Ep 197 - Ozempic Face: Managing the Esthetic Consequences of Rapid Weight Loss

0:00:00.0 Ella Cressman: Do you see yourself as the rebel who challenges the status quo on skin health? Learn how to be a critical thinker, discover innovative solutions to skin conditions, and facilitate individualized healing on a deeper level with Truth Treatment Systems. Truth Treatment Systems provides you the products and tools to unveil the truth behind skin conditions. Sign up for a wholesale account today at truthtreatmentspro.com and receive 10% off your first order. That's truthtreatmentspro.com. 

 

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0:01:32.3 EC: Hello and welcome to ASCP Etsy Talk. I'm Ella Cressman, licensed esthetician, certified organic skincare formulator, international educator, and content contributor for Associated Skin Care Professionals. 

 

0:01:44.6 Maggie Staszcuk: I am Maggie Staszcuk, licensed esthetician and ASCP's education program manager. 

 

0:01:49.8 EC: And we have a shout-out. We'd like to say hey to Euphoric Transcendence out of Conroe, Texas. Thank you for tuning into Etsy Talk and also for watching an archived presentation on energy healing in the ASCP video library. There's a lot of stuff in there. 

 

0:02:05.5 MS: Oh, there is. Yeah. We're always adding. 

 

0:02:07.7 EC: And I was like, "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." So today we're gonna talk about... Speaking of adding things to our repertoire and our vocabulary. Today we're going to kind of introduce something that is spreading like wildfire, wouldn't you agree?  

 

0:02:24.6 MS: I would, yes. This is huge right now in the industry. 

 

0:02:26.3 EC: Yeah, absolutely. And it's interesting because I have a personal story about this too. But today we're gonna talk about Ozempic and more specifically what experts are calling Ozempic face, which is the effects of using it and how does that relate to the ____ aesthetic industry? So I do wanna share. About a year ago, last summer, I've been struggling with a lot of things and one of them is my weight. And I was reading a paper and it was talking about this certain peptide that you can use and how it was really indicated for diabetes but they were seeing a lot of help for weight loss. And at the time I thought, "Oh, my gosh. Finally." Because it was describing me to a T in this research paper, what I thought was me to a T. And so I reached out to my doctor, I explained, "Hey, I'm reading about this thing. I wanna try it." 

 

0:03:16.8 EC: And this was... I wanna say this was August 2022. And so they prescribed this medication August 2022. It was outside of insurance. It was gonna be $1800 a month. Oof. Right? I'm like, "I'll figure it out. Let's scrounge it up because if this works, finally something." And there was none available. Wrote the prescription, went to the pharmacy, nothing available because they had sold out. So that was the beginning of what we've seen now, which is so many people starting to use Ozempic or this semaglutide for weight loss. And now the production is caught up. There's now a lot of different opportunities for it. I never got to use it, ever. So it's interesting. I'll share some other stories a little bit later. But still, I'm super interested in it. And so I ran across an article, when was that? Maybe a month or two ago. And it was talking about the Ozempic face and aesthetics and why people in the aesthetic field needed to be aware of it because there is some consequence aesthetically that happens. So before we get into that, let's talk about what is Ozempic. Maggie, do you wanna talk about Ozempic and what it is?  

 

0:04:30.1 MS: Yeah. So what is Ozempic? Ozempic is the brand name of a medication, semaglutide, that improves insulin resistance and was developed as a treatment for diabetes. And it's a type of drug called a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor. Mounjaro is a combination of drug that acts on the GLP-1 Receptor along with another receptor in the brain called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide or GIP. So simply Ozempic and Wegovy equal semaglutide Mounjaro, which equals tirzepatide. 

