I lost 80 pounds on Ozempic and gained 10 years on my face. Nobody warned me about Ozempic face.
I’m sharing this because I wish someone had told me upfront. I started Ozempic last year at 245 pounds (I’m 5’6, female, 48 years old). The weight loss was incredible – I’m down to 165 now and feeling healthier than I have in decades. My A1C is perfect, my knees don’t hurt, I can actually shop in normal stores.
But here’s what nobody prepared me for: my face looks so much older now. The fat loss in my cheeks and around my eyes has left me with this gaunt, hollow look that adds years to my appearance. My coworker asked if I was feeling okay because I “look tired” all the time. My husband says I’m being too hard on myself but I see it in every photo.
I’ve heard people mention Ozempic face online but I honestly thought it wouldn’t happen to me or that it was exaggerated. It’s not. I’m torn because I love being healthier and fitting into smaller clothes, but I also feel like I traded one insecurity for another. Has anyone dealt with this? Did it get better over time or did you do anything to help? I’m considering fillers but that seems expensive to maintain long-term.
This happened to me too, though not quite as dramatic. I’m 51 and lost about 50 pounds on Wegovy. The hollow cheeks thing is real. My dermatologist explained that when you lose weight quickly, especially at our age, the skin doesn’t always bounce back and we lose that facial fat that actually keeps us looking younger. I ended up getting filler in my cheeks and a little under my eyes – it made a huge difference honestly. It’s pricey (I spent about $1800) but for me it was worth it to feel like myself again. Some people say adding collagen supplements helped them but idk if there’s real science behind that.
I’ve been reading about this issue a lot lately. One thing that might help is slowing down your weight loss if possible – like reducing your dose slightly so you’re losing 1-2 lbs per week instead of more. The rapid loss seems to be what causes the most dramatic facial changes. Also worth looking into skincare with retinol and maybe red light therapy for collagen production, though that takes months to see results. The filler route that MariaT mentioned def works faster. I’m dealing with mild ozempic face myself (44M, down 60lbs) and doing microneedling treatments which my aesthetician says can help with skin tightening.