10 Promotion Ideas For Skincare and Beauty Brands for GLP-1 Effects

With 1 in 8 adults now using GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, skincare and beauty brands face an unprecedented opportunity. These weight loss drugs create specific skin concerns that 48% of users experience within 3-6 months, driving millions of consumers to search for solutions. For brands looking to identify and convert this high-intent audience, strategic promotions can capture market share in this rapidly expanding category.

Key Takeaways

• Massive market opportunity: The GLP-1 market was valued at an estimated $70.08 billion in 2025, with many patients newly motivated to consider aesthetic solutions
• Address the “4 D’s”: Deflation, Dehydration, Deep wrinkles, and Density loss—structure promotions around these specific, high-intent concerns
• Target high-value customers: A Morning Consult survey found 65% of GLP-1 users report feeling more confident (40% “much more” + 25% “a little more”), driving increased discretionary spending on beauty products
• Clinical proof sells: Evidence-based messaging resonates with consumers experiencing GLP-1-related skin changes
• Timing matters: Start preventive skincare messaging early since collagen remodeling takes time (often weeks to months) while weight loss can happen quickly
• Multi-channel engagement: Use email, social, and postal retargeting to reach this demographic across devices and platforms

Why Skincare Brands Need GLP-1-Specific Promotion Strategies

The GLP-1 receptor agonist market has transformed from a diabetes treatment niche into a mainstream weight loss phenomenon. FAIR Health reports GLP-1 prescribing rose sharply from 2019–2024, including a 587.8% increase among commercially insured adults ages 18–39, creating a massive new audience of GLP-1 users in the United States

These medications create predictable, addressable skincare needs. Dr. Marc Ronert, European Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon and co-owner of Image Skincare, identified the "4 D's" of GLP-1-related facial changes: Deflation (volume loss creating hollowed appearance), Dehydration (reduced moisture retention), Deep wrinkles (accelerated fine lines), and Density loss (compromised skin barrier).

The science goes beyond simple fat loss. According to research published in PMC, Emerging research suggests GLP-1-driven fat loss may affect skin support signals (including pathways linked to collagen and elastin), contributing to visible facial changes. Dr. Steven Dayan explains: "You're losing facial fat, which acts as an endocrine organ, producing hormones like estrogen that are important to skin integrity."

For beauty brands, 48% of GLP-1 patients report significant facial changes within 3-6 months. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons reported a 50% increase in procedures addressing facial fat loss in 2024. Medical aesthetics practices saw significant GLP-1 medication sales growth, creating opportunities for skincare brands to capture this high-intent market.

1) Target Potential GLP-1 Users With Precision Segmentation

The GLP-1 consumer represents a distinct, high-value demographic that skincare brands can identify and target with precision marketing.

Identifying High-Intent Segments

McKinsey's research reveals the "Maximalist Optimizers" segment—25% of wellness consumers who drive 40% of total spend. These consumers are 65% Millennials and Gen X (ages 35-55), 70% female, with household income $75K+, digitally savvy and active on Instagram and TikTok, and already using retinoids and vitamin C.

This aligns with findings that Gen X and Millennials are among the most engaged beauty and wellness consumers—making them strong targets for GLP-1-adjacent skincare messaging..

Leveraging Behavioral Insights

GLP-1 users exhibit distinctive purchasing behaviors: 56% shop for clothes more frequently, 40% purchase more beauty products, 31% are more likely to indulge in spa treatments, and 47% feel more positively about fashion and beauty brands.

Tools like Opensend Personas can build ad-ready customer cohorts from purchase and behavioral data, enabling precise targeting based on wellness purchases, supplement buying patterns, and skincare browsing behavior.

Tools You'll Need: Customer data platform, AI segmentation, behavioral tracking
Expected ROI: 25-50% improvement in campaign targeting efficiency

2) Capture High-Intent Website Visitors in Real Time

With many medspas now selling GLP-1s directly and consumers actively researching solutions, skincare brands must capture website visitors before they leave.

Why This Works

Most GLP-1-interested visitors browse anonymously. They're researching solutions but not ready to commit. Traditional lead generation methods miss these high-intent browsers entirely. Visitor identification technology recognizes visitors through behavioral patterns, capturing emails from unknown visitors.