 

0:05:08.0 EC: Yeah. So they're very similar in how they work. It's prescribed for type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance. So you see insulin resistance also in other conditions like PCOS. So people who have polycystic ovarian syndrome often sometimes have insulin resistance. And people who... It's thought that some people who are weight loss resistant could also be insulin resistant. So this is where this came in. So Ozempic and Wegovy, when available, are the most prescribed also for weight loss. You may have also seen some of the commercials for organizations now where before it was exercise and eat right, and now there's different organizations, a couple. One just comes to mind. It's called Found instead of lost. I think they're playing on the words. But they are really pushing, "Don't be afraid to lose weight with medicine." It shouldn't be a thing. So this is one of the medicines in there. Also, there's some other things like phentermine or metformin or some other things in that category. But semaglutide is a peptide that works to mimic this GLP-1 and that targets this area of the brain that regulates appetite and food intake. 

 

0:06:14.3 EC: So really when I was reading it, I was misreading this study thinking, "Oh, it's actually gonna change the mechanism that's not working in my body." But the truth is, it works. They're comparing it to weight loss surgery because it cuts off your appetite. 

 

0:06:28.2 MS: Interesting. 

 

0:06:29.4 EC: It makes you think you're still full. And my cousin who we have the same condition, it's called IIH, and we were comparing notes and one of the things they want you to go through something like this. So she ended up on Ozempic. She was just like they said you won't be full, but it slows down your digestive track so much that it's uncomfortably moving. I won't go into detail, but it's moving very uncomfortably slow and you're just not hungry. So very similar to a gastric bypass, where it's just not a lot of room for anything left. These drugs have been FDA-approved for managing type 2 diabetes and treating obesity, Wegovy specifically, they just recently approved it. Obesity, it's like medical obesity. They have also been prescribed off-label to individuals without diabetes or clinical obesity. So people who wanna lose 10 or 15 pounds are going on these things and losing weight fast. 

 

0:07:32.2 EC: And that brings us into the ____ aesthetic side because the rest of that is very interesting. However you choose to use this medicine, it's between you and your doctor and you are the one who should decide if you are. I decided it wasn't for me right now because of some other things going on. I'm still gonna watch and see, wanna watch and see. And it's exciting for me. I don't know if exciting is the right word. I don't know what you would say, but it's interesting for me to watch some celebrities I see, I'm assuming they use it or other people. So we went from this gaunt-like supermodel, really long and lean look, to this beautiful curvy look and now to this slim down look again being popular, but I'm wondering if it's going to be sustainable long-term just from head to toe. What do you think?  

 

0:08:26.9 MS: Yeah, I agree with you. We haven't yet described Ozempic face, but for those of you tuning in, you can't miss it. It's all over the media. And it goes in line along with this trend where getting buccal fat removed was also hugely popular. So the sunken, hollowed outlook is the only way to describe it. And... 

 

0:08:48.1 EC: Hungry. 

 

0:08:48.2 MS: Yeah. Hungry. Yeah. Yeah. But like you're saying we went from this really slim model appearance to now having a figure was the trend and attractive. And now we're going back to this super slim, supermodel type. And the '90s are on trend and that's what I kind of think of. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, like stick figure, no eyebrows. That's kind of the thing right now. 

 

0:09:15.8 EC: Kate Moss. 

 

0:09:17.2 MS: Kate Moss. Yeah. 

 

0:09:18.0 EC: Yeah. So hopefully I'll come back to Marilyn Monroe and... 

 

0:09:21.1 MS: Totally. Yeah. 

 

0:09:22.3 EC: Love them or hate 'em, the Kardashians and everybody that got all those services done. We talked about in previous podcasts. So let's talk about what is Ozempic face and why this is important to understand for the aesthetic industry. Ozempic face is a term that's used to describe, like Maggie was saying, that sunken deflated look. And that happens after rapid drastic weight loss. And the reason that it happens like that is because you have lost so much weight so quickly that the skin doesn't shrink-wrap at the same rate. So the adipose is gone, but the epidermis and dermis are still adjusting. As they adjust when you expand they have to adjust when you contract, would be the best one. The other thing that's really popular now is full body, a full body approach. So specifically in the face, the neck, the arms, even the hands and the the knees and the upper legs. It results in the saggy skin. So in the face it makes the facial bones more pronounced. And this volume loss is especially notable in the lower cheek and temple area. This leads to that hollowed-out facial appearance and the result is what some describe as prematurely aged look. Hold that thought. We'll be right back. 

