Photo:Getty
Getty
As the use of weight loss injections continues to trend, many patients are turning to cosmetic procedures to combat side effects like “Ozempic face.”
Ozempicis an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes. It’s one of the brand names for semaglutide — also known asWegovy— which works in the brain to impact satiety, and is the latest Hollywood weight loss fad.
Last year, Jeniffer Brown started taking Ozempic and was able to lose 40 lbs. within a year, reaching her goal weight of 125 lbs. and no longer being prediabetic without changing her diet or exercise routine.
However, she told theLos Angeles Timesthat the quick weight loss left her with unwanted loose skin and sunken cheeks. “Ozempic face” is the term used to describe the at-times gaunt appearance the injected drug can cause, due to the loss of fat.
Dr. Oren Tepper, a New York-based plastic surgeon,has said thatit’s common for weight loss to deflate key areas of the face, which can result in a person looking more aged.
“When it comes to facial aging, fat is typically more friend than foe,” he said. “Weight loss may turn back your biological age, but it tends to turn your facial clock forward.”
“My face has been what I’ve spent the most time on. It’s like a melted candle,” Brown, 47, told the outlet.
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In order to combat the “Ozempic face,” she found a plastic surgeon and started getting dermal fillers in her cheeks, jowls and jawline.
“It is a dream weight until you spend $25,000 on plastic surgery, and you go every three months to your injector because you’ve got to just continuously pump Sculptra and fillers trying to keep that skin on your skull,” Brown said.
Dr. John Diaz, a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, also told the outlet that about half of his patients are on Ozempic or similar weight loss injections.
“The patient who is more likely to take Ozempic is someone who is concerned about their weight, and that very same person is the person who is very concerned about their appearance and is more likely to seek a plastic surgeon,” he said, noting that
source: people.com
