In the excitement of finally identifying a safe, effective, and sustainable means of shedding your excess weight, you may find yourself self-conscious about your sagging skin. Often referred to as “Ozempic face”, “Ozempic butt”, and “Ozempic body”, sagging skin is something many on GLP-1 medications experience.
Let’s explore what causes Semaglutide skin sagging and a few non-surgical skin laxity options.
Is Skin Sagging Really a Side Effect of Semaglutide?
Yes and no. Skin laxity is not technically a side effect of GLP-1 medications, but rapid weight loss is. Although losing weight is your objective, the more weight you lose—the greater your likelihood of sagging skin. If not full-on sagging, laxity makes your skin look wrinkled and creepy.
This sagging is most likely to occur on the:
- Face
- Buttocks
- Stomach
- Upper arms
- Breasts
- Back
- Thighs
What Is Semaglutide Skin Sagging?
Your skin is resilient and naturally elastic. When you gain weight, it stretches to accommodate your weight gain. When you lose weight, your skin immediately begins the natural process of restoring its firmness. While restoration is immediately activated, the natural tightening process takes about 6 months. If you’re still losing weight during this time, it may take longer.
For example, after a woman gives birth, it’s common to have excess abdominal skin. This sagging and laxity will gradually tighten over the next few months. For some women, the skin will return to its pre-pregnancy firmness. For others, med spa skin tightening may be required to restore firmness. The same is true of Semaglutide skin sagging. Minimal laxity may self-restore, but the more severe the sagging is, the more likely a targeted approach will be required.
If you gain and lose weight multiple times (including pregnancy weight gain) the more likely medical intervention will be required.
Does Sagging Skin Pose Any Health Risks?
Skin laxity may leave you feeling a mix of emotions. Excited that you’re shedding your excess weight, and self-conscious about the loss of skin elasticity. These emotional and psychological impacts aren’t to be underestimated. Coming to terms with the fact that your body isn’t returning to its former shape or size, or that even with weight loss, your body won’t ever look like photoshopped magazines, media, and Instagram photos can lead to body-image issues. You may need to seek therapy and tools that help you love the body you’re in at every season of life. There’s only one you and you are perfectly imperfect!
In addition to your emotional and psychological well-being, skin folds can pose a variety of health risks.
This includes:
- Heat and sweat rashes
- Redness and sensitivity
- Skin breakdown
- Hygiene issues
- Limited physical activity
How Age and Lifestyle Intensify Skin Sagging?
Weight loss may be the primary driver behind your current skin laxity, but it may not be the only reason your skin isn’t firming up on its own. If your collagen and elastin have been damaged, or production has slowed for any reason, it will be difficult for your skin to recover from GLP-1 or Semaglutide skin sagging without a targeted approach.
What Is Elastin?
Elastin is a protein that enhances flexibility in the skin, organs, blood vessels, cartilage, hair, joints, and ligaments. Although elastin only represents between 2% and 4% of the skin’s dermal layer, it’s a critical percentage. Elastin enables your skin to stretch as you gain weight and move your body throughout the day. It’s also responsible for helping your skin recoil after weight loss. Elastin’s ability to recoil declines with age. Also, after prolonged periods of being overstretched. Repetitive motion can also accelerate skin laxity.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is your body’s most plentiful protein. Both your skin and your connective tissue (fascia) consist primarily of collagen. Your body produces about 1% less collagen per year beginning in your mid-20s. For women, collagen decreases another 30% in their first 5 years of menopause and 2% per year ongoing. Add to this, factors that prematurely damage collagen and elastin, and you can lose far more than 1% per year. This loss can intensify your Semaglutide skin sagging.
Other factors that damage collagen and elastin include:
- UV exposure
- Smoking
- Low-nutrient diet
- High-sugar diet
- Overconsumption of alcohol
- Sleep deprivation
How to Tighten Your Skin Post-Weight Loss?
Your skin will gradually begin to tighten within 30 to 60 days, with maximum tightening at around 6 months. The challenge is, that if you’re still losing weight during this time, it will take longer for your skin to catch up to your weight loss. There are a variety of self-guided changes you can make to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin to promote skin tightening.
