What Is Ozempic Face & How Can Facial Plastic Surgery Help?

The term “Ozempic face” has become a common way to describe the sunken, aged appearance of the face after significant weight loss. Fortunately, facial plastic surgery and nonsurgical rejuvenation options can address these unwanted side effects. As medications like semaglutide and other physician-supervised GLP-1 treatments have grown in popularity—not just for diabetes management but also for weight loss—more people are noticing these facial changes.

While the term Ozempic face is relatively new, other forms of weight loss can also result in similar outcomes on the face and body. The medication’s availability through physicians and compounding pharmacies, as well as its ease of use, has made it more popular than surgical weight loss options. This phenomenon is contributing to many weight loss patients asking us, “What is Ozempic face and how can facial plastic surgery help?”

Understanding the Link Between Fat Loss & Facial Aging

Fat serves many functions for our health and wellness. It is also a sign of youth in the face. Facial fullness that is seen in the young is lost, through age or other means, and begins our facial aging process. 

What Does Ozempic Face Look Like?

An Ozempic face is characterized by poor skin elasticity, sagging skin, and generalized loss of facial fat. This can give the appearance of an aged or gaunt look and is seen throughout the face, indicated by the following:  

• Deflated cheeks 
• Sagging skin, particularly eyelids, cheeks, nasolabial folds, jawline, and neck 
• Sunken-in appearance of the eyes and surrounding structures 
• Thin and elongated lips  

Before and After “Ozempic Face“

While any form of weight loss can result in facial laxity, it is believed that these facial symptoms are exaggerated by the rapid weight loss associated with the use of semaglutide and other GLP-1 agonists or bariatric surgical procedures. For many patients, their general health is significantly improved by weight loss. Despite this, many patients look aged, tired, and ill-appearing.  

How to Fix Ozempic Face

There’s an array of facial treatment options, both surgical and nonsurgical, that can help counter the effects of significant and rapid weight loss. Generally, slower weight loss may result in less pronounced aging changes. Substantial weight loss over time can still lead to similar symptoms as described above. 

Before treating Ozempic face, patients must be weight-stable so that facial procedures can have a lasting impact. Treatment during active weight loss can result in less-than-ideal outcomes.  

Outpatient Treatment Options:

• Fillers and Fat Transfer: To help counter volume loss in the face, as well as deeper lines in the skin, both dermal fillers and fat grafting may be used. Areas typically treated with injectables include the temples, areas around the eyes, the cheeks, lips, and jawline. Both fillers and fat transfer are office-based procedures done under topical and/or local anesthesia.  
• Skin Tightening: Our practice offers a range of skin-tightening devices, including Morpheus8, FaceTite, and other safe, effective nonsurgical solutions. Given the degree of laxity and loss of skin elasticity in patients who have lost a significant amount of weight, these types of devices may not deliver substantial improvement.  
• Direct Neck Excision: This procedure is performed in the clinic under a local anesthetic. A direct neck excision removes the skin beneath the chin and tightens the muscles. It results in long-lasting neck improvement/contour. The tradeoff is a scar, which most commonly heals well. The appeal of direct neck excision lies in the visible outcome it creates and the simplicity of the in-office procedure.  

This 55-year-old patient underwent a direct neck excision 6 months prior.  You can see a nice improvement in the contour and shape of the neck.  

Surgical Options:

Weight loss affects every patient differently, so I tailor your Ozempic face treatment to address your unique concerns. While younger patients generally have better, more tolerant skin, the degree of weight loss and their genetic makeup also play a role. 

We’ll discuss the following surgical options during your private consultation:  

• Brow Lift: Most commonly, a more limited incision is used to elevate the brows when treating Ozempic face. The brow lift incisions are about two inches in length and hidden in the hair.  

• Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty): A traditional upper eyelid surgery addresses the heaviness of the lid, while a lower blepharoplasty addresses skin, muscle, and fat to enhance facial appearance. We also often tighten the lower lid, which can sag due to weight loss and the natural aging process.  

• Facelift: Most commonly, I perform a high SMAS facelift, which is a deeper plane procedure that reshapes the face. This surgery restores volume in the midface, improves nasolabial folds and marionette lines, and sculpts the jawline and neck.  

• Lip Lift: With aging and weight loss, the upper lip can appear excessively long and may benefit from a lip lift. This is achieved by making an incision at the junction of the nose and lip to help shorten and evert the lip, resulting in a more youthful appearance of the upper lip. 

The above patient experienced significant weight loss and, after achieving weight stability, underwent a high SMAS facelift, upper blepharoplasty, and fat grafting.  She is shown here nearly 2 years after the procedure.  

The Takeaway: Rapid Weight Loss and Facial Appearance

Rapid weight loss, whether through diet and exercise, bariatric surgery, or medications, can have beneficial effects but also lead to noticeable changes in facial appearance. Even gradual, steady weight loss can result in facial volume loss and sagging skin. Once your weight stabilizes, consulting a board-certified facial plastic surgeon can help you clarify your goals and explore the treatment options that can restore a youthful, natural-looking result.  

Ready to Address Ozempic Face?

Restore your facial appearance after significant weight loss under the expert care of our team. Request a consultation using our online form or call us at (214) 645-3112 to schedule an appointment in Dallas or Frisco.