Weight-loss drugs are having a significant impact on the beauty business and transforming demand for cosmetic procedures.
A recently released international survey has revealed a decrease in the number cosmetic procedures for women over the previous two years, signalling a continuing trend.
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery asked more than 2,900 plastic surgeons to submit clinical data from 51 different countries and found that a total of almost 17.9 million surgical procedures had been carried out in 2025.
Cosmetic procedures for men fell by 14 per cent in 2025 from the previous year and by 7.7 per cent for women. Female demand for cosmetic surgery had already dropped 4 per cent in 2024.
In 2025, demand for liposuction fell by 11.4 per cent, following on from a 12.6 per cent reduction the previous year. The popularity of breast augmentation and Botox is also on the slide, with demand for both procedures falling by 17 per cent in 2024 and a further 2 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, last year.
Dr Sanjay Parashar, a surgeon and chief executive of Cocoona Centre of Aesthetic Transformation in Dubai, said cosmetic trends were being driven by the popularity of weight-loss drugs, while economic factors could be behind the fall in men opting for cosmetic procedures.
“Technology has improved, as has surgical safety,” he said. “Fewer men choosing cosmetic procedures is more about economic pressure than anything else.
Dr Parashar said that wider access to existing GLP-1s could lead to increased demand for excess skin removal and skin tightening.
“The amount of liposuction procedures we are doing has definitely decreased because of the oral weight-loss medications now available, helping people reduce that stubborn fat. But what has gone up as a consequence are procedures like facelifts and bodylifts.
“People now do not want to resort to non-surgical like fillers to fill up their faces and look unnatural. They prefer to have a tightening procedure to look more natural, and a more cost-effective outcome.”
Supercharged weight loss
Figures for the UAE were not included in the 2025 survey but featured in the 2024 edition, which showed there were 272,000 surgical procedures in the emirates during that period.
Dr Parashar said the emerging band of “triple G” weight-loss drugs that target three hormone receptors simultaneously could further reduce demand for liposuction procedures as they promise even greater weight loss than existing GLP-1 drugs.
Regulatory approval has yet to be granted for “triple G” drug retatrutide, but trials suggest potential weight loss of up to 28 per cent. Triple-hormone receptor agonists slow digestion, curb appetite, regulate fat metabolism, and increase energy expenditure to break down stored fat.
“These medications will continue to improve, along with the side effect profile,” he said. Weight-loss drugs “will become more easily accessible to people, along with the benefits”.
“But what remains a challenge is the ageing effect,” Dr Parashar added. “There still has not been any medical treatment to improve skin elasticity, so there'll always be opportunities for cosmetic surgeons.”
Eyelid surgery remained the most popular surgery in 2025, with 2.46 million procedures carried out worldwide. Survey participants completed a questionnaire that focused primarily on the number of specific surgical and non-surgical procedures performed.
They were also asked questions related to surgeon demographics and the prevalence of medical tourism.
Natural look
Dubai-based plastic surgeon Dr Dmitry Melnikov said that while there was a trend for patients to opt for breast lifts rather than implants, the survey did not offer a complete picture of the aesthetic industry in the emirate.
“Patients do tend to choose cheaper surgeons for simple breast augmentations and they may simply have not been reflected in the ISAPS survey,” he said.
“Fashion standards have changed in the past couple of years. Patients want to have smaller, more natural breasts, but not all of [the patients]. It really depends on the country.”
The ISAPS survey showed that demand for hyaluronic acid fillers had dropped by around 25 per cent in 12 months.
Dr Melnikov said a “clean-girl” trend was emerging, with a more natural physical appearance, but that the presence of GLP-1 therapies was having a considerable impact.
“GLP1 has had an impact absolutely everywhere, it is also very typical for a user’s face to sag,” he said. “Also the assumption that fillers are good, safe and completely resolvable is finally gone.
“They migrate, they never fully dissolve and with time they create a tired, swollen look. Patients see that, doctors see that and nowadays opt for procedures that focus on the production of a patient’s own collagen and improving skin quality rather than pumping the face with fillers.”
The rise of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro is also beginning to shape the cosmetics industry. The head of French beauty giant L’Oreal, Nicolas Hieronimus, said weight-loss drugs had made a “phenomenal” impact on the beauty industry.
At the release of the company’s latest financial results, Mr Hieronimus told investors that the latest products were designed to work alongside and complement GLP-1 medications to counter the effects of skin sagging.
L’Oreal reported significant growth in the third quarter of 2026, with sales soaring 7.2 per cent to €11.6 billion ($12.9 billion) in the three months to September 30.
A recent Gallup poll found GLP-1 use had almost quadrupled in the US since 2024, while an estimated 1.6 million people turned to weight-loss drugs in England, Wales and Scotland from 2024 to 2025.
Competition
Dr Vikas Verma, a consultant plastic surgeon at NMC Royal Hospital DIP, Dubai, said an oversaturation of UAE clinics and price competition could be behind a downturn in aesthetic surgeries.
“Intense competition and the sheer number of players push price and quality of work down,” he said. “With so many providers, individual clinics can lose volume even when the market grows.”
Elsewhere, regulations are tightening on the industry. The Dubai Health Authority recently told private facilities that medical advertising must be truthful and supported by appropriate evidence, with disciplinary action for non-compliance.
Stricter licensing has also aimed to redraw boundaries between medical clinics and beauty salons to reduce the number of bookings driven by social media influencers.
“Traditional surgery still matters,” Dr Verma said. “But the preference is shifting towards treatments which are non-invasive, can be done quickly, give immediate results and people can go to work the next day.
“GLP-1 drugs are reshaping plastic surgery, mostly by creating a new patient group and shifting demand towards facial and body-contouring work. We are getting more enquiries for such procedures and at a much younger age group.”