L'Oreal Says Weight Loss Drugs Are Reshaping Beauty, Skincare Sales

L'Oreal says the growing use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is changing how consumers buy beauty and skincare products, and the company is now designing items aimed at side-effects linked to rapid weight loss, according to BBC News.

What did L'Oreal's CEO say about GLP-1 drugs?

L'Oreal chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus told an investor call that the rise of GLP-1 medications was "a very important phenomenon for us," the BBC reported. He said the drugs were "having an impact on beauty consumption and skin care consumption in particular."

"Having an impact on beauty consumption and skin care consumption in particular." — Nicolas Hieronimus, L'Oreal CEO, via BBC News

Hieronimus made the remarks as L'Oreal, which also owns Maybelline and La Roche-Posay, reported that sales in the three months to September rose 7.7%, beating analyst expectations, according to the BBC. He described the beauty market as proving resilient despite what he called a challenging global context.

How are GLP-1 drugs affecting skin and beauty consumption?

GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, were originally developed to treat diabetes before doctors and patients found they also produce significant weight loss by suppressing appetite, the BBC noted. That rapid weight loss is not caused directly by the drugs, but it can come with a side-effect of loose or sagging skin, including around the face, according to the report.

That side-effect is the specific area where L'Oreal says it sees a shift in consumer demand. The company has not disclosed sales figures tied specifically to GLP-1-related products, and the BBC report does not include a breakdown of how much of the 7.7% quarterly sales growth is attributable to the drugs' effects.

How is L'Oreal responding with its product lineup?

Hieronimus said two of L'Oreal's dermatology-focused brands, SkinCeuticals and Kiehl's, have products "that have been designed to work alongside and complement GLP-1 and its side-effects on skin sagging" and other effects tied to rapid weight loss, the BBC reported.

The move places L'Oreal among consumer goods companies trying to adapt existing product lines to a drug category that has reshaped spending patterns across food, apparel and now personal care, based on the CEO's comments to investors.

What is L'Oreal's stake in Galderma and why does it matter?

L'Oreal has also expanded further into clinical aesthetics, raising its stake in dermatology company Galderma to 20% last December, according to the BBC. Galderma owns injectable aesthetic products including Sculptra, which is designed to stimulate collagen production, and Restylane, a dermal filler.

Both L'Oreal and Galderma have been running separate clinical trials testing products on GLP-1 users who are concerned about loose skin, the BBC reported, citing Reuters. Galderma published a report last year on the rise of GLP-1 use and related concerns about changes in facial appearance; the BBC said Galderma's own survey of weight loss medication users found that a majority had noticed changes to their facial appearance after taking the drugs. The BBC report does not specify the exact share of survey respondents who reported those changes.

How did L'Oreal's overall quarterly sales perform?

L'Oreal announced the 7.7% third-quarter sales increase on Thursday, outperforming what analysts had expected, the BBC reported. The company did not break out what portion of that growth came from GLP-1-related product lines versus its broader portfolio, which spans mass-market, luxury and dermatological beauty brands.

The disclosure comes as weight loss drugs continue to expand in use worldwide, with ripple effects reported across industries beyond pharmaceuticals, including food and beverage, apparel and now personal care, according to the BBC's coverage. For L'Oreal, the company's own framing suggests it views the shift less as a threat to existing sales and more as a new category of consumer need it can address with existing dermatology brands and its growing aesthetics stake through Galderma.

The BBC report does not indicate whether other major beauty companies have made similar disclosures about GLP-1's effect on their sales, leaving open whether L'Oreal's experience reflects an industry-wide pattern or a company-specific one tied to its particular brand portfolio in dermatology and aesthetics.