For some people on GLP-1 medications, it’s not only the waistline that’s thinning. Alongside the well-documented weight effects of drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), a new side effect has been circulating online: “Ozempic hair.”
The term isn’t a medical diagnosis, notes Marc R. Avram, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. It’s shorthand for “increased hair shedding that some people notice several months after starting GLP-1 medications,” he explains — a cousin to the much-discussed “Ozempic face.”
Dermatologists generally link the shedding to the rapid weight loss these drugs can produce rather than to the medication itself — a stress that can temporarily push more hairs than usual into their shedding phase.
The encouraging news is that this kind of shedding is typically temporary. Supporting the body with steady nutrition and giving it time usually helps, and anyone concerned is best off consulting a dermatologist rather than self-diagnosing.