- Collagen and elastin supplements: Nourish your existing collagen and elastin, which may stimulate growth, and reduce the rate at which production slows. If not supplements, foods that contain collagen including bone broth, lean meat, leafy greens, cashews, and eggs.
- Prioritize nutrition: Keep antioxidants and whole foods high, and sugar, refined carbs, and processed foods to a minimum. Also, support your skin with internal and external hydration. Internally, drink about half your body weight in water per day. Externally, apply topical serums and moisturizers.
- Sleep: Managing your weight loss requires your body to work overtime. Most of your cellular and tissue repair occurs while you sleep. So, if you aren’t getting enough sleep as you’re losing weight, natural tightening may be delayed.
- Boost circulation: Any activity you engage in that boosts full-body circulation helps your body deliver antioxidants and growth factors throughout the body. This includes stretching, massage, steam, sauna, red light therapy, exercise, and more.
- Topical skincare products: Vitamin C, retinol, retinoids, and hyaluronic acid are all ingredients that may boost production and replenish skin elasticity. Most topical products are formulated for the face, neck, and décolletage, but you can find topical lotions designed for whole-body Semaglutide skin sagging.
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): As mentioned above, one of the many side effects of menopause is an accelerated loss of collagen and elastin production. This may be minimized with hormone replacement therapy.
- Med spa treatments: There is an exciting range of minimally invasive, non-surgical med spa treatments that may be able to address skin laxity. Below, we detail the options available at Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa, all of which require little to no downtime.
- Surgery: If excess skin is severe and causing health and hygiene problems, surgery may be the best option. Surgery comes with inherent risks, and recovery is extensive, but for some, it is the only way to resolve hygiene, health risks, and range of motion.
What Is Med Spa Skin Tightening?
Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa provides a variety of non-surgical treatments that can address Semaglutide skin sagging, post-pregnancy skin tightening, and laxity caused by aging and other factors. These treatments are scientifically proven to stimulate collagen and elastin production. In addition to tightening your skin, these treatments contour the body, accelerate fat loss, improve skin quality, and firm, smooth, and rejuvenate skin. We may suggest a combination of treatments for optimal results.
Forma
Forma Skin Tightening is a top option. This revolutionary treatment utilizes painless radio frequency to promote the regrowth of collagen.
It can be used to tighten skin on the:
- Nasolabial folds
- Crows feet
- Jowls
- Neck
- Forehead
Morpheus 8
Morpheus 8 is another exciting option to consider. It combines radiofrequency and microneedling to contour, tighten, and resurface skin. One of the factors that make Morpheus 8 unique, is that it can be used to minimize sagging on the face and body.
It can be used to treat the:
- Face
- Jaw
- Neck
- Arms
- Abdomen
- Back
- Labia
- Legs
- Hands, feet, & armpits to treat hyperhidrosis
Thread Lift
We offer a few types of Thread Lift Treatments for the face and neck. Threads are often referred to as a non-surgical facelift. In addition to a lifting effect, threads stimulate collagen production, improving the texture and tone of skin over the next 6 to 12 weeks.
Threads are effective for:
- Nasolabial folds
- Jowls
- Marionette lines
- Overall face and neck aging
Want to Address Your Semaglutide Skin Sagging?
If you live in or around Phoenix, Tempe, or Glendale and have skin laxity of any kind—we invite you to schedule a complimentary consultation with Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa. During your consultation, we’ll discuss your objectives and whether you’re a candidate for non-surgical aesthetic treatments to firm, tighten, and rejuvenate your skin.
We also provide supervised Semaglutide injections and weight loss programs to take a multi-pronged and personalized approach to weight loss, health, and wellness. Supervising your weekly injections tailors your weight loss and minimizes the side effects that can come with GLP-1 medications.
Our rates are less than paying out of pocket for most weight loss medications:
- $71.95* per week for Semaglutide
- $395* per month for Semaglutide
*Prices are subject to change.