How to Implement

Effective capture strategies include skin concern quizzes ("What's your biggest GLP-1 skin concern?" with personalized recommendations), educational lead magnets ("The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Skin on GLP-1s"), virtual consultations for GLP-1 users, and early access promotions.

Opensend Connect helps brands identify high-intent visitors in real time, building first-party data assets.

Create dedicated landing pages that lead with the problem ("Losing weight but not loving what you see?"), show clinical proof, address timing ("Start protecting your skin today—collagen takes 5 months to rebuild"), and offer value through free consultations or sample kits.

Tools You'll Need: Visitor identification platform, email service provider, landing page builder
Expected ROI: 15-30% improvement in list growth

3) Deploy Personalized Retargeting for Specific GLP-1 Concerns

Generic anti-aging messaging won't resonate with GLP-1 users. They face specific, urgent concerns that require targeted communication.

Crafting Tailored Messaging

Structure campaigns around the "4 D's" framework:

For Deflation concerns: "Restore facial volume" featuring products with L-ornithine and peptides, highlighting clinical results

For Dehydration concerns: "Your skin feels different now—here's why" promoting hyaluronic acid and ceramide-rich products

For Deep wrinkles: "Fight accelerated wrinkle formation" featuring retinoids and bakuchiol products with before/after results

For Density loss: "Rebuild your skin's foundation" promoting collagen-stimulating ingredients and barrier health

Multi-Platform Engagement

Reach GLP-1 users across their preferred channels through segmented email marketing based on browsing behavior, social retargeting on Instagram and TikTok, postal marketing for high-value prospects, and SMS campaigns with timely reminders.

Opensend Reconnect enables personalized marketing flows by unifying customer identities across devices.

Tools You'll Need: Email platform, social ad accounts, retargeting pixels
Expected ROI: 30-60% increase in conversion rates

4) Unify Customer Journeys Across All Devices

GLP-1 consumers research extensively before purchasing. They might see an ad on Instagram, browse products on mobile during lunch, and finally purchase on desktop at home.

Mapping Touchpoints Across Devices

The typical journey includes: Awareness (social content about "Ozempic Face"), Research (desktop browsing of clinical studies), Consideration (mobile comparison shopping), Decision (return visits across sessions), and Purchase (often on desktop for higher-value orders).

Enhancing Customer Experience

Unified identity resolution enables consistent messaging (don't show the same ad to someone who purchased), progressive profiling (build profiles over time), personalized recommendations (based on total browsing history), and accurate attribution (understand which touchpoints drive conversions).

Opensend Reconnect uses proprietary identity graphs to recognize returning visitors across devices, enabling seamless customer experiences that improve conversion rates.

Tools You'll Need: Identity resolution platform, cross-device tracking
Expected ROI: 20-40% improvement in attribution accuracy

5) Launch Automated Abandonment Recovery Campaigns

Cart abandonment in beauty eCommerce averages around 70%. For high-consideration products targeting GLP-1 concerns, abandonment rates can be even higher.

Automating Recovery Campaigns

Implement multi-stage abandonment sequences:

Browse abandonment: Triggered 2-4 hours after product page view, sending educational content about the specific concern

Cart abandonment: Triggered at 1 hour, 24 hours, and 72 hours with "Your skin won't wait—complete your order" messaging and escalating offers

Checkout abandonment: Triggered within 1 hour, addressing common objections like shipping costs

Post-Purchase Engagement

GLP-1 skincare isn't a one-time purchase. Build retention through educational sequences ("Your 12-week skin transformation guide"), replenishment reminders timed to usage rates, cross-sell campaigns introducing complementary products, and loyalty programs rewarding continued purchases.

Customer retention strategies become especially valuable for this high-lifetime-value segment.

Tools You'll Need: Email automation platform, abandoned cart tracking
Expected ROI: 15-25% cart recovery rate

6) Maintain Active Contact Lists With Email Revitalization

Email lists decay at a rate of up to 28% annually. For rapidly growing categories like GLP-1 skincare, maintaining clean, active email lists is essential.

Automated Email Verification

Common issues include hard bounces (invalid addresses), soft bounces (temporary issues), inactive subscribers (addresses that exist but owners don't engage), and spam traps (old addresses repurposed).

Maintaining Communication Channels

Opensend Revive automatically replaces bounced emails with active addresses for the same users, ensuring maintained communication, reduced churn from lost contact, improved email deliverability rates, and higher customer lifetime value.

