GLP-1 medications have changed the way the world manages excess weight. More and more people arrive at the practice in Bogotá with a real achievement behind them: they lost weight, improved their health and regained energy. But rapid, significant weight loss usually has a visible effect on the face: loss of volume in the cheeks and temples, skin with less support, and a more tired or aged appearance than the person's age would suggest. This is the phenomenon popularly known as Ozempic face.
The name is striking, but what it describes is simple and fairly predictable. The body does not choose where it takes fat from, and the face is one of the first places where that change shows, because there fat does not merely occupy space: it supports. Understanding this helps people make calm decisions, without alarm and without giving up on the weight-loss process.
Why does it happen?
Facial fat is part of the scaffolding that holds the skin. When it is reduced quickly, the skin is left with relative excess and less deep support, and the signs of laxity become more pronounced. It is not damage — it is geometry: less volume under the same surface.
That scaffolding is not a uniform layer. The face has areas that provide projection and others that provide continuity between one region and the next: cheekbones, temples, the area around the eyes, chin and jawline. When those areas lose support, light falls differently on the face. Shadows under the eyes become more marked, folds become more evident, the oval loses definition, and the resting expression can read as fatigue, even when the person feels better than ever.
Added to this is the skin itself, which has its own elasticity. That ability to adapt depends on age, genetics, accumulated sun exposure, smoking and also on how fast the change happens. That is why two people who lose a similar amount of weight can look very different: one recovers shape almost on their own, and the other needs medical support to look rested again.
The restoration approach
The modern solution is not to fill for the sake of filling, but to restore in layers:
1. Support
Collagen biostimulators to recover structural firmness in the cheeks, jawline and neck. Their purpose is not to add volume immediately, but to work on the firmness of the tissue itself, so the change is usually perceived gradually and discreetly.
2. Strategic volume
Hyaluronic acid only in the points that hold the face — cheekbones, temples, chin — in conservative doses. The logic is to restore pillars, not to fill every hollow. When the pillars are back in place, the rest of the face settles on its own and the result reads as rest, not as treatment.
3. Skin quality
Polynucleotides and skin boosters to give elasticity and hydration back to skin that has been working overtime. This is the layer that often makes the difference between a face with a good contour and a face that also looks healthy up close.
The three layers do not compete with each other: they are arranged over time. During the consultation, Dr. Sandro Florez defines where to start, what can be combined in a single session and what is better spaced out in order to assess each patient's response before continuing.
Who is it for, and who is it not for?
In general, this approach is considered in well-selected patients who meet certain conditions:
- People who have lost weight — with or without medication — and notice the change mainly in the cheeks, temples and facial contour.
- Those whose weight has already stabilised, or who have a clear weight-loss plan supervised by their treating physician.
- Those who want to look rested and natural, not to change their face.
- Those who understand that this is a staged process and accept follow-up visits.
It is not the right option, on the other hand, when there is an active infection in the area to be treated, uncontrolled illness, pregnancy or breastfeeding, a medical history that contraindicates the procedure, or expectations that do not match what a medical treatment can offer. The consultation exists precisely to detect this before proposing any plan.
How it is done in the consultation
The first appointment is clinical, not commercial. It reviews the medical history, current medications, the pace of weight loss and whether the process is still ongoing or has already stabilised. The face is then assessed at rest and in movement, because the missing volume is almost never where the patient thinks it is: the complaint is often "the fold", but the origin is a lack of support in the cheekbone or the temple.
With that reading, a staged plan is built, with an order and a priority. On the day of the procedure the area is cleansed and prepared with antisepsis, topical anaesthesia is used when the case calls for it, and the work is done on an outpatient basis. The patient walks out and returns to daily life with straightforward instructions.
What to expect
Mild swelling, redness, tenderness to the touch and, in some cases, small bruises at the entry points are normal. These are expected changes that settle over the following days, depending on each patient.
Result timelines also differ by layer. Strategic volume is noticeable early, although the final appearance is appreciated once the initial swelling subsides. Biostimulation is progressive by definition. And skin quality improves gradually, over sessions. That is why medical follow-up is not a formality: it is where the decision is made to continue, adjust or wait.
Aftercare
- Avoid massaging or pressing the treated area, unless the doctor expressly indicates otherwise.
- Postpone intense exercise, extreme heat, sauna and alcohol for as long as the consultation indicates.
- Keep up sun protection and a simple, consistent skincare routine.
- Do not schedule the procedure right before an important event.
- Get in touch with any symptom that does not match what was explained during the visit.
- Maintain adequate protein intake and physical activity, always under the guidance of the team supporting the weight loss.
What if there is more laxity?
In cases of massive weight loss, injectable treatments can be combined with surgical options such as a facelift. The medical assessment defines where on the spectrum you are and which combination will give you a rested, natural appearance. You can review the alternatives under plastic surgery and in the facial treatments.
There is a point at which excess skin is no longer resolved with volume. Insisting on injectables in that scenario tends to produce an overloaded face rather than a rested one. Saying so in time, frankly, is part of the medical work.
When it is NOT the best option
- When weight loss is still under way at a fast pace and the face is still going to change: it is worth planning, but choosing the right moment to intervene.
- When what dominates the picture is excess skin rather than lack of volume.
- When the expectation is to recover the face of another stage of life.
- When there are medical conditions or life circumstances that contraindicate it.
- When the patient is looking for an immediate, definitive result in a single session.
Plan, don't repair
If you are in a weight-loss process —with or without medication— the ideal approach is to plan facial restoration as part of the journey, not as an emergency repair at the end. Planning ahead allows for more conservative doses, spreading treatment over time and reaching the end of the process with a face that keeps pace with the change in the body.
At Dr. Sandro Florez's practice in Bogotá, cases like these are assessed individually, within an anti-ageing approach that looks at the face as a whole. If you would like your case reviewed, you can see all available treatments or book your appointment.
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