As pharmaceutical companies clean up the GLP-1 aisle, the rise of “Ozempic face”—the loss of facial volume from rapid weight loss—is creating an opportunity for beauty brands.
“During rapid weight loss, the skin is undergoing major structural remodelling,” says Beverly Hills-based oculoplastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr Kami Parsa, who recently coauthored a new peer-reviewed narrative review examining nutrition as a potentially overlooked contributor to skin changes during GLP-1 receptor agonist-associated weight loss.
“The paradox is that just when the skin may need nutritional support the most, the patient is often consuming substantially less.”
South African consumer data collected by Worldpanel by Numerator found that roughly 13% of South Africans are either using, considering, or paying close attention to GLP-1 weight-loss medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro, with the core active/considering group landing at 5% (one in 20).
Data from market research company Spate across social media channels shows that consumers on GLP-1 medications worry about facial volume loss, hair loss, skin laxity, and dental changes.
Turn up the volume
On TikTok, “Ozempic face” accounts for 60.1% of Spate’s popularity share, where medical professionals are largely driving the conversation around volume, skin laxity, lift, fillers, neck, and eyes.
According to Spate, “the opportunity for brands is less about owning the ‘Ozempic face’ label and more about tapping into the specific needs emerging around it”—such as The Ordinary’s Volufiline, formulated to target volume loss and visibly improve skin density.
Get in hair
Facial fat loss isn’t the only concern for GLP-1 consumers. They’re also increasingly worried about hair loss.
“Telogen effluvium (temporary hair loss) is triggered by the speed and scale of nutrient and weight loss, rather than by GLP-1 exposure itself,” Dr Jennifer Owens, an aesthetic practitioner from the UK-based preventative health and longevity clinic Reborne Longevity, tells Vogue Business.
Spate found that these consumers are heading to Google to find out if the drugs cause it, with the search engine getting 59.3% of the popularity share for the search term “hair loss”.
Around 8.1K average searches between August 2025 and July 2026 were for “does ozempic cause hair loss”.
The market research company suggests that the opportunity sits between medical expertise and beauty solutions, where brands and specialists can help define a space that consumers are still navigating.
Repositioning dental care
Another consumer product category that GLP-1s are opening is dental care repositioning, as people on the drug report having “Ozempic breath”.
According to Healthline, those on the drug noticed they had bad breath or foul-smelling burps.
“All medications have side effects, and the anti-obesity drugs are no exception,” says Christopher McGowan, MD, a gastroenterologist and obesity medicine specialist.
“Bad breath, or halitosis, almost universally arises from oral hygiene. Therefore, it’s crucial to differentiate where odours are arising so that they can be treated at the source.”
Spate says these products most likely already exist, and brands need to reposition them for this specific concern.
“The brand that connects an existing solution to this new occasion can enter the conversation without having to build from scratch,” says Spate.