This becomes especially important for subscription-based skincare programs where ongoing communication drives retention.

Tools You'll Need: Email revitalization platform, ESP integration
Expected ROI: 10-25% recovery of lost contacts

7) Build AI-Powered Audience Segments for Precision Marketing

The GLP-1 market isn't monolithic. Users have different concerns based on weight loss stage, skin type, age, and budget.

Building Dynamic Audience Segments

Create segments based on weight loss stage (pre-GLP-1 for preventive messaging, active weight loss for current concerns, weight maintenance for long-term focus), concern priority (volume loss, hydration, or multiple concerns), and purchase behavior (first-time buyers, existing users upgrading, premium purchasers).

Opensend Personas uses AI-powered cohorts based on real purchase and behavioral data, integrating with platforms like Klaviyo, Google, and Meta.

Optimizing Ad Spend

Leverage AI to predict high-value customers, optimize bidding by allocating budget to highest-converting segments, personalize creative based on predicted concerns, and time campaigns when customers are most likely to engage.

Tools You'll Need: AI segmentation platform, ad platform integrations
Expected ROI: 40-70% reduction in customer acquisition costs

8) Create Educational Content Addressing the "4 D's"

GLP-1 users actively seek information about managing skin changes. Educational content positions your brand as the solution.

Developing Authority Content

Create comprehensive guides on collagen preservation during weight loss, hydration strategies for GLP-1 users, timing skincare interventions with weight loss phases, and ingredient deep-dives for volume restoration.

Distribution Strategies

Publish content on your blog optimized for search queries like "GLP-1 skin changes" and "Ozempic face prevention," share on social media where GLP-1 conversations happen, use as lead magnets in exchange for email addresses, and repurpose into email nurture sequences.

Tools You'll Need: Content management system, SEO tools, social media scheduler
Expected ROI: 25-40% increase in organic traffic

9) Launch Limited-Edition GLP-1-Specific Product Lines

Scarcity drives desire in beauty. Limited editions create urgency while testing market response to GLP-1-targeted formulations.

Creating Product Exclusivity

Develop numbered series with volume-restoring ingredients, introduce seasonal launches targeting specific "D's," offer VIP early access to email subscribers, and bundle complementary products addressing multiple concerns.

Coordinating Multi-Channel Launches

Announce releases first to VIP list members, send waitlist invitations 48 hours before public release, use social media video content (which drives exceptional engagement), and retarget viewers with countdown timers showing remaining inventory.

Opensend Connect integrates with marketing tools for coordinated multi-channel campaigns.

Tools You'll Need: Email platform, social ad accounts, inventory management
Expected ROI: 40-80% sell-through for limited editions

10) Optimize Paid Ad Spend by Retargeting Known Shoppers

Watch brands waste significant budgets advertising to people who already visited their site. Retargeting known shoppers costs less and converts better.

Why Targeting Known Shoppers Works

Retargeting warm audiences costs 60-80% less than acquiring new prospects while converting at 3-5x higher rates. Known shoppers have already demonstrated interest by visiting your site.

Syncing First-Party Data With Ad Platforms

Create custom audiences by uploading your first-party data to advertising platforms. For Google Ads, upload customer match lists with emails from visitors and purchasers. For Meta platforms, build Custom Audiences from website visitors and email subscribers. For programmatic display, use data management platforms to activate first-party segments.

Opensend Connect lowers customer acquisition costs by syncing high-intent visitors with marketing tools, feeding directly into ad platforms for retargeting within hours.

Tools You'll Need: Ad platform accounts, customer data platform, tracking pixels
Expected ROI: 50-70% reduction in cost per acquisition

Measuring Promotion Performance for GLP-1 Campaigns

Track specific metrics to optimize your GLP-1 skincare promotions:

Key Performance Indicators

Email performance: Open rates (benchmark: 20-25%), click-through rates (benchmark: 3-5%), revenue per email subscriber, and list growth rate from visitor identification.

Conversion metrics: Visitor-to-lead conversion rate, lead-to-customer conversion rate, average order value by traffic source, and time from first visit to purchase.

Customer lifetime value: Repeat purchase rate, years between purchases, upsell success rate, and referral generation.

Attribution modeling: Track the complete customer journey across touchpoints using multi-touch attribution to reveal which channels influence final conversions.

