“Ozempic face” is a term for common side effects of the type 2 diabetes medication semaglutide (Ozempic). It can cause sagging and aging of facial skin. A doctor may recommend lifestyle modifications or facial fillers to treat these effects.
Many have reported losing substantial weight after taking the trendy drug semaglutide, which has the brand name Ozempic or Wegovy. But plastic surgeons say they're seeing a rise in patients coming in with saggy, loose skin that appears after dramatic weight loss — a phenomenon known as "Ozempic face" or "Ozempic body."
Topline. Some users of the diabetes drug Ozempic who use the drug off-label for weight loss have reported “Ozempic face” as a side effect to their rapid weight loss, causing the facial skin to sag and making them appear older.
As a result, people taking Ozempic may report the following facial symptoms: increased signs of aging, such as more lines and wrinkles. loss of fat, which can lead the skin to become loose and sag. a hollowed-out appearance.
Common Side Effects of Ozempic
“The most common side effects are gastrointestinal in nature: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.” While the majority of people who take Ozempic will most likely experience these symptoms at some point during their treatment, they should subside over time, continues Dr. McGowan.
When fat is lost, so is collagen, the scaffolding within skin that keeps it firm and plump. Your skin already naturally loses collagen due to age (consider it the worthy tradeoff for another birthday), so combine that with losing weight and it's not surprising to see droopier, wrinkled skin.
The most common side effects with Ozempic include stomach problems like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and constipation. These tend to be mild-to-moderate and usually clear up in a few weeks in most people.
A person can stay on Ozempic® so long as they are tolerating the medication and it is deemed appropriate by their treating provider. There is no specific time frame when someone should stop taking Ozempic as it is a medication that is intended for chronic (long-term) use.
Some individuals may actually gain more weight after stopping an obesity drug than they initially lost, Conde-Knape added. Studies have similarly shown weight rebound in people who stop taking Ozempic.
Because people stop feeling full and their food cravings return when they stop Ozempic, weight gain is likely, Kushner says.
Hair loss is not listed as a side effect of Ozempic, but in clinical trials for Wegovy, 3% of people reported hair loss, compared to 1% of people who got a placebo. (While Ozempic and Wegovy are the same drug, Wegovy is given at a higher dose.)
Ozempic stimulates the release of insulin and lowers blood sugar. When you abruptly stop using it, the amount of glucose in your body can spike, especially if you have diabetes. Some may end up in the ER due to sheer exhaustion from the blood sugar spikes and crashes.
Stars like Chelsea Handler, Kyle Richards and more have spoken about the diet trend. Handler, for her part, admitted during a January 2023 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she unknowingly took the medication.
Research has proven that higher doses of Ozempic — 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide — are very effective for reducing weight in people with obesity. In one landmark study, people with obesity who used the drug in combination with lifestyle interventions lost about 15% percent of their body weight in 68 weeks.
For most people, stopping Ozempic cold turkey is not recommended. When to stop Ozempic is an individual decision you should come to with the help of your healthcare provider. If your health provider agrees it's time to stop taking Ozempic, they will provide you with instructions for tapering off your dose.
Fried foods and fatty foods, such as fast food, and foods high in sugar tend to be the toughest for your body to digest and the most likely to cause nausea while taking a GLP-1 medication.
Spoiler: There was no magic diet fad involved. She lost weight over the course of two years by consistently lifting weights and doing circuit training. “My body has been objectified my entire career,” she said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Physical activity and strength training routines can help you maintain your weight loss and build healthy muscles. 6 This will help with sagging skin because the new muscles can help to fill it out. After weight loss, you don't have as much body fat to fill out your skin.
Exposure to light is a top cause of premature aging: Sun exposure causes many skin problems. Ultraviolet (UV) light and exposure to sunlight age your skin more quickly than it would age naturally. The result is called photoaging, and it's responsible for 90% of visible changes to your skin.
Ozempic works by stimulating the pancreas to release insulin, and also stops your liver from producing glucagon. This increases your insulin sensitivity while reducing your insulin resistance. It also slows down digestion and gastric emptying, helping you to feel fuller for longer.
“Some people don't have an awareness that this might have to be a medication that will be lifelong,” Dr. Alexandra Sowa, a doctor and NYU School of Medicine clinical instructor, told the Wall Street Journal. “Like any medication, when you stop taking it, it stops working,” Dr.
According to the FDA, they've received reports that patients taking the compounded version of Ozempic have had “adverse effects.” They also noted people could be using doses of semaglutide that are derived from a salt — which haven't been tested — rather than its pure form.