How can weight loss drugs affect my skin, hair, and nails?
You’ve likely heard of GLP-1s or weight loss drugs. Possibly, your doctor referred to them as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drug names semaglutide, liraglutide, or tirzepatide, or by brand names (including Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Mounjaro®, or Zepbound®). These drugs affect your hormones and brain to help you lose weight and treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Researchers have found that GLP-1 drugs can also impact many skin, hair, and nail diseases and conditions.
If you experience any side effects of GLP-1 drugs to your skin, hair, and nails, you can get relief by communicating with your medical team and partnering with a board-certified dermatologist.
Why should weight loss drug patients partner with a dermatologist?
We now know that GLP-1 medications can have an impact on the skin and hair. There are some skin conditions that may improve after starting a GLP-1, like psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa. There are other conditions, such as hair loss or facial appearance, which may get worse. Understanding these risks and benefits can help you make a more informed choice when thinking about starting a GLP-1.
─ Steven Daveluy MD, FAAD
GLP-1 drugs can have significant impacts on your skin, as well as hormones and levels of inflammation affecting your skin. While there has been a lot in the news about GLP-1 drugs that is negative, more and more patients are using them because the positive effects and outcomes overwhelmingly outweigh the negative. The health improvements seen when these medications are used in the right patients are astounding.
─ Lindsey Bordone, MD, FAAD
Do GLP-1 drugs treat skin disease?
Some skin diseases linked to your immune system and inflammation may improve when you take a GLP-1 drug. Because the drugs treat and help manage obesity, insulin resistance, inflammation, and your metabolism, they can also affect skin diseases connected to those conditions. These include:
Psoriasis
Many psoriasis patients taking weight loss drugs have found they had less itch and scaling.
Weight loss and improved blood sugar management have been shown to improve psoriasis symptoms and improve the effectiveness of psoriasis treatments. GLP-1 drugs may help patients whose psoriasis doesn’t get better after taking biologics, or psoriasis medications that work throughout their body.
Hidradenitis suppurativa
After taking a GLP-1 drugs, some HS patients reported fewer flare-ups of lumps and boils and less drainage. Patients also felt less pain and said their quality of life improved after taking a GLP-1 drugs.
HS patients with obesity or Type 2 diabetes experienced the most benefits.
According to Dr. Bordone, when patients develop a skin disease after developing obesity, it’s possible their condition can improve after treating their obesity with a weight loss drug. Along with giving you relief, that means some people may be able to stop treatment for a condition. However, do not stop any treatment without talking with your dermatologist.
There is still a lot to learn about GLP-1 drugs. “We only have early data right now, and we need more studies to fully understand how weight loss drugs can help skin diseases,” notes Dr. Daveluy. More research is also needed to discover whether weight loss or the drugs themselves affect these skin diseases and how the drugs affect skin disease over time.
What skin, hair, and nail risks should I know about when taking a GLP-1?
Like any treatment, GLP-1 drugs can cause side effects, including to your skin, hair, and nails. Patients have said they experienced these side effects after starting GLP-1 drugs:
Irritation around the spot you inject the drugs, including itch, rash, and swelling
Thinning hair [anchor link to section below]
Premature skin aging [anchor link to section below]
Excessive sweating
Dry skin caused by hormone changes and eating and drinking water less often
Slower nail growth and brittle nails from significant weight loss
Loose skin that folds on itself, causing rashes where skin touches skin
Acne breakouts due to hormone changes
Do GLP-1 drugs cause hair loss?
You might experience thinning hair as a side effect after you start taking a GLP-1 drug. Dermatologists believe this hair loss is caused by the sudden weight loss people go through on these drugs. Losing hair because of a stressful event or change in your health is called telogen effluvium.
Researchers need more information to say for sure why people taking weight loss drugs experience hair loss.
It’s also possible that because you eat less when taking GLP-1 drugs, your body begins missing the protein, vitamins, and nutrients needed to promote hair growth.
