When semaglutide (aka GLP-1 agonists in the form of injectable Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound etc.) hit the market a few years ago, who would predict that this weight control phenomenon would send patients running to the dermatologist? But that’s exactly what happened as the term ‘Ozempic face’ hit the news.
Says Hollywood-favorite dermatologist and Althaea Skin’s founder, our own Dr. Ava Shamban, “Ozempic face is definitely real. People who had fought their weight for years were suddenly able to drop significant amounts. But along with this breakthrough came a visible increase in skin sagging, wrinkling and a general hollowness. Quite simply complexions seemed to age because the filling, plumping and supporting fat layer underneath was gone leaving the skin tissue permanently stretched out like exhausted elastic. Without professional intervention, the skin was not, is not, going to snap back on its own.
“By the end of 2024, our practices – in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, California – experienced an unprecedented influx of patients who had ever had any cosmetic dermatology treatments before simply because they hadn’t needed it. And newly thinner, now they did.
“To date,” continues Dr. Shamban, “we have had excellent results with a series of energy-based tissue contouring technologies such as Softwave. Plus, we’re able to plump up lines and furrows with injectable hyaluronic acid gels.”
Now for the game changer. What is new is that a few weeks ago, Novo Nordisk (developers of Ozempic) introduced a Wegovy pill, an FDA-approved a semaglutide tablet as an alternative to injections that delivers similar weight loss results. More tablets from other manufacturers are in the pipeline. This is going to drive the price down and significantly more people will be taking it as versus doing the self-administered injections. We’re going to be seeing a lot more Ozempic faces running around.
Notes Dr. Shamban, “Even if you invest in post-weight loss dermatology elasticity restoration, you’ll still need to sync with your skincare at home. I developed Althaea Skin and the CARA tool to partner with, and extend the results of, our office treatments. To our delight though, Althaea Skin products and CARA treatments have proven hugely beneficial even for those who don’t revise in professional revision with a doctor.”
Althaea Skin’s C·A·R·A tool in the picture
Althaea’s multimodal C·A·R·A tool delivers a collection of technologies to wake up skin elasticity: EMS (Electronic Muscle Stimulation) to restore contour through muscle re-education and conditioning, RF (radiofrequency) to support collagen synthesis, and LED (light-emitting diode) to activate metabolic mitochondrial activity (the skin’s energy engine) at the cellular level. Dr. Shamban offers up her encouragement, “So along with your new body, thanks to Althaea Skin and CARA, you’ll now be able to enjoy your renewed face as well.”
