People Are Combating 'Ozempic Face' Side Effect with Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss

“Ozempic face” is the term used to describe the at-times gaunt appearance the injected drug can cause due to the loss of fat

As the use of weight loss injections continues to trend, many patients are turning to cosmetic procedures to combat side effects like “Ozempic face.”

Ozempic is an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes. It's one of the brand names for semaglutide — also known as Wegovy — which works in the brain to impact satiety, and is the latest Hollywood weight loss fad.

Last year, Jeniffer Brown started taking Ozempic and was able to lose 40 lbs. within a year, reaching her goal weight of 125 lbs. and no longer being prediabetic without changing her diet or exercise routine.

However, she told the Los Angeles Times that the quick weight loss left her with unwanted loose skin and sunken cheeks. “Ozempic face” is the term used to describe the at-times gaunt appearance the injected drug can cause, due to the loss of fat.

Dr. Oren Tepper, a New York-based plastic surgeon, has said that it's common for weight loss to deflate key areas of the face, which can result in a person looking more aged.

"When it comes to facial aging, fat is typically more friend than foe," he said. "Weight loss may turn back your biological age, but it tends to turn your facial clock forward."

“My face has been what I’ve spent the most time on. It’s like a melted candle,” Brown, 47, told the outlet.

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In order to combat the “Ozempic face,” she found a plastic surgeon and started getting dermal fillers in her cheeks, jowls and jawline. 

“It is a dream weight until you spend $25,000 on plastic surgery, and you go every three months to your injector because you’ve got to just continuously pump Sculptra and fillers trying to keep that skin on your skull,” Brown said.

To restore volume in a patient's face, doctors will often perform noninvasive, but expensive, procedures such as injecting Radiesse and hyaluronic acid-based fillers or Sculptra injections, which stimulates collagen production. Doctors can also restore volume with a face lift or by transferring fat from other body parts to the face.

Dr. John Diaz, a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, also told the outlet that about half of his patients are on Ozempic or similar weight loss injections.

“The patient who is more likely to take Ozempic is someone who is concerned about their weight, and that very same person is the person who is very concerned about their appearance and is more likely to seek a plastic surgeon,” he said, noting that 

“A patient day doesn’t go by without dealing with somebody who says, ‘My face has changed, I’ve been on this drug and I want to do something about it,’” added Dr. Alan Matarasso, a New York City-based plastic surgeon. “We’ll see it not only on the face, but in the breasts, in the abdomen, in the thighs. What Ozempic has done is it’s opened up a whole new class of people who are considering the benefits of plastic surgery.”

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