At Premier Skin Clinic, we love seeing our patients feel healthier, stronger, and more confident during their medical weight loss journeys, whether it’s done through our clinic or another provider.
GLP-1 medications have been life-changing for many people. However, as the body loses fat, the face can also lose supportive fat and soft tissue. For some, this creates a more hollow, gaunt, or “downward-pulled” appearance – what many are calling “O face.”
But, with the right strategy and timing, we can help you maintain facial harmony and skin elasticity while your body transforms.
Why GLP-1 Weight Loss Changes Your Face
When you lose weight, especially rapidly, the face often shows it first. Volume in the cheeks, temples, and jawline can diminish. Skin may appear thinner or less supported.
This isn’t a complication, it’s simply physiology. Fat pads shrink, so skin must contract. And if collagen levels are already declining (which naturally happens with age), the result can look more dramatic than expected.
That’s where biostimulators come in.
What Are Biostimulators?
Biostimulators are injectables that stimulate your body’s natural production of collagen and elastin from within your skin. They are noninvasive (nonsurgical). Biostimulators are not the same as traditional fillers. While hyaluronic acid fillers add volume to areas with skin elasticity, creating a “tighter” look, they are both immediate and temporary and do not change properties of the skin itself.
Biostimulators, on the other hand, work gradually over weeks to months encouraging your skin to produce its own collagen and actually improving skin elasticity, texture, and thickness. Treatment effects can last 6 months to 2 years.
What is Radiesse (Calcium Hydroxylapatite)?
Radiesse is unique in that it acts as a biostimulator and a filler to do two things at once:
- Instant lifting and contouring
- Long-term collagen and elastin stimulation
The instant lift and contouring immediately improves the “pulled-downward” or prematurely aged look from volume loss. Radiesse also acts as a scaffold, stimulating your body to produce new collagen and elastin over time.
This is especially powerful when used as:
Radiesse Hyperdilute
Hyperdilute Radiesse allows us to treat not just structure, but also the soft tissue and skin quality.
If structure is the table, hyperdilute Radiesse treats the “tablecloth,” the skin and soft tissue that lays over bone.
Benefits include:
- Improved skin thickness
- Increased elasticity
- Better tissue quality
- Softened transitions in hollow areas
- Prevention of extreme swings in facial appearance
Because collagen remodeling takes weeks to months, we strongly recommend starting these treatments at the beginning of your medical weight loss journey, not after dramatic changes have already occurred.
Radiesse is ideal for:
- Cheeks
- Jawline
- Chin
Strategies to Prevent “O” Face When Using a GLP-1
We find that a comprehensive approach gives patients the best outcome. This includes:
- Proactive Timing – Start biostimulator treatments at the beginning of active weight loss, not after. This helps maintain facial harmony, preserve skin “snap” and elasticity, and prevent dramatic shifts in facial contours. Prevention almost always yields a better result than correction.
- Combination Therapy – Use biostimulators for deep structure and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) fillers for precise, instant “plumping” in specific hollows like the under-eyes or nasolabial folds. This combined approach yields natural, balanced results.
- Supportive Nutrition – Even with injectables, your body needs building blocks to create new collagen. Maintain a high-protein diet (aim for 1.2–1.5g per kg of body weight) and stay aggressively hydrated to support skin elasticity. Collagen production is a metabolic process – fuel it well.
- Skin Tightening for Face & Body – Biostimulators improve internal structure, but surface tightening matters too. Technologies like radiofrequency microneedling or SkinTyte can complement biostimulators by firming the surface skin and reducing the appearance of jowls.
Weight loss is an incredible achievement. Your face should reflect that vitality, not fatigue. By starting Radiesse hyperdilute early in your GLP-1 journey, we can:
- Maintain structure
- Stimulate collagen and elastin
- Prevent hollowing
- Preserve youthful facial harmony
- Support skin tightening across face and body
At Premier Skin Clinic in Fort Collins, we believe prevention is more elegant than correction. If you are interested in starting a medical weight loss program with a GLP-1 at PSC, or if you have already started one and want support to keep your face looking its best while you work on feeling your best, reach out to schedule your free consultation.
📞 Call us at (970) 221-1285
🌐 Schedule online at https://premierskinclinic.com/
📍 Visit us: 1603 Oakridge Drive #200, Fort Collins, CO 80525
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Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start Radiesse if I’m beginning a GLP-1 weight loss program?
We recommend starting at the beginning of your medical weight loss journey. Collagen stimulation takes several weeks to months to fully develop. Beginning early helps prevent dramatic swings in facial structure and soft tissue that can occur as fat loss progresses. Prevention creates smoother, more natural transitions than trying to correct volume loss later.
How is Radiesse different from traditional fillers?
Traditional hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers primarily replace lost volume.
Radiesse does more. It provides immediate structural lift while also stimulating your body to produce new collagen and elastin over time. This dual action makes it ideal during weight loss when both support and long-term tissue integrity are needed.
Will I look overfilled or unnatural with Radiesse?
No. Our approach focuses on restoring structure and maintaining harmony, not adding excessive volume. When used strategically (especially in the cheeks, jawline, and chin), Radiesse prevents the “downward-pulled” look without creating puffiness. The goal is refreshed and balanced, not overdone.
Can noninvasive treatments help with loose skin on the body after weight loss?
Yes. In addition to facial treatments, we often combine biostimulators with radiofrequency microneedling to tighten loose skin on areas such as the abdomen, arms, and thighs. These treatments stimulate collagen and elastin production, improving skin firmness and reducing laxity throughout the body as you lose weight.