Body Contouring After Weight Loss: Which Treatments Provide Optimal Results?

Prominent brand names like Ozempic and Mounjaro have produced remarkable health breakthroughs by helping people lose weight and keep it off. Achieving and maintaining an ideal weight can lead to a more active lifestyle and reduce the chances of many diseases.

However, many patients on weight-loss medications encounter the need for additional body contouring treatments to enhance their results. Those who have lost weight via lifestyle modifications or bariatric surgery also commonly seek solutions to address loose skin and other concerns like a loss of facial volume or localized, stubborn fat deposits.

Losing weight is almost always a positive health change, so side effects should never deter you from adopting such lifestyle modifications. That said, excess, sagging skin can cause a lack of self-confidence, not to mention other potential issues like rashes, fungal infections, and a limited range of motion.

This article delves into the range of body contouring procedures that complement weight loss, ensuring you achieve a comprehensive and satisfying transformation.

Understanding Ozempic and Mounjaro's Role in Weight Loss

Ozempic, primarily used for managing type 2 diabetes, has gained acclaim for its off-label use in weight management. The medication works by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) that regulates appetite and glucose levels. By curbing hunger and promoting a sense of fullness, Ozempic facilitates significant weight loss. However, weight loss achieved through semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, can sometimes be accompanied by skin laxity and other aesthetic concerns, making complementary cosmetic treatments essential.

Mounjaro, meanwhile, contains a different active ingredient, tirzepatide. It is specifically approved for weight loss by the FDA, and patients commonly report similar concerns about loose skin or other cosmetic issues.

What is Body Contouring?

Body contouring, or body sculpting, refers broadly to surgical procedures that can refine and modify the shape and look of various body parts. Some providers refer to body contouring as strictly skin-tightening treatments. In practice, the term applies to a procedure that improves the shape of any body region.

It is important to note that body contouring treatments, including liposuction, are not designed for weight loss. Instead, they are optimized for refining the shape of different areas of the body.

Why Get Body Contouring After Weight Loss?

Significant weight fluctuations can affect your skin. If you gain a lot of weight, your skin may stretch to accommodate newly formed subcutaneous fat tissue. If you lose a lot of weight, that excess skin might not snap back, potentially resulting in stretch marks and extra skin folds on your lower stomach, legs, breasts underarms, chin, and breasts.

Besides loose skin, other patients find that weight loss does not happen evenly throughout the body. Small pockets of fat may persist even after losing weight, often determined by genetics. For example, the underarms are a common area where women store fat, while the love handles are common problem spots for men. Stubborn fat in these regions can remain disproportionately recalcitrant even when at or near your ideal weight.

Finally, another common issue during a weight-loss journey is a loss of volume in certain body areas. You may have heard of the term "Ozempic Face," which refers to a loss of facial volume that may happen during weight loss. Other less typical areas of concern include the butt and breasts, which can sag after weight loss.

Cosmetic Treatments to Complement Weight-Loss Transformations

Skin Tightening: Addressing Post-Weight Loss Skin Laxity

Significant weight loss can lead to skin laxity and sagging. Skin tightening procedures help restore skin's elasticity and firmness.

Nonsurgical Skin Tightening

As with fat removal procedures, there is a wide range of skin tightening options varying by their degree of invasiveness. Nonsurgical skin tightening options include:

• Ultherapy: Using focused ultrasound energy, Ultherapy stimulates collagen production deep within the skin. It's a non-surgical option for lifting and tightening areas such as the neck, chin, and brows.

• Radiofrequency (RF) Skin Tightening: RF technology heats the dermal layers to boost collagen and elastin production. Treatments like Thermage provide gradual improvements in skin firmness and smoothness.

Tiny Tuck™: A Minimally Invasive Option

Toward the middle of the range of invasive versus noninvasive treatments, AirSculpt's skin tightening solutions provide significant results without general anesthesia.

As board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Nathan Miller of AirSculpt Salt Lake City details, the Tiny Tuck™ is ideal for patients who have lost significant weight and want to address loose skin underneath the belly button. It is also a great solution for reducing the appearance of loose skin hanging over C-section scars. Unlike a full tummy tuck, this mini tummy tuck variation allows patients to remain entirely awake, minimizing the risks compared to general anesthesia.

Additionally, the AirSculpt+ procedure can tighten any area of the body treated with AirSculpt fat removal. This minimally invasive procedure uses Renuvion® technology, which emits cold plasma energy from a thin wand to firm the target area dramatically. AirSculpt+ requires no new incisions, as everything is done through the same two-millimeter-wide entry points that heal to resemble freckles.

"A great jump start for weight loss," said Atlanta mom Ady Meshke, pictured above, about the GLP-1 meds that helped her lose 60 pounds. "But AirSculpt® is more about shape."

The travel blogger added Stomach AirSculpt+ to her wellness journey to contour her waist and tighten the skin around her C-section scar. Now, she reports radiating confidence and no more anxiety at the beach.

Surgical Skin Tightening

Tummy tuck procedures can help patients with significant loose skin concerns after dramatic weight loss. Unlike mini tummy tucks, a complete tummy tuck can repair separated muscles and also sculpt the entire abdomen, including above the belly button.

