More men in the US turn to cosmetic clinics after weight loss — The Japan Times
In the United States, a growing number of men who have lost weight with obesity drugs are turning to cosmetic clinics because of sagging skin, loss of facial volume, hair loss and dental problems. The Japan Times reports this, citing patients and plastic surgeons.
Mark S., 57, from Hoboken, New Jersey, lost 23 kilograms over five years, first taking Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and then Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. After losing weight, he noticed that his face had lost volume and underwent a deep-plane facelift in April, an operation that repositions deep facial muscles and fat tissue.
New York plastic surgeon Sean Alemi said that the number of his male patients has approximately doubled over the past one to two years. According to him, most of them seek treatment after weight loss, most often associated with GLP-1 therapy.
Demand for procedures is growing
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, men in the United States underwent 1.7 million cosmetic procedures in 2024, including surgeries and minimally invasive interventions such as laser skin resurfacing and Botox injections. This was 2.7% more than a year earlier. More than 98,000 of these were surgeries; the most common included eyelid surgery, liposuction and abdominoplasty.
The society’s president, Bob Basu, said that in the first quarter of 2026, nearly 70% of men who underwent surgical cosmetic procedures had experience using GLP-1 drugs. GoodRx data also show that the share of men among people who filled prescriptions for weight-loss drugs rose to 28.3% in 2026, compared with 18.3% four years earlier.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Doctors note that younger men are more likely to want to remove excess skin and improve the appearance of an athletic physique, while older patients focus more on age-related changes to the face and neck.
Costs and hair problems
Walter Barrientos, a 45-year-old truck driver from Lancaster, California, joined a clinical trial of Eli Lilly’s experimental drug retatrutide in November after reaching a weight-loss plateau through exercise. In total, he lost about 29 kilograms. In July, Barrientos underwent an abdominoplasty and liposuction of the abdomen, flanks and chest, and plans to get dental implants as the next stage.
Such procedures are usually not covered by insurance. According to estimates by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average surgeon’s fee for male breast reduction ranges from $5,000 to $9,000, while a facelift can cost up to $19,000, excluding anesthesia, operating room and other expenses.
Delila Foulad, a dermatologist at UCLA Health, noted that rapid weight loss can cause temporary hair loss due to physiological stress. To address such problems, doctors use platelet-rich plasma injections, medication therapy including minoxidil, and, in some cases, unapproved peptides.
