Catherine Deneuve famously warned that “at a certain age, you have to choose between your face and your ass” and at no time have her words been so percipient as the Ozempic craze becomes a global phenomenon. Yet, even as Ozempic skyrockets in popularity, so too are we seeing the rise of a side effect coined ‘Ozempic face’.
Facial fat provides significant structural support, so any volume loss often creates an accelerated ageing appearance, with sunken eyes, hollowed cheeks, loss of definition around the lower third of the face, and the appearance of deep folds and lines.
Facelift expert Mr Alex Karidis tackles the positives and negatives of Ozempic and your treatment options.
Ozempic weight loss has the same effect as any sudden weight loss. However, its impact often depends on the individual’s skin quality and age. The younger you are, the more resilient your skin will be to rapid weight loss.
I’ve treated patients recently who have lost weight in their 60s. They are finally happy with their weight, but the problem is that they have been left with too much loose skin on their face and body. You take away one issue, and you’re replacing it with another in some respects.
How Ozempic weight loss accelerates facial ageing changes
Traditional weight reduction programmes typically mean much slower weight loss than with Ozempic, similar to that experienced after bariatric surgery. There is a profound shock to the tissues, and there is little chance for the collagen fibres to realign and adapt to your new shape.
The facial changes caused by the ageing process – loss of skin elasticity and facial volume – are usually exacerbated by sudden weight loss. Often, you can mitigate ageing changes by maintaining a stable weight and retaining muscle strength to keep the skin supported. But, these men and women are not necessarily candidates for Ozempic in the first place.
One of the most significant effects of Ozempic is loss of facial fullness. Often, patients turn to dermal fillers, but if there’s been dramatic weight loss, you would need to put in so much filler you risk altering the person’s characteristics entirely, and they won’t be pleased with that either.
Treating Ozempic face
With a facelift, we can remove loose skin and redistribute the fat from where it has dropped or transfer fat from elsewhere if the patient is suitable. Surgical and non-surgical treatments always work hand-in-hand, though. A facelift doesn’t necessarily eliminate every line or wrinkle, and non-surgical treatments can further enhance your results.
The patients I’ve seen who have lost weight with Ozempic are more concerned with the changes to their faces rather than their bodies because you can hide them to a certain degree on the body.
Even though these patients are euphoric that they’ve lost weight in such a short period and there are fantastic health benefits to not carrying the extra weight around, it does raise this darker, psychological problem – that their face doesn’t match how they now feel.
To arrange a facelift consultation with Mr Alex Karidis, call 0207 432 8727 or email us on enquiries@karidis.co.uk to discuss your concerns in more detail.
