We're not a medical practice and this isn't medical advice. This is a look at what's actually changing when people describe "GLP-1 face," and what skincare can and can't do about it.
If you've spent time in weight-loss or skincare corners of the internet lately, you've probably seen the term "GLP-1 face." It is a non-medical term used to describe facial changes some people notice during weight loss, such as a hollowed, looser, or older-looking appearance in the cheeks, temples, and under-eyes. This article is about what's actually happening to skin when that happens, and what skincare can realistically do. No inflated claims, and no pretending skincare can do a filler's job.
What is "GLP-1 face"?
"GLP-1 face" is an informal term for facial changes some people notice during significant weight loss, including weight loss while taking prescribed GLP-1 medicines. Current evidence suggests facial changes are primarily associated with the amount and rate of weight loss. Whether GLP-1 medicines also have direct effects on skin or fat tissue remains unsettled.
Why it happens
Facial fat pads give skin its fullness. They're what keep cheeks looking plump rather than hollow, and skin looking taut rather than loose. When someone loses weight quickly, those fat pads shrink along with fat everywhere else in the body. The timing is the issue. Skin doesn't have the same ability to "shrink to fit" as quickly as the fat underneath it disappears. A gap opens up between the smaller volume beneath and the same amount of skin covering it. The result can read as hollowing, looseness or more visible lines.
A 2025 study published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (Sharma et al.) used CT and MRI imaging to measure this directly in 20 people taking GLP-1 medications. It found a median 9% decrease in total midfacial volume, concentrated more heavily in the more superficial fat layers than the deeper ones. On average, that worked out to roughly 7% of midfacial volume lost for every 10kg of total weight lost. It was a small retrospective imaging study of 20 people, so it describes that group and is not a universal number everyone will experience identically. But it's direct imaging evidence for something a lot of people have been describing anecdotally.
What skincare can and can't do about it
We want to be straightforward about this: no serum or cream replaces facial volume the way a dermal filler does. Nothing in a bottle reverses what's happening to fat pads underneath the skin. If you're looking specifically to replace lost facial volume, that's a conversation for a dermatologist or facial plastic surgeon, not a skincare routine.
What a simple, consistent routine can do is look after the skin that's covering that changed volume. It can help skin feel more hydrated and comfortable. That's a modest, realistic goal, and it's the one we're focused on here.
Does the pace of weight loss make a difference?
It's a reasonable question, and the answer is: probably, though it hasn't been studied directly enough to give a precise number. What is well established is that skin's ability to retract and adapt to a smaller frame (its elasticity) depends on the same collagen and elastin network that naturally declines with age. That network doesn't change instantly to match a fast-changing shape underneath it. This is part of why weight lost gradually is generally understood to give skin more time to adapt than the same amount lost very quickly. That said, GLP-1 medications are typically used over months rather than weeks. It isn't a reason to avoid or slow a prescribed medication. That's a conversation for the prescribing doctor, based on the individual's own health goals. But it's a reasonable expectation-setting point if facial changes are a specific concern being discussed with a doctor.
Hydration also plays a real, if supporting, role here. Well-hydrated skin simply looks and behaves more resiliently than dehydrated skin, regardless of what's happening to the volume underneath it. This is a well-known basic principle of skin physiology, not a claim specific to weight loss. That's a genuine part of why a hydration-focused step is included in this routine.
Looking after your skin day to day
Whatever's behind the changes you're noticing, a simple, consistent routine helps skin feel hydrated, soft and comfortable. These three work well together:
- Brightening Glycolic Acid Toner: an exfoliating toner containing glycolic acid (an AHA), used for smoother-feeling skin.
- Hexapeptide Smoothing Serum: a silky serum with 2% Hexapeptide-11, multi-weight hyaluronic acid and blueberry and strawberry seed oils, for skin that feels soft, supple and hydrated.
- Shea Marine Night Cream: a rich overnight formula built on algae extract and marine plankton extract (Alteromonas ferment extract), alongside shea and cocoa butters, for a rich, comforting feel overnight.
Together they make a routine that feels good to come back to. The toner leaves skin feeling smoother and looking brighter, the serum leaves skin feeling soft and hydrated, and the night cream wraps skin in rich, comforting moisture overnight, so you wake to skin that feels soft, supple and cared for.
How to use them together
Morning: cleanse, apply the Hexapeptide Smoothing Serum, then moisturiser and a broad-spectrum SPF 30+. This matters every day, regardless of when you use the toner.
Evening: cleanse, then the Brightening Glycolic Acid Toner (follow the product label, start slowly, and stop if it causes irritation), apply the serum, then finish with the Shea Marine Night Cream as the last step before sleep.
Consistency matters more than any single application, and a routine you can actually keep up with is more useful than any one product used once.
If you'd like one place to start, a hydrating serum is the simplest step. Ours is the Hexapeptide Smoothing Serum.
Sources
This isn't medical advice. Talk to your doctor or a dermatologist if you have concerns about facial or skin changes on a GLP-1 medication.
The short version
"GLP-1 face" explained: why rapid weight loss can affect facial fullness and skin firmness, the real research behind it, and what skincare can and can't do.
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