Beauty group L’Oreal says the rise of weight loss drugs has affected sales of its beauty and skin care products. The company has designed some products to target side effects of rapid weight loss.
Its head, Nicolas Hieronimus, said the beauty market was proving resilient in a challenging global context. He described the use of GLP-1 drugs as “a very important phenomenon for us”.
Speaking on an investor call, he said the rise in their use was “having an impact on beauty consumption and skin care consumption in particular”. The company, which owns Maybelline and La Roche-Posay, said on Thursday that sales in the three months to September rose 7.7%, above analyst expectations.
How GLP-1 drugs are shaping L’Oreal’s product strategy
GLP-1 drugs, developed to treat diabetes, include Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. They have grown in popularity after being found to cause significant weight loss by reducing appetite.
The drugs do not directly cause loose skin. However, rapid weight loss can, for some people, lead to loose skin, including around the face.
Hieronimus said SkinCeuticals and Kiehl’s offer products “designed to work alongside and complement GLP-1 and its side effects on skin sagging”, as well as other effects of rapid weight loss.
L’Oreal’s Galderma stake and GLP-1 skin research
L’Oreal increased its stake in dermatology firm Galderma to 20% last December. Galderma owns Sculptra, an injectable that stimulates collagen production, and Restylane, a dermal filler.
Both companies have been testing products in separate clinical trials involving GLP-1 users worried about loose skin. Last year, Galderma released a report on the rise of GLP-1 use and related concerns about changes in facial appearance.
Its own survey of weight loss medication users found that the vast majority had noticed changes to their facial appearance after using those drugs.
