The rapid adoption of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists is changing the life sciences landscape, with ripple effects extending well beyond cardiometabolic and obesity care. Global prescriptions of GLP-1 agonist therapies grew at a remarkable rate of roughly 38 percent annually between 2022 and 2024—sales are forecast to reach $100 billion by 2030. This growth has prompted interest in the downstream effects across healthcare and life sciences. In the medical aesthetics sector, the impact is already being felt. These medications are not only changing patients’ cardiometabolic health; they are also altering their appearance and, in turn, fuelling demand for aesthetic products and services.
To better understand the impact of GLP-1-induced weight loss on the aesthetics industry and on facial aesthetics specifically, we surveyed 174 medical spas, dermatology and plastic surgery clinics, and other aesthetics providers at the end of 2024. Our findings suggest that GLP-1 therapies are expanding and reshaping the aesthetics customer base. For example, 63 percent of patients seeking facial aesthetic products or procedures were not active users of medical aesthetics services. Roughly half of these patients had never considered aesthetics prior to their weight loss. The rest of them were converted fence-sitters—people who had indicated their intention to receive an aesthetics treatment within the next five years.
