What is Ozempic Face?

Ozempic, the medication FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, has become the most well-known brand name of the entire GLP-1 class of drugs, including those approved for weight loss such as Wegovy and Zepbound. And because of that, Ozempic often gets name-checked when people are referring to GLP-1s in general.

Case in point: the phrase “Ozempic face,” which refers to how losing a significant amount of weight while taking a GLP-1 may change your facial appearance. Here’s why that name is somewhat misleading, what causes it, and if there’s anything you can do about it.

Ozempic face side effects

Ozempic face is not an official medical term, but rather something people say when they talk about the changes in your face’s appearance that may occur due to rapid weight loss, says Dr. Mark Hamilton, M.D., a board-certified facial plastic surgeon in Indianapolis. There’s no firm definition, but signs of Ozempic face can include:

• A more gaunt or hollow appearance
• Slack, loose skin
• More visible creases and wrinkles in skin
• Extra skin around the neck

That said, the term “Ozempic face” is pretty inaccurate, says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., an obesity medicine physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “It presumes that this only happens with semaglutide,” she says. (Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic.) The reality is, there are other GLP-1 medications that result in the same — if not greater — weight loss in a short amount of time, such as Zepbound (tirzepatide), as well as bariatric surgery.

What causes Ozempic Face?

Although semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, is a medication for blood sugar control, people lose about 14.9% of their weight on average after 68 weeks on the highest dose of 2.4mg. Weight loss on tirzepatide (brand name Zepbound) can hit 20.9% on average after 72 weeks. This is a pretty significant amount of weight lost relatively quickly. And it’s this speed that leads to the facial changes mentioned above.

Here’s why: When you lose weight, you lose fat, and you aren’t able to control where that fat comes off. So in addition to losing fat off your hips or stomach, you may also lose it from your face. “The emptying of facial fat causes these changes,” says Dr. Jessica Weiser, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “What we’re finding is that when people lose fat very quickly, there’s no opportunity for the skin to rebound.” So instead, it sags or gets wrinkly.

Also consider that you may not start with a lot of facial fat in the first place. “There’s less fat stored in the face than other portions of the body, such as the hip, buttock, thigh, and abdominal region,” says Stanford. So even a little bit of fat loss in the face can result in some pretty noticeable changes.

Another factor that may be coming into play: When you lose weight, you lose some muscle mass as well, which can impact your skin’s appearance. “There’s a thought that this loss of muscle may be accelerating the breakdown of collagen,” Weiser says. Collagen is the protein in your skin that provides structural support. The impact this can have on your face is still being researched, but a breakdown of collagen is associated with changes like fine lines, wrinkles, and slack skin.

Other side effects of Ozempic

Ozempic face (or Ozempic butt, which is when rapid weight loss leads to sagging skin on your butt) is not an officially listed side effect of Ozempic. That is likely because this can happen anytime there is rapid weight loss and is not medication specific. Here are the side effects of the medication, in no particular order:

• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Decreased appetite
• Headache
• Upper respiratory infection
• Constipation
• Indigestion
• Decreased appetite
• Mild low blood sugar

For a full list of side effects, read the Ozempic package insert.

How to avoid Ozempic face

If you’re starting on Ozempic (or a different GLP-1 approved for weight loss, like Wegovy or Zepbound), there are a few things you can do that might be able to keep your skin looking as plump and firm as possible. For one thing, don’t think of losing weight as a race you must win. “We encourage slow weight loss as opposed to very rapid weight loss,” says Weiser. When you lose weight more slowly, your skin has more time to rebound.

You may not be able to fully control the speed of weight loss when you’re taking a GLP-1, but make sure that you’re following healthy lifestyle habits. This includes consuming adequate protein and doing resistance exercises to maintain muscle mass, and eating a balanced diet to support collagen production for healthy, elastic skin. Think: foods rich in protein and healthy fats, as well as those that contain antioxidants, like fruits and vegetables. Need help making these changes? The WeightWatchers GLP-1 program can help you optimize your health and nutrition while on these medications, and WeightWatchers Clinic has registered dietitians and fitness coaches that will work with you one-on-one to develop healthy habits.

Ozempic face treatment

If you feel like the changes in your face’s appearance are severe enough that you want to do something about it, you will likely need to talk with a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Your options may include, from least to most invasive:

• Non-surgical collagen-stimulating procedures: These in-office procedures include ultrasound, radiofrequency, infrared treatments, and laser devices. “These help tighten skin so that we don’t see the massive sagging and laxity that comes when you lose a lot of fat out of the face,” says Weiser. These kinds of treatments may work best before starting a GLP-1 or while you’re still in the process of losing weight.
• Injectable fillers: By replacing some of the lost fat in the face, you can fill in loose areas under the skin. “We can plump the facial tissues back up by injecting fillers, typically hyaluronic acid,” says Hamilton. “This can be done in the office with a lot less effort than going into surgery,” he says.
• Surgical options: Facial plastic surgeons can tighten tissues along the neck and jawline with a lower face lift, says Hamilton. Volume can be added with fat taken from other parts of the body or facial implants. For those considering surgery, this would be done after weight loss and once your weight has stabilized, Hamilton says, adding that you should feel as if your current weight is something that is maintainable for at least five years.

Ozempic face and weight bias

Ever since GLP-1s have come on the market, there has been unfair judgment and stigma around people who take them and lose weight. It stems from the faulty idea that these medications are taking the easy way out (something that’s not true). Terms like Ozempic face can further that negativity facing people who are using GLP-1s — implying that because of how they look, they can be judged for how they lost weight. “Let’s just eliminate the term Ozempic face altogether,” says Stanford. “I think that this term is highly stigmatizing and is an adult version of name calling.”

The bottom line

Ozempic face is a non-medical term to describe how rapid weight loss can cause fat loss from the face, resulting in looser skin with more wrinkles. It has become associated with Ozempic because many people lose significant weight while taking the type 2 diabetes medication, but this can happen with other GLP-1 medications and any other type of rapid weight loss as well. A healthy lifestyle while losing weight may be able to help your skin maintain its elasticity, and there are dermatological treatments and even surgery that can improve your skin’s appearance if it really bothers you.