Body Contouring in the Age of GLP-1
Clinical Summary
Body Contouring in the GLP-1 Era: Early Intervention and Noninvasive Strategies
-
GLP-1–associated body changes: Common concerns include buttock volume loss, upper arm laxity, and abdominal skin sagging following rapid weight loss.
-
Treatment timing: Unlike surgical approaches that often wait for weight stabilization, noninvasive body contouring should begin early and in serial treatments during active weight loss, with counseling that outcomes may evolve as weight changes continue.
-
Preferred noninvasive modalities: PLLA biostimulators are favored for buttock contouring; cryolipolysis, radiofrequency, ultrasound, and low-level skin-tightening therapies are commonly used for arm laxity and contour improvement.
Reviewed by Riya Gandhi, MA, Associate Editor of Immunology Group
Dr Natasha Mesinkovska discusses how rapid weight loss associated with GLP-1 receptor agonists is reshaping body contouring in aesthetic dermatology. Learn why early intervention matters, which body areas are most affected, and how treatments like PLLA biostimulators, cryolipolysis, radiofrequency, ultrasound, and skin-tightening technologies can help address laxity and contour changes noninvasively.
Transcript
Hi, my name is Dr Natasha Masinkovska, and I come from the University of California, Irvine. I am so happy to be at SCALE, and the topic I tackled on day one was body contouring in the age of GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Everyone is talking about the droopy face, but really, we have to start talking about the body. Our plastic surgery colleagues have tried to address it. But when it comes to non-invasive techniques, there are a couple of rules that we need to start following and knowing.
First, what are the most common sites that people worry about that come to our offices? Buttocks and the droopy arms kind of come to the top, and then the saggy belly.
What can we do, and what are our options? The number one rule is, we got to start treating early. While when you do surgery, you have to kind of wait until the weight stabilizes. We got to start acting early and in series. We have to let our patients know that, listen, as you continue to lose weight or as your weight is stabilizing. If we do something today, you may not have the optimal results as you're losing weight.
What are the things that are popular and what are the things that are working? For buttocks, it's definitely going to be a biomodulator like PLLA. When it comes for arms, the non-invasive techniques that come to the top for both tightening and some volume reduction are cryolipolysis, so we're seeing probably a resurrection of cryolipolysis. Radiofrequency, our ultrasound, and even some low-level therapies, when it comes to skin tightening.
So, these are the tips that I have for body contouring in the age of GLP-1.