Setting Benchmarks

Establish baseline metrics before launching new promotions, then measure improvements over 60-90 day periods. Compare your performance against your historical data (month-over-month and year-over-year), industry benchmarks for beauty ecommerce, and your best-performing campaigns.

Ensuring Compliance and Data Security

Marketing to health-adjacent consumers requires careful attention to regulations and data protection.

Understanding Regulatory Requirements

Key compliance considerations include CAN-SPAM (all email marketing must comply with opt-out requirements), CCPA (California consumers have rights regarding personal data), FTC guidelines (health and beauty claims must be substantiated), and medical claims restrictions (skincare products cannot claim to "treat" or "cure" medical conditions).

Building Customer Trust

Compliance builds trust with privacy-conscious consumers through transparent data collection practices, clear opt-in and opt-out mechanisms, secure data handling with end-to-end encryption, and partnerships with consent-based data sources.

Opensend complies with all U.S. laws including CAN-SPAM and CCPA, partnering with thousands of sites with millions of registered users who consent to partner marketing. All data is protected by end-to-end encryption and sophisticated security protocols.

Why Opensend Delivers Results for GLP-1 Skincare Marketing

For skincare and beauty brands targeting the GLP-1 market, Opensend offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to identify, engage, and retain high-value shoppers.

The Opensend Advantage

Opensend's proprietary identity graph processes 7 billion+ events daily across 100,000+ U.S.-based sites, offering a 73% USA shopper match rate from 180M US shoppers in network, cookie-less identification that works despite privacy restrictions, and real human traffic verification.

The Complete Opensend Suite

Opensend Connect: Identify high-intent website visitors and capture their emails before they leave. Perfect for capturing GLP-1 researchers who browse without purchasing.

Opensend Reconnect: Unify fragmented consumer identities across devices. Recognize the same GLP-1 customer whether they browse on mobile or desktop.

Opensend Revive: Replace bounced emails with active addresses automatically. Maintain communication with valuable customers whose contact information has changed.

Opensend Personas: Build AI-powered customer cohorts based on purchase behavior and demographics. Target potential GLP-1 users with precision.

Seamless Integration

Opensend integrates with the platforms beauty brands already use including eCommerce (Shopify, WooCommerce, and more), email marketing (Klaviyo, Attentive, Iterable, Omnisend), and advertising (Google and Meta ad platforms). Setup requires just simple pixel installation.

View pricing or explore success stories to see results from brands like yours. Opensend offers a 2-week trial for $1—test the platform and see results before committing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can GLP-1 medications impact skin health?

GLP-1 medications affect skin through multiple mechanisms. Beyond fat loss, they may disrupt adipose-derived stem cells that signal fibroblasts to produce collagen and elastin. Additionally, facial fat acts as an endocrine organ producing estrogen, which is important for skin integrity. This leads to the "4 D's": Deflation, Dehydration, Deep wrinkles, and Density loss that 48% of users experience within 3-6 months.

What specific skincare concerns should brands address for GLP-1 users?

Brands should focus on volume restoration with peptides and L-ornithine, hydration through hyaluronic acid and ceramides, wrinkle prevention using retinoids and bakuchiol, and barrier repair with niacinamide and antioxidants. GLP-1 users need comprehensive skincare supporting collagen production, hydration, and barrier function throughout their weight loss journey.

How can I effectively identify potential GLP-1 users for my skincare brand?

Target the "Maximalist Optimizers" segment—primarily Millennials and Gen X aged 35-55, predominantly female, with household incomes above $75K. Look for consumers browsing wellness content, purchasing supplements, and showing interest in weight management products. Tools like Opensend Personas can build customer cohorts based on purchase and behavioral data.

What role does first-party data play in marketing to GLP-1 consumers?

First-party data is essential as third-party cookies phase out. Capture data through skin quizzes, educational content downloads, and website visitor identification. This data enables personalized marketing that resonates with specific GLP-1 concerns, improves targeting accuracy, and builds sustainable competitive advantages while maintaining compliance with privacy regulations.

How can I ensure my marketing strategies are compliant when targeting this demographic?

Ensure compliance with CAN-SPAM and CCPA regulations. Use cosmetic language like "improve the appearance of" rather than medical claims like "treat" or "cure." Partner with compliant data providers like Opensend that work with consent-based data sources and maintain end-to-end encryption. Always provide clear opt-out mechanisms and transparent data practices.