November 12, 2026 | Body Contouring, Male Procedures, Weight Loss
In late August, Reuters ran a story under the headline “Beyond the Scale: Men turn to cosmetic clinics to complete weight-loss transformation.” The numbers in it were striking. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons counted 1.7 million cosmetic procedures on men in 2024, more than 98,000 of them surgeries, and its president said nearly 70 percent of the men who had surgery in the first quarter of this year had used a GLP-1. GoodRx data put men at 28.3 percent of weight-loss drug prescriptions in 2026, up from 18.3 percent four years earlier.
The reporter had asked for experts in June. I sent her my answer. It did not make the piece. Here is what I told Reuters, in the words I sent, plus the one thing the article did not spell out: the order I fix it in.
What the Weight Loss Takes
The first thing to understand is that the problem is not a side effect of the drug. It is the weight loss itself, arriving faster than the body can adjust.
“Of course, with weight loss, we lose the fat volume in areas where we don’t want to. The loss of fat in the face ages us dramatically. There is also loss of fat volume in the breast and in the buttock. Those seem to be the biggest areas of complaint.”
The men who lose the most are the ones who only did half of the program.
“We especially see it in patients who are only doing the diet portion of the GLP-1s. That is, the GLP-1s make them eat less and have less appetite. They lose weight rapidly but are not doing an exercise regimen to build up muscle, so they lose muscle mass as well. This rapid weight loss gives way to what we are now calling ‘Ozempic face,’ which is the rapid aging.”
“As we age, there are two factors: one is skin laxity, and the other is volume loss. So in the GLP-1 patient, what we are seeing is skin laxity, because the skin was stretched out previously, along with rapid volume loss. It really results in rapid aging.”
This is what it looks like in the exam room.
“We are seeing the deep nasolabial lines, the marionette lines, and the hollowness under the eyes. There is temporal wasting and sagging of the skin underneath the chin, platysmal banding, and loose skin. We are seeing skin sagging and breast sagging, with loss of volume in the upper poles, as well as buttock sagging and buttock ptosis, all at the same time because of the rapid weight loss.”
“The hair loss is mostly tied to the decreased intake of nutrients and proteins.”
The Order I Treat It In
Men come in early now, often before the weight loss is finished, and the first stage is non-surgical.
“I am seeing a surge in men seeking cosmetic procedures in the early stages of their weight loss. They want to hide the facial aging, so a lot of times we are injecting fillers like Sculptra, or fillers underneath the eyes and the temples, in the cheek area, and in the nasolabial lines. They are starting to use Botox as well to raise the brows. Another very popular procedure is microneedling with radiofrequency, or Morpheus8, for tightening the skin, and we can do this on the face and the neck.”
“But as patients continue the rapid weight loss, they see, especially in men, a worsening of the hair loss, which we treat with PRP, exosomes, or secretome, sometimes even going as far as hair transplantation.”
For the face, I have moved past gel filler for a lot of these men.
“For non-surgical facial therapies, we are also using biostimulators like Sculptra, which is well known, but we are also using Lipoderma, which is a donor fat graft.”
“As the weight loss continues, we are seeing men having other procedures, like gynecomastia procedures to fix the chest, and tummy tucks. We are also seeing them undergo liposuction with skin tightening devices such as Renuvion J-Plasma, fat transferred to the buttock, fat transfers to the face, and even buttock lifts and tummy tucks.”
“I am increasingly seeing more patients for facial work as they continue to age and the fillers and skin tightening devices stop working. So we are seeing increased demand for neck lifts, face lifts, brow lifts, and upper and lower eyelid surgeries.”
| Stage | What I see | What I do |
|---|---|---|
| Early, weight still dropping | Hollow temples and under-eyes, deeper folds, brow descent | Sculptra or Lipoderma, filler where it belongs, Botox for the brow, Morpheus8 on face and neck |
| Any stage, hair thinning | Shedding tied to low protein and nutrient intake | PRP, exosomes or secretome; hair transplant if it does not recover |
| Weight stable | Loose chest, abdomen and flanks, deflated buttock | Gynecomastia surgery, tummy tuck, liposuction with Renuvion J-Plasma, fat transfer to the buttock or face |
| Later, laxity ahead of the devices | Jowls, neck bands, heavy lids | Neck lift, facelift, brow lift, upper and lower eyelid surgery |
Why This Is Not New, and Why It Is Good News
The Reuters piece framed this as clinics adapting to a new market. I see it differently.
“I don’t think it’s really a question of how clinics and providers are adapting. We have always had these tools, and we had been using them on weight loss patients after bariatric procedures. But we had not seen weight loss this rapid before, which of course has increased our volumes.”
“In the end, these patients undergoing GLP-1 therapies are becoming healthier. As they become healthier, they also want to look healthier and better, so they are seeking out cosmetic procedures. Sometimes the cosmetic procedures cannot keep up with the aging caused by the dramatic weight loss, and surgical procedures need to be performed. Overall, the patient becomes healthier as their medical problems improve or disappear.”
“These patients are even now seeking wellness care, including peptides, hormone replacement, IV infusions, and general skin care. So I really see it as a positive.”
“You can see the evolution of these patients, because we do treat patients with GLP-1s in our clinic. You see how even the patient starts dressing differently, how they carry themselves when they come in, and how their whole outlook on life and self-esteem improve.”
Why Choose Dr. Agullo
I am certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, completed my plastic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, and serve as Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Castle Connolly has listed me as a Top Doctor every year from 2014 through 2026. I have used Renuvion J-Plasma since 2019, ten to twenty cases a week, and Apyx Medical counts my practice among the ten highest-volume users in the world. Three of the men’s consults behind this post are nearly verbatim on the blog, the face side is in Face After Weight Loss, and how I plan surgery around a GLP-1 is in GLP-1 Patient Surgery Planning. My commentary on the Reuters numbers is on Dr. WorldWide, and the med spa side, the injectables, Morpheus8 and hair treatments men start with, is on Southwest Plastic Surgery.
Ready to Talk?
If the weight is coming off and the mirror is moving faster than you expected, come in before you decide what to fix first. Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments. #StayBeautiful
Find me at @RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
