Galderma, Natura and L'Oreal are testing treatments for facial sagging and volume loss, chasing a new market created by the boom in obesity drugs, according to RTE.ie. The companies are targeting what has become known as 'Ozempic face', a term that spread as the diabetes drug became widely associated with weight loss.
On Tuesday, October 21, reporting from London and Paris laid out how the world's biggest beauty firms are repositioning themselves around GLP-1 medications such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, which help people lose weight by mimicking a hormone that keeps the stomach feeling full. The rapid weight loss these drugs produce can leave loose skin on the face and body, and that is where the money is heading.
A $2 billion market in the making
Pfizer estimates the obesity drug market could reach $150 billion in annual sales by 2030. For skincare and medical aesthetics companies, that means a growing pool of patients seeking treatments for skin laxity and facial volume loss after rapid weight loss. Revenue from these clinical treatments is projected to grow from about $700 million to $2 billion over the next five years, according to 2025 estimates by Boston Consulting Group.
In the US, 53% of aesthetics clinics anticipate an influx of new patients due to prescription weight-loss medications, according to a 2024 report by research firm Medical Insight, cited by 93.3 The Drive. Another 43% believe increased use of these medications will drive demand for treatments addressing weight-loss-medication-induced facial changes.
What the companies are actually doing
Galderma, which is 20% owned by L'Oreal, ran a study last year evaluating how some of its existing treatments perform on skin changes associated with GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. The Swiss company makes Sculptra, a treatment that stimulates natural collagen, and Restylane, a dermal filler made with hyaluronic acid.
'Sagginess is a concern, loss of firmness is a concern, some hollowness can be of concern and dullness can be a concern,' said Anne-Cecile Chevrier, global head of injectable aesthetics at Galderma.
Chevrier said the treatments were not approved specifically for GLP-1 users, but Galderma is working with tens of thousands of plastic surgeons and other aestheticians globally who market them to patients on weight-loss drugs.
L'Oreal is also exploring this market, as Global Banking and Finance reported. 'We are now testing products on GLP-1 users in separate studies, as this group of consumers is becoming increasingly important and represents a significant number of people worldwide,' said Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, L'Oreal's chief innovation and prospective officer.
Manuel Krauss, Natura's chief innovation and R&D officer, said the Brazilian group is testing existing products directly with GLP-1 users and developing a new generation of treatments. 'GLP-1 is creating new beauty needs at unprecedented speed, but it is also showing us that the future of beauty cannot be defined by creams alone,' Krauss said, noting that future innovation may combine supplements and ingestibles.
Is 'Ozempic face' real science or good marketing?
Experts say the loss of facial volume is linked to rapid weight loss rather than the GLP-1 drugs themselves, and the picture is more complicated than the marketing suggests. According to analysts at the US health policy organisation KFF, GLP-1 drugs are used most widely by adults aged 50 to 64, an age group already experiencing declines in collagen and, particularly among menopausal women, estrogen production.
'We don't have the research and it is probably going to be a challenging study to do because most of the female patients (on GLP-1 drugs) are perimenopausal or postmenopausal,' said Heidi Young, a Northern California-based physician associate and co-owner of R+H Aesthetic Medicine.
She added that some people taking GLP-1 drugs do not eat nutritious food often, which could also affect their skin. 'I think it's definitely multifactorial and I don't think there is a direct answer,' she said.
Beibei Du-Harpur, a consultant dermatologist and clinical lecturer at King's College London, said the term 'Ozempic face' is misleading. 'The drug doesn't melt your collagen. Simply losing weight in a more sustainable, less rapid way would reduce some of the more severe changes people see,' she said.
Why a jar of cream will not fix this
Experts said some skincare products may improve the appearance and quality of affected skin but cannot fully address the underlying loss of facial volume. 'To a certain extent some of these creams can be helpful,' said Dr Graeme Glass, plastic and craniofacial surgeon and aesthetic director at British beauty brand LYMA.
Creams can work on the epidermis and contain molecules small enough to reach the dermis. 'What they can't really do is they can't alter the ligamental structure of your face,' Glass said.
'They can't reposition the deep fat pads of the face. There is a limit to what these things can do,' he added.
Du-Harpur said beauty companies were 'all desperately trying to develop a GLP-1-targeting product.' She said injectable fillers worked better than creams because they could reach the dermis, the middle and thickest layer of human skin.
'What's actually losing volume is the layer below that, the fat layer, and there has never been any evidence that topical skincare products can reach that fat layer,' she said, in remarks carried by Investing.com.
What this means for consumers
There is a fairness question here that should not be dodged. A pharmaceutical boom worth potentially $150 billion a year is now generating a second market that asks mostly older patients, many of them women, to spend again to correct the side effects of the first. If the cause is rapid weight loss rather than the drug itself, then slower, better supported weight management would spare many people the bill. That is a public health argument, not a marketing one, and it deserves a place in the conversation alongside the serums and syringes.
FAQ
What is 'Ozempic face'?
It is a popular term for facial sagging, hollowness and volume loss associated with rapid weight loss while taking GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound. Dermatologists say the drug itself does not cause the changes; the speed of weight loss does.
How big is the market for these treatments?
Boston Consulting Group estimated in 2025 that revenue from clinical treatments for skin laxity and facial volume loss could grow from about $700 million to $2 billion over five years.
Can creams fix facial volume loss?
No. Experts say creams can reach the dermis at best, but the volume loss happens in the fat layer beneath it, which no topical product has been shown to reach. Injectable fillers work better, according to consultants at King's College London.