GLP-1 drugs may also have a direct effect on your hair and trigger it to stop growing.
Yes. According to Dr. Daveluy, the best first step is partnering with a dermatologist to diagnose the exact type of hair loss you experience before you start taking a GLP-1 drug. Tell your dermatologist about your plans to take a GLP-1. That way, your dermatologist can adjust your hair loss treatments before you start the medication, if needed, and monitor whether your hair loss changes on the medication.
“Though weight loss is beneficial overall, it is still a big adjustment for your body to go through,” says Dr. Bordone. “It’s important that patients prone to hair loss lose weight slowly on weight loss drugs.”
Dr. Bordone also recommends taking a standard multivitamin every day when taking a GLP-1 drug. This helps you get the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy and support hair growth, even when the amount of food you eat changes. Should I take vitamins or supplements for my skin? lists foods that contain common nutrients.
Will GLP-1 drugs make me look older?
After starting a GLP-1 drug, you’ll likely notice changes to your face and skin. Patients say they’ve noticed less plumpness in their face, sagging skin, wrinkles, and crepe-like texture. You may have heard the term “Ozempic face” to describe how some patients look older after starting the drug.
Dermatologists say this is partly caused by rapid weight loss. “Anyone that loses weight quickly notices changes in their face,” says Dr. Bordone. However, GLP-1 drugs affect your collagen and muscles, along with your fat cells. That can lead to your face looking older after taking the drugs.
Cosmetic procedures dermatologists offer to help your face look younger after taking a GLP-1 drug include:
Soft tissue fillers to add volume back to your face.
Fat transfers to move fat cells from one part of your body to your face. This helps your face look fuller.
Laser treatments to reduce wrinkles and tighten skin.
Platelet-rich plasma treatments to plump sagging skin and reduce wrinkles.
“If you’re interested in cosmetic procedures to treat aging skin after taking weight loss drugs, a board-certified dermatologist is the right expert to see,” says Dr. Bordone.
How can I take care of my skin while taking a GLP-1?
Dermatologists say if you practice healthy skin care, you may be able to reduce the negative effects of GLP-1 drugs on your skin. These tips can help keep your skin healthy and looking good while taking weight loss drugs:
Use skin care products that help strengthen and hydrate your skin, including a gentle cleanser and a moisturizer that contains ceramides and antioxidants.
Apply moisturizer to your whole body, not just your face. Include your cuticles to help support healthy nails. Apply your moisturizer while your skin is still damp after bathing or whenever it feels dry.
Consider using retinoids to help decrease signs of skin aging. However, if you have dry skin after taking a GLP-1, retinoids may cause irritation and flaking.
Boost the humidity in your home with a humidifier to help hydrate your skin. Clean it regularly to prevent mold.
Drink plenty of fluids to keep your skin hydrated.
Treat acne breakouts with gentle, alcohol-free skin care products. Avoid picking or popping acne.
Keep your skin clean and dry to prevent irritation where skin touches skin.
Apply antiperspirant to help reduce sweating.
Protect your skin from the sun by seeking shade, wearing sun-protective clothing, and applying a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to all skin not covered by clothing.
If the irritation around the spot where you inject your GLP-1 does not improve with time, talk to the doctor who prescribed the drug for injection tips.
I’m taking a GLP-1 drug and experiencing skin, hair, or nail side effects. What should I do?
Talk to your dermatologist if you experience skin, hair, or nail side effects when taking a GLP-1 drug and the tips in this article don’t help them feel better. This helps your dermatologist understand whether any symptoms you’re experiencing may be side effects from the GLP-1 or connected to another condition.
A board-certified dermatologist can help you manage GLP-1 drug side effects to your skin, hair, and nails. You can find one in your area at Find a Dermatologist.
Images
Image 1: Courtesy of Steven Daveluy MD, FAAD
Image 2: Courtesy of Lindsey Bordone, MD, FAAD
Image 3: Property of American Academy of Dermatology
