Celebrity nutritionist Rose Ferguson has revealed that more of her clients have been getting “scared” by the development of the so-called “Ozempic face” from weight loss drugs.
The 49-year-old former model, who is close friends with Kate Moss and has 116,000 followers on Instagram, says a wave of people have come to her concerned about the transformation to her face due to drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Both medications contain semaglutide, which is not a targeted drug and as such not only causes fat loss around the stomach and thighs, but from the entire body, including the face.
It works by mimicking the effects of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is released in the intestine after eating and sends a message to the brain that a person is full.
While Ozempic is approved in the UK for type 2 diabetes, it can be prescribed “off-label” as a weight loss medication.
Former model turned nutritionist Rose Ferguson, 49, says a wave of people have come to her concerned about the transformation of their face due to drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Weight loss medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutide, which is not a targeted medication and causes fat loss throughout the body, including the face.
Wegovy and Ozempic work by causing the body to produce a hormone called GLP-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals.
In recent months, celebrities who have taken weight loss medications containing semaglutide or similar have appeared emaciated, with sunken eyes and sagging skin.
Celebrities who have developed “Ozempic face,” either because they have taken such medications or due to other weight loss methods, include John Goodman, Robbie Williams, Scott Disick and Sharon Osbourne.
Now Ferguson has reported that more women are coming to her for advice on how to stop taking those weight-loss medications, fearing that the medication could affect their appearance.
speaking to The timesFerguson said: “A few months ago there was a lot of negativity about Ozempic, so now a lot of people are freaking out.”
“Ozempic’s face has not gone down very well.”
She added that she was concerned about people who are not necessarily overweight and use Ozempic for cosmetic reasons rather than to lose weight.
“It’s a very complex relationship for a lot of people and I’m not necessarily sure Ozempic is helpful in that regard.”
Ferguson said most people can lose weight by eating healthier, including good fats, increasing their water intake, smoking and drinking less, and taking fewer medications.
He said his goal is to help people who want to stop taking Ozempic, which can have the side effect of regaining weight after stopping doses.
Explaining the ‘Ozempic face’ phenomenon in more detail, Dr Smita Ramanadham, a New Jersey plastic surgeon, recently told DailyMail.com: ‘The Ozempic face has essentially the same characteristics that we see when patients have a loss of quick or regular weight.
‘We see a loss of volume in the face, and when we lose fat in the face we see signs such as more sunken cheeks, more sagging skin and a general hollowing out of the features.
“Sometimes it can have the effect of making a person look older, because the fat in our cheeks is what gives us a more youthful appearance.”
Fans shared concerns about whether Sharon (pictured in 2020) was ‘sick’ after her third weight loss after taking Ozempic, because her face was visibly less full.
John Goodman, 71, is an example of the ‘Ozempic face’, or how the face changes after rapid weight loss, experts said because of the deflated look of his cheeks and sunken eyes. They also pointed out more wrinkles on his face.
Robbie Williams revealed that he lost 25 pounds with Ozempic (he left in 2013 and left last year). Surgeons said the more pronounced lines on his face, as well as sunken cheeks, were signs of Ozempic’s face.
Dr. Sue Decotiis, a weight loss expert who has prescribed Ozempic to thousands of patients, added that weight loss appears more dramatic in those with longer faces because of the way the skin stretches.
He cited the example of actor John Goodman, whose face appears much less full since he lost weight.
Dr Ramanadham said: “It hasn’t been in the news about Ozempic, so I don’t know if that’s it.”
“But even with just losing weight, you see more lines, more wrinkles, and more deflation in your face as you lose weight compared to when you were heavier and your face was fuller.”
“These changes are very typical of general weight loss, regardless of whether weight loss medications were used.”
The 71-year-old has lost 200 pounds in more than a decade, which is due to eating smaller portions, walking his dogs daily and, at one point, cutting sugar and alcohol from his diet.
He has not said that he used Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk.
Pointing to the example of singer Robbie Williams, Dr. Ramanadham said: ‘You can see a hollow under the eyes and cheeks and more wrinkles appear due to loss of volume. With Robbie, you can see direct weight loss results.’
Ozempic is said to cause other side effects, including digestive problems, fatigue, and loss of muscle mass, among others.
Cosmetic surgeons said they have also seen an increase in requests for treatments for skin laxity from those who have developed the “Ozempic face.”
Dr Raj Thethi of the Yorkshire Skin Center said: “The post-ozempic makeover is very important,” says Dr Raj Thethi of the Yorkshire Skin Centre, who has seen an increase in requests for skin laxity treatments. fur.
“Patients want solutions for volume loss in the front of the face, the cavities around the eyes and jowls, as well as sagging skin on the body.”
In London, Esther Fieldgrass, owner of EF Medispa clinics, said: ‘There has been a massive increase in the number of women taking Ozempic seeking treatments for facial volume loss.
“Requests for under-eye tear fillers at our clinics have increased by 70% in the last year alone.”
However, medical experts believe that Ozempic could have health benefits beyond weight loss.
Earlier this month, landmark research showed that semaglutide can reduce the chances of dying from heart attack and stroke.
The breakthrough, presented at the European Obesity Congress in Venice, has been hailed as the most significant advance in heart disease since statins in the 1990s.
Semaglutide is the first of a new generation of drugs that suppress appetite by mimicking the hormone GLP-1.
It was initially used for diabetes under the brand name Ozempic before being repurposed as the weight loss drug Wegovy.
Experts believe the drug’s benefits extend beyond weight loss, and trials are underway in diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and kidney disease.