 

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0:11:28.3 EC: Okay, here we go. Let's get back to the podcast. 

 

0:11:32.2 MS: And losing fat in the face, it's a normal part of any weight loss. However, this phenomenon of Ozempic face comes about when you lose an excessive amount of weight, typically in a short period of time, just like you said, Ella. And when you gain weight, your skin's collagen and elastin, the components, as you know, that keep it firm and flexible, they stretch out to accommodate and increase the volume. And if you lose this volume too quickly, the skin remains stretched and the rapid volume loss doesn't give the skin enough time to bounce back and adjust to the changes. And it's resulting in that saggy skin look, that premature aging look. The new saggy skin combined with this loss of facial volume creates this sunken aged appearance and that's what's being referred to as Ozempic face. 

 

0:12:18.8 EC: Which is important to understand because... Ring ding ding. That's my sound of my magic wand. You wanna hear it again?  

 

0:12:27.7 MS: Yeah, I do. 

 

0:12:29.0 EC: Ding ding ding. This is what we have as aesthetic practitioners and it's why it's so important not just to learn a product line or just to have services, but kind of understanding what ingredients do or what particular modalities do so that you can combine them to get a desired effect and then be able to customize it. But on this one particular, what you have to be aware of is what do we need to do to get it back? So what are we looking at modality-wise? What do we need to be aware of? Like what is happening in the skin? So the first, with that volume loss, we need to encourage that elasticity. How do we encourage skin to firm back up? The other thing to consider is that facial fat serves as protective function and it affects facial aesthetics and elasticity. The other thing to consider is that this effects of medicine, encouraging loss of appetite, it could mean imbalanced nutrition, and if you have imbalanced nutrition that can influence skin health. And if it's slowing digestion, that can also influence skin health. 

 

0:13:32.8 EC: So when you have this presentation at a consultation, some things you might need to be aware of is obviously laxity, but potentially dullness, skin dullness, and also potentially acne outbreaks, hormonal changes. All of those are affected by that lack of complete nourishment. This is just guess, by the way. Let me disclaim that. This is my assumption of what's happening based on some of the people that I've actually had come in who are on Ozempic. 

 

0:14:04.7 EC: So how do you address the consequences? This is something that both Maggie and I say every podcast, nearly, is the consultation at each appointment is so important. You have to understand maybe they're not going to bring it up right away. Maybe you're noticing something. I had a client come in over the weekend and she looks really good. My mind goes, "Ah, Ozempic," 'cause I'm only judgmentally looking at her frame as she walks in the door. "Oh, you look really good. What are you up to?" And it wasn't. She's doing the bodybuilder diet. So similar as far as nutrition goes, but very different. So one thing to keep in mind, this is an excellent opportunity because of this, for home care, some things to consider in your home care is first and foremost peptides, especially signaling peptides that encourage collagen and elastin production. So if you're looking at ingredients, one example would be palmitoyl pentapeptides. 

 

0:15:03.4 MS: Antioxidants is another good one that's gonna strengthen skin defense or encouraging collagen production like Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Ascorbyl glucoside. 

 

0:15:14.2 EC: Vitamin A and derivatives are also something to keep in mind because of the way that they encourage cellular regeneration. So proliferation and differentiation, big words, but meaning new skin cells are forming. The more new skin cells that form the tighter the skin potentially. So whether they're prescriptions or low percentages for daily use, whatever you prefer, whatever is appropriate for the client. Also, nutrients. One thing that's super on the tip of my tongue lately is minerals. Because I've been reading a lot about the mechanism of alpha hydroxy acids, specifically, how that happens. And that just sent me down a rabbit hole of minerals. Minerals are essential for skin hydration and skin hydration will have a positive influence on skin firming and overall skin health. 

