Exclusive to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
Radiofrequency
External monopolar: tightens the jawline and neck through controlled heating of the dermis, no needles, no downtime.
Learn moreYour Concerns
You have lost a lot of weight, fast. You feel better, and the mirror shows you a tired face. It is not your imagination, and no cream will fix it. Here is why, and what really works.
The media call it “Ozempic face”: hollow cheeks, sagging features, an exhausted look after major or rapid weight loss, whether linked to a treatment or not. The specific role of the medication is still debated; what is certain is the effect of the speed of weight loss on the face.
The face rests on fat pads, some just under the skin, others deep, on the bone. When they melt quickly, the skin keeps the same surface area. It is not an elastic fabric: deprived of its support, it drops. Collagen has not been destroyed; it is volume that is missing. That distinction changes everything about what can be done.
Two factors decide the damage: bone structure (a high cheekbone, a defined jaw hold the skin the way a hanger holds a garment) and sun history. Skin exposed for years without protection has a weakened dermis; when the support disappears beneath it, every layer gives way at once. On the Riviera, that is many of us.
Loose skin or lost volume?
This is what I check first at the assessment, because it decides everything. Loose skin — softer jawline, jowls, neck — can be tightened: radiofrequency and focused ultrasound heat the deep layers and make the tissue contract. The skin moves closer to its new volume. That is what I do in the treatment room, as a course, with a baseline assessment and follow-up photos.
A hollowed face — temples, cheeks, deepening under-eye shadows — lacks substance. No energy device recreates it. Collagen stimulators and fillers restore density and volume where they are missing; these are medical procedures, and I refer you to a doctor when indicated. After massive weight loss, when stretched skin no longer retracts on its own, only surgery answers. I will tell you if that is your case.
The two often coexist. My role is to say what belongs in the treatment room, what belongs to a doctor, and in which order. A face that is already very thin does not need indiscriminate “firming”.
Worth knowing
The big brands have launched “plumping” products aimed at people losing weight. A cream rich in hyaluronic acid or peptides hydrates, smooths the surface and keeps the glow. I recommend some, and I use them in the treatment room.
But it stays on the surface. It does not replace a gram of supporting fat, nor tighten a centimetre of excess skin. Dermatologists say it plainly: if it were possible, nobody would be getting injections any more. I would rather tell you before you have spent three jars for nothing.
The right time
Most people come once the weight loss is over. That is late. Skin retracts better if it is stimulated while the volume is decreasing. Three rules during weight loss: slow the pace (the problem is not losing weight, it is losing it too fast), work the muscles (the face follows the rest of the body), and protect from the sun every day, all year. On the Riviera, that is rule number one.
The radiofrequency I use is external monopolar radiofrequency: it heats the dermis from the surface, without needles. Published alerts about fat loss concern microneedling radiofrequency, a different technique, which I do not use on a thinned face.
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Exclusive to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
External monopolar: tightens the jawline and neck through controlled heating of the dermis, no needles, no downtime.
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Non-surgical lift
Focused ultrasound for the double chin, jawline and neck, according to the indication set at the assessment.
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Glow & repair
For the tired complexion that often comes with weight loss, alongside firming treatments.
Learn moreFAQ
A media expression for hollow cheeks, loose skin and marked features after major or rapid weight loss. These changes also occur after weight lost by other means; the specific role of the medication is still debated.
No. They tighten loose skin; they do not recreate lost volume. A hollowed face calls for medical procedures (collagen stimulators, fillers); I refer you to a doctor when indicated.
During the weight loss, not after. Skin retracts better if it is stimulated while the volume is decreasing, with a baseline assessment and follow-up photos.
It hydrates and smooths the surface, which is useful. It replaces neither supporting fat nor excess skin.
External monopolar radiofrequency, without needles. Alerts about fat loss concern microneedling radiofrequency, which I do not use on a thinned face.
Hadda Belgacem, nurse and beauty therapist — HBeauty Saint-Tropez, La Croix-Valmer
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