First, let me say something I hear often: “I worked so hard to lose the weight. Why do I suddenly look older?”
If you have experienced significant or rapid weight loss—whether through GLP medications, bariatric surgery, or lifestyle changes—you may have noticed something you didn’t expect. Your body looks healthier, but your face may look thinner, more tired, or less defined. You may even notice changes in your neck and jawline.
This is what has become commonly known as “Ozempic face.” And while the name is catchy, the science behind it is much more interesting.
Why does “Ozempic face” happen?
When we lose weight, we don’t get to choose exactly where fat comes off. The face contains multiple superficial and deep fat compartments that contribute to youthful contours and structural support. Significant weight loss can reduce some of that facial volume, making hollows, folds, shadows, and laxity more noticeable. Research on GLP-1-associated weight loss describes changes involving facial fat compartments, soft-tissue support, and skin laxity.
The result isn’t necessarily that you’ve suddenly “aged.” Rather, the architecture of your face has changed.
And this is where I believe education matters.
Restoring your face isn’t simply about “adding filler.”
This is one of the biggest misconceptions I see. There isn’t one filler that is right for everyone, and more product does not necessarily mean a better result.
Different injectable products have different compositions, physical properties, behaviors in tissue, and purposes. Hyaluronic acid fillers, calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), and other biostimulatory products don’t simply do the same thing in different packages.
For example, Radiesse is a calcium hydroxylapatite-based injectable that can provide structural support while also being used in appropriately selected, diluted formulations as a collagen-stimulating treatment. Clinical consensus and published literature describe its use for improving skin quality and laxity in areas including the face and neck.
That doesn’t mean Radiesse is automatically the right answer for someone experiencing post-weight-loss facial changes. In some patients, strategically placed hyaluronic acid may be more appropriate for restoring specific areas of lost volume. In others, collagen stimulation, skin-tightening technology, or even surgical consultation may make more sense.
The goal isn’t to put something in your face. The goal is to restore what has changed.
Natural results begin with the right plan
This is where experience and anatomy become incredibly important.
The face is three-dimensional. It has layers, compartments, ligaments, muscles, bone, and skin—and each person’s anatomy is different. Research has shown that understanding these individual facial fat compartments is essential when developing a customized approach to volume restoration.
So when you come in for a consultation, I don’t want to simply look at a line or wrinkle and tell you what product to inject into it.
I want to understand why that line or shadow is there in the first place.
Is it volume loss? Skin laxity? Loss of structural support? A change in the cheek? The jawline? The neck? Or a combination of several things?
And just as importantly, where and how a product is placed matters.
The same product can produce very different results depending on the anatomy being treated, the tissue plane, the amount used, and the injector’s understanding of facial structure. Published consensus recommendations for CaHA emphasize specific injection approaches and anatomy for different facial and neck applications.
You don’t need to look “filled.” You want to look like yourself.
That is always the goal I have in mind.
After working in aesthetics for more than 30 years, I have learned that the best aesthetic treatment isn’t necessarily the newest treatment—or the treatment everyone else is doing. It is the treatment that makes sense for you.
My complimentary consultations are designed to be conversations, not sales appointments. I want you to understand the science behind the products we discuss, why I may recommend one approach over another, what the treatment can realistically accomplish, and just as importantly, what it cannot.
You deserve to know the how and the why before you make a decision.
If you’ve lost weight and don’t quite recognize the face or neck looking back at you in the mirror, please know that you’re not alone—and you don’t necessarily need to “fix” everything.
Sometimes, restoring just the right amount of support, volume, and skin quality can help bring back the balance you recognize in yourself.
On a Side Note: If you’re beginning a weight-loss journey and are concerned about the facial volume loss that can accompany weight loss, there are proactive treatment options to consider. The key is timing and an individualized treatment plan—rather than waiting until significant volume loss has already occurred.
My philosophy is simple: your treatment should be as individual as you are. Education comes first, because trust isn’t earned by persuasion. It’s earned by giving you the information you need to make a confident decision.
Cindy Kosor, L.E.
Vice President of Operations
Denali East Group Concierge Medicine & Aesthetics
DenaliEastGroup.com / 252.368.0090
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