How GLP-1 Medications Affect Your Skin — Treatments & Skincare
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Your weight loss journey is worth celebrating. Your skin deserves support along the way.
If you're taking a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro, you've likely experienced incredible changes — more energy, better health markers, a body that finally feels like yours. That transformation is something to be proud of.
But you may have also noticed something shifting in the mirror. Your face looks a little thinner than expected. Your cheeks feel less full. There's a laxity or texture that wasn't there before.
You're not imagining it — and you're far from alone. Approximately 3 million Canadians are currently taking GLP-1 medications, and the skin-related side effects of rapid weight loss are one of the most common concerns we hear at GLOW Beauty Bar. The good news? These changes are well understood, and with the right professional support, your skin can look and feel just as transformed as the rest of you.
What "Ozempic Face" Actually Means
"Ozempic face" is the term used to describe the facial changes — hollowed cheeks, skin laxity, deeper lines — that can accompany significant weight loss on a GLP-1 medication. But here's what's important to understand: it isn't a side effect of the drug itself. It's a natural response to rapid fat loss.
When your body loses weight quickly, the skin doesn't always have time to adapt. Facial fat pads shrink, structural support decreases, and the collagen that keeps skin firm can't remodel fast enough to keep up. Research shows that rapid weight loss can contribute to up to 25% collagen loss in the skin — and approximately 25% of total weight lost on GLP-1 medications can be lean muscle mass, which directly impacts facial definition and skin quality.
Layer this on top of the natural collagen decline that begins in your mid-twenties, and it becomes clear: your skin needs its own plan during this journey.
The Changes You Might Be Noticing
Every client's experience is different, but these are the most common GLP-1 skin concerns we see at GLOW:
Loss of facial volume — a hollowed appearance around the cheeks, temples, and under-eye area as facial fat pads shrink.
Skin laxity and sagging — looser skin along the jawline, neck, and around the mouth, where structural support has decreased.
More visible fine lines and wrinkles — lines that were once softened by facial fullness becoming more prominent.
Weakened skin barrier — increased sensitivity, dryness, and reactivity as the metabolic stress of rapid weight loss disrupts the skin's protective function.
Uneven texture and dullness — often linked to the micronutrient shifts (particularly iron and zinc) that are common with GLP-1 use.
These changes can be disheartening — especially when you're feeling healthier and more confident in so many other ways. But they're not something you have to accept or simply wait out.
The 3 Treatments We Recommend for GLP-1 Skin
At GLOW, we take a layered approach to treating GLP-1-related skin changes, combining technologies that work at different depths to rebuild collagen, restore texture, and strengthen skin from the inside out. These are the three treatments we recommend most.
1. Microneedling 3.0 — Collagen Induction + Deep Hydration
Regular: $460 | GLOW+ Members: $368
For GLP-1 clients, Microneedling 3.0 is our most comprehensive collagen-rebuilding treatment — and it addresses two of the biggest concerns at once: collagen loss and barrier dehydration.
This 2.5-hour treatment combines DP4 microneedling with a full Jet Peel facial and LED light therapy. The microneedling creates controlled micro-channels in the skin that trigger your body's natural repair response, stimulating the production of new collagen and elastin. The Jet Peel follows immediately, using a pressurized stream of saline and oxygen to deliver intense hydration and skin-specific serums directly into the treatment area — soothing, plumping, and amplifying the collagen-building benefits of the session. LED light therapy completes the treatment by calming inflammation and accelerating healing.
For GLP-1 clients, we typically recommend a series of three to six sessions spaced six weeks apart, followed by maintenance every three to four months to keep results active and consistent. Safe for all skin types, with minimal downtime.
2. Advanced Laser Facial — Maximum Laser Renewal
Regular: $790 | GLOW+ Members: $632
For GLP-1 clients experiencing more significant skin laxity, texture changes, and collagen loss, the Advanced Laser Facial is GLOW's most powerful laser treatment — and our most comprehensive option for meaningful, lasting skin renewal.
In a single one-hour session, this treatment delivers advanced laser technology at its highest level, targeting texture, pigmentation, scarring, and anti-aging concerns simultaneously. The depth and intensity of the treatment triggers a significant collagen remodeling response — exactly what skin needs after the structural disruption that rapid weight loss causes.
Expect up to seven days of downtime (redness, dryness, and light flaking) as your skin moves through its renewal process. The results that follow — noticeably firmer, smoother, more youthful skin — reflect the depth of the work happening beneath the surface. For GLP-1 clients who are serious about reversing the effects of collagen loss, this is the treatment that delivers.
3. Jet Infusion — Barrier Repair & Intense Hydration
Regular: $300 | GLOW+ Members: $240
For clients in the earlier stages of their GLP-1 journey, or for anyone whose skin has become sensitive, reactive, or depleted, the Jet Infusion is our most accessible — and often most immediately gratifying — starting point.
Using a pressurized stream of HOCL, oxygen, and targeted serums, it delivers deep hydration and nourishment directly into the skin without needles, heat, or downtime. There's no recovery required, it's safe for all skin types and during pregnancy, and clients leave visibly refreshed. For skin that's under internal stress from rapid weight loss, this is foundational care — strengthening the barrier and restoring hydration so your skin is better equipped to respond to more advanced treatments over time.
*GLOW+ Members save 20% on all facial treatments. Learn more about the GLOW+ Membership or ask us at your consultation*
Why Treatment Stacking Works
One of the most important principles in treating GLP-1-related skin changes is that combination treatments consistently outperform single sessions. When we layer technologies that address different depths and concerns — the Jet Peel for barrier and hydration, Microneedling 3.0 for collagen induction, the Advanced Laser Facial for deep surface renewal— the results compound in ways that no single treatment can replicate.
At GLOW, we don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Every new client receives a complimentary consultation with skin imaging, so we can see exactly what's happening beneath the surface and build a treatment journey that's as individual as you are. Whether you're just starting your GLP-1 journey or you're months in and noticing changes you want to address, we're here to help you feel confident in your skin at every stage.
Ready to build your plan? Book your complimentary consultation at GLOW Beauty Bar and let us know you're on a GLP-1. We'll take it from there.
Ashley Cammisuli is the Founder & CEO of GLOW Beauty Bar Inc. With over a decade of experience and 20+ professional certifications in medical aesthetics, Ashley and her team specialize in personalized, results-driven treatments that help clients feel confident in their skin. GLOW Beauty Bar is located at 1128 The Queensway in Etobicoke and has been recognized as BlogTO's Top Spa in Toronto to Get a Facial and Top Choice Award's Best Medi Spa in Etobicoke.