Although the full tummy tuck offers much more dramatic results than noninvasive options, it does require large cuts, surgical drains, and general anesthesia in most cases. It also may involve the creation of a new belly button.

Face and Body Lift Procedures

A face or body lift procedure can deliver dramatic results for those dealing with a moderate to significant loss of skin elasticity. While these treatments can address prominent loose skin, they are generally more invasive and require a lengthy downtime. The aforementioned tummy tuck is a popular type of lift procedure, but it can be performed on several parts of the body, including:  

• Arm Lift: Also called a brachioplasty, the arm lift can target excess skin, and sometimes fat, on the upper arms, underarms, and armpits.

• Leg Lift: Leg lifts tighten loose skin on the thighs. The goal is to improve lower body proportions and sculpt a balanced, smooth silhouette.

• Breast Lift: This type of surgery is designed to lift, tighten, and shape the breasts to achieve a more youthful and taut appearance.

• Face and Neck Lift: These procedures help patients reduce visible signs of aging in the face, neck and jawline regions. A surgeon will create small incisions to pull and tighten loose skin. Fat removal and skin excision may be performed in conjunction with the procedure to offer optimal results.

Fat Removal For a Leaner Silhouette

Fat removal procedures can target stubborn deposits that persist despite significant weight loss. These treatments help achieve a more sculpted and toned appearance and vary in their degree of invasiveness.

Nonsurgical procedures offer the advantage of less downtime and no incisions, but surgical treatments like liposuction can dramatically change one treatment. Such options, however, require a lengthier downtime and often make large incisions in the skin.

One middle-ground approach, the minimally invasive AirSculpt procedure, uses no needles, scalpels, stitches, or general anesthesia to permanently remove fat with heightened precision.

A common reason why patients seek out fat removal after significant weight loss is to address stubborn pockets of fat that did not reduce with the rest of the body. Whether due to genetics or hormones, problem fatty areas often persist in local areas like the arms or chin. With AirSculpt, you can spot-target such areas for a lasting solution.

Other patients opt for a fat removal procedure to ensure symmetrical results. The body shrinks everywhere during weight loss, meaning pre-existing imbalances can become more pronounced. Thus, many patients opt for fat removal before taking Ozempic or Mounjaro to help define their proportions beforehand.

Fat Transfers To Address Lost Volume

Breast and Buttock Augmentation

Weight loss can result in patients experiencing volume loss in specific areas like buttocks or breasts. Treatments like the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and fat transfer breast enhancement can offer all-natural solutions.

Implants, composed of foreign material like silicone or saline, can be an option for thinner patients without enough fat to transfer. That said, advanced fat transfer techniques should be able to harvest enough fat unless the patient is considerably thin. The fat transfer option tends to be preferred, as incisions are smaller, results look and feel more natural, and the risks of adverse reactions to implants are avoided.

Facial Rejuvenation For "Ozempic Face"

Patients who lose weight may experience a phenomenon recently dubbed "Ozempic Face," which refers to a loss of facial fat. This common side effect of weight loss may result in a sagging, aged facial appearance, sometimes accompanied by wrinkles and other fine lines.

Various procedures can address post-weight loss facial volume and skin texture concerns to provide a youthful appearance, including:

• Dermal Fillers: Injectable fillers like Juvederm and Restylane can provide temporary volume and smooth out wrinkles. With this nonsurgical approach, skilled providers can enhance facial contours that may have changed due to weight loss. That said, fillers do have to be repeated somewhat frequently as results fade within a few months.

• Botox: To address wrinkles and prevent new lines, Botox injections relax the underlying muscles, giving the face a smoother, more youthful appearance.

• Facial Fat Grafting: Patients are increasingly turning to facial fat transfer procedures, which, unlike facial fillers, offer long-lasting to permanent results. This procedure is designed to naturally restore lost volume and smooth away wrinkles by carefully collecting and transferring fat to target areas of the face. Some fat will always be reabsorbed, but after this occurs, the fat will remain in the face long-term. Of course, with age comes inevitable volume loss, but the freshly transferred fat should act like fat in any other part of the body.

Cellulite Treatments: Smoothing Uneven Skin Texture

Weight loss can sometimes exacerbate the appearance of cellulite. Several treatments target this issue effectively.

Noninvasive techniques, such as Endermologie, use mechanical stimulation to enhance lymphatic drainage and break down fat cells, improving the appearance of cellulite. However, these gradual approaches tend to yield moderate results at best.

AirSculpt Smooth is another effective procedure for addressing cellulite on the thighs and buttocks. This option, which can be performed with AirSculpt fat removal or independently, uses Aveli technology to cut the fibrous bands causing cellulite carefully. This fast-acting, minimally invasive technique offers long-lasting smoothness and improved skin texture.

Combining Treatments for Optimal Results

Integrating these cosmetic treatments can maximize the results of weight loss. A personalized approach, combining body contouring with skin tightening and facial rejuvenation, can address multiple concerns simultaneously. 

Contact the body sculpting center nearest you to develop a tailored treatment plan that aligns with your specific needs and goals.