new fabric. But those numbers do not apply to patients who use weight weight medications.
“It is fair to assume that in patients with LPG-1 under significant weight loss, it will be even less predictable,” Byrne said.