 

0:16:01.4 MS: I think another good one is omegas. 

 

0:16:04.3 EC: Oh, yeah. Omegas to keep things nice and pliable and hydrated, moisturized from the inside out. For sure. Also keeps the cells really healthy and viable. So let's talk about professional treatments. Maggie, what do you think about professional treatments?  

 

0:16:18.5 MS: Yeah, we talked about boosting collagen and elastin and also tightening up the skin. There are a lot of options on the market for that. For example, truSculpt for skin tightening. Think in terms of radio frequency. There's also ultrasound that can help to firm and tighten the skin. Dermal fillers is another great one. Laser rejuvenation, of course. Your collagen induction therapies, and these are some of them that we're mentioning here. But you can also do more basic aesthetic services like gua sha. Even just your basic facial massage for stimulating. And last resort, facelift. 

 

0:16:57.0 EC: Yeah, never discount that facelift. I would say ride it out though. Let's see how this trend goes. We're looking at it, really. We're just a couple years into it. So I read this article, because remember I'm obsessed and they were saying that they... The prediction was people were gonna get on Ozempic for two years because then they get bored. 

 

0:17:15.7 MS: Oh, interesting. 

 

0:17:16.4 EC: The food is such a part of our culture, going out to eat and celebrating or whatever. The passion too, that there's passion in food that after two years people might get bored. It was what happened to me when I was on those strict diets. I was doing so good but I was so bored. So we'll see. And of course make sure that they keep up on the regular facials. I think that this is an awesome opportunity to really emphasize the importance of the professional in counteracting this Ozempic face. So just a couple things, some key takeaways from the original article that was in healthnews.com talking about Ozempic face. Let's just recap. Ozempic face describes an aged sunken facial appearance resulting from rapid weight loss, not directly from the medication itself. 

 

0:18:07.8 MS: Those over the age of 40 and individuals with lower body fat percentages, they're more likely to show more noticeable Ozempic face characteristics. 

 

0:18:16.3 EC: I'm safe. Well, some view Ozempic face as a negative side effect. Others view it positively, associating it with significant health benefits of losing weight itself. And like I said, ding ding ding, my magic wand can fix it. 

 

0:18:32.2 MS: And aesthetic treatments are available to address the volume loss and skin laxity associated with Ozempic face. 

 

0:18:38.4 EC: You know what, Maggie, the other thing that's interesting, I don't know if you've noticed. Maybe it's in my algorithms, but as I'm scrolling through, just as I mentioned, obsessed, what I started seeing was these medical aesthetic clinics like med spas now starting to offer semaglutide shots. 

 

0:19:01.1 MS: Yeah. So interesting. You have these spas, med spas, whatever. They're all jumping on the bandwagon, whatever the trend is. 

 

0:19:09.8 EC: Yeah. So we'll see. If right now we spend a lot of time talking about what can we do to counteract it, counteract the effects histologically. But something else to consider is keeping an open mind if this is something you wanna bring into your practice. If you have a medical director or if you're a medical practitioner, are you gonna bring this into your practice? Is it gonna be good? I'm really curious to see how this goes. So I'll be watching and maybe I'll be partaking. We shall see. 

 

0:19:37.4 EC: Now, listeners, we really wanna hear from you. What are your thoughts on Ozempic face? Do you have any clients who are currently taking these medications or who have experienced the dermatological effects of rapid weight loss? We wanna know all the details. Comment on our social media posts or send us an email at getconnected@ascpskincare.com. In the meantime, thank you for listening to ASCP Etsy Talk. For more information on this episode or for ways to connect with Maggie or myself, or to learn more about ASCP, check out the show notes and stay tuned for the next episode of ASCP Etsy Talk. 

 

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