Look at you!! You lost 50 pounds—WOW !! Great! But no one told you how your face would look! The term “Ozempic face” describes a real, and now quite common, situation at my Columbus, Ohio, plastic surgery office.
The phenomenon of Ozempic face refers to the severe laxity of the skin and soft tissues of the face after drastic and rapid weight loss using the GLP-1 drugs. The drastic calorie deficit leads to the emaciated facial (and body) tissues, leading many patients to seek a solution from me at Aesthetica.
What Happens to Your Face After Rapid Weight Loss?
When there is a drastic calorie reduction, the body will lose both fat and muscle in the face. The skin envelope also loses collagen and elasticity, hanging loosely off the smaller structure of the patient with rapid weight loss.
How Do You Treat Ozempic Face?
To correct the signs of Ozempic face, it is important to address both the volume loss as well as the skin envelope laxity. The diagnosis is loss of fat, muscle, and skin elasticity, and excess skin.
1. Replacing Volume With Fillers
With the above issues in mind, the first step is often to replace the volume loss with fillers. There are many filler options to address different areas of the face, as well as fat if available. The temples, cheekbones, cheeks, nasolabial folds, jawline, and lips all need filling.
Fillers are a great first step, but often just not enough!
2. Adding a Surgical Solution
Adding filler is great to a point, but let’s face it, there is no amount of filler that will treat Ozempic face—because then, you would be right back to the heavier version of you. So at this stage, the skin envelope must be addressed—and corrected—and made smaller—because your whole face (and neck) is smaller.
Many patients are not ready for this fact, but it is a fact: There is no substitute for a surgical procedure, such as a facelift or neck lift, for removing inches of excess skin. There is no gadget, device, or skin tightening machine that is going to do this. It can only happen with a surgical procedure.
In my practice, I will discuss this option and clear up the hesitation. I do it in my office OR with a twilight anesthesia—so very safe and private.
3. Improving Skin Quality With Medical Skin Care
Finally, the skin itself should not be overlooked after a dramatic weight loss. To improve the skin, it is important to use the best products possible to increase elasticity. And by this I mean Retin-A. There is nothing else out there that will improve your skin like Retin-A. It increases the collagen and elastin—which is what we all need—weight loss or not. This is the easiest and least expensive thing you can do, and you need to start yesterday.
The fact is, if Retin-A weren’t so expensive—$100 for a little tube—you would rub it on your entire body! But please get some (we sell it at Aesthetica) and rub it on your face and neck forever. Then let our spa team guide you to your best skin with medical-level facials.
What About Body Contouring After Dramatic Weight Loss?
For post-weight loss body contouring surgeries, I perform all of these at an accredited outpatient surgery center for your safety. There, you’ll have anesthesiologists on site to put you to sleep and monitor you while I do the surgery, and dozens of other nurses and staff available for you.
For cases that require general anesthesia, it can be tempting to try to lower the cost by doing your surgery at a site without these safety factors, but you are rolling the dice. Body contouring procedures can address multiple areas in the same surgery, so it is even more important to have the expertise of highly trained personnel with real plastic surgeons and real anesthesiologists.
You’ve Lost the Weight—Now Let’s Address the Changes.
Congratulations! Losing weight is a huge accomplishment, with or without the GLP-1s, so you should be congratulated and feel really good about it! Yes, your HbA1C, blood pressure, snoring, and other labs and vital signs are better—but shoot, you feel disappointed about how you really look.
That is where I come in. Let me help you feel better about your face and body after your amazing weight loss. Call my Aesthetica team at (614) 569-2649 to book an appointment or use our online form to request a consultation.
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