Exclusive | People are having ‘second wave’ glow-ups after losing weight on GLP-1s — here’s what they’re doing

Derek Bartel didn’t recognize himself. Looking back at photos from a recent trip, he was convinced his wife had pulled a prank.

“Oh my god, is that me?” Bartel, 39, recalled thinking, certain she’d edited the images to make him look wider. “There’s no way I look like that.”

But it was him — every shocking, untouched inch.

“I knew I’d gained weight, but I think I was in denial a little bit about how much,” the real estate broker from Brooklyn told The Post.  “After that, I decided that now might be the time to lose some.”

Bartel dropped more than 60 pounds with lifestyle changes and a GLP-1 weight loss drug — then shocked everyone, himself included, by embracing Botox and other cosmetic treatments after.

“It was something I never, ever considered at any point in my life,” he said. “I thought it was insane that people were getting shots in their face.”

Bartel is part of a growing number of GLP-1 users across the country undergoing “second-wave” transformations, newly inspired to prioritize self-care and invest in their appearance after losing weight.

“We’re seeing this across our clinics nationwide,” Scott Heckmann, CEO and co-founder of LaserAway, said in an interview. 

“The first wave was about taking control of physical health through weight management,” he explained. “That process unlocked something deeper; people are feeling confident and energized in their bodies again, and they want their outward appearance to reflect that inner shift.”

The “gateway” treatment

A lifelong athlete, Bartel had always been in “pretty good shape.”

“Then I got to the point where I had my first kid, and I wasn’t really able to work out or do anything anymore, and I started gaining weight,” he said.

Motivated to make a change, Bartel’s went to a doctor for tirzepatide — the active ingredient in GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound and Mounjaro — which mimics natural gut hormones to curb appetite, lower blood sugar and boost feelings of fullness.

He ultimately dropped 60 pounds, going from 230 pounds to 170 pounds. He was happy with the results, but there was a catch.

“One of the things I noticed was that I carried a lot of the weight in my face, and when I lost my double and triple chin, I had sagging skin on my neck,” he said.

Determined to finish what he started, he got a Potenza treatment, which uses ultrafine needles and radiofrequency energy to boost collagen and elastin, smoothing fine lines, improving texture and tightening the skin.

“I did two treatments, and it completely got rid of the loose skin,” Bartel said. 

Non-invasive skin-tightening procedures like this have become the top request among GLP-1 users at LaserAway, according to Emily Perbellini, the company’s national director of clinical operations. She added that they’re often paired with dermal filler.

Bartel also got a Potenza treatment on his stomach, targeting sagging skin that lingered despite his lean new physique.

“I’m definitely happy with how I look now,” he said. “I feel back to myself, someone who’s always been relatively fit and takes care of themselves.”

But soon, he realized the skin-tightening treatments were “like a gateway.

“That’s what got me hooked,” he admitted. 

And he’s not the only one.

“There has definitely been a trend toward a second-wave of transformation following GLP-1 use,” said Dr. Will Kirby, a board-certified dermatologist and chief medical officer at LaserAway.

“Weight loss used to be an uphill battle and was often the main focus of their wellness journey,” he explained. “GLP-1 medications have made weight management more attainable, which means patients can now turn their attention to other aspects of their health and confidence.”

The journey beyond the scale

Whitney Quartey can relate.

The 30-year-old Queens resident started gaining weight during the COVID pandemic as her lifestyle became more sedentary. She tried fad diets like Keto, but the pounds always came back — and then some.

“I struggled with my body image,” said Quartey, who works in supply chain and logistics for KIPP NYC. “Time went on and I kept gaining weight. I started feeling not as confident as I used to be.”

She began second-guessing outfit choices and feeling self-conscious in a bathing suit, something she’d never experienced before. The frustration was compounded by previous liposuction, after which the weight returned.

“That was a major reason why I wanted to try a GLP-1, because I didn’t hate the way my body looked, but it didn’t look the way it should after I paid all that money for it,” Quartey said.

On tirzepatide, she quickly slimmed down from 195 pounds to 169 pounds. Her confidence got a big boost and she felt empowered to wear what she wanted to again.

Quartey had thought about getting cosmetic treatments beyond liposuction before, but she wanted to reach her target weight first.

“Once I lost the weight, my face slimmed out. I was like, ‘OK, I think it’s time for me to keep investing in my appearance,’” she said.

That mindset is a common one

“Patients who’ve reached their health goals with GLP-1s aren’t just correcting things like volume loss or skin laxity,” Heckmann said. “They’re refining, enhancing, and investing in themselves.”

Since losing 30 pounds, Quartey has gotten Botox around her eyes and forehead, dermal filler in her cheeks, and laser hair removal on her bikini line, underarms and face.

“I’m going to keep continuing to make small improvements. I think it’s boosted my confidence even more,” Quartey said.

She plans to do more, including micro-needling and HydraFacials, a noninvasive treatment that cleanses, extracts and hydrates the skin.

“I just turned 30, things are changing,” Quartey said. “I’ve never really invested in those things, so I think that now is the time to start doing that before it gets too late.”

Turning back the clock

Bartel was on the same page.

“As I started losing weight and feeling a little bit better about myself, I noticed that I kind of let my appearance slip,” he said. “I never had any skin care or anything — I didn’t even wear sunscreen.”

Pushing 40, he figured now was as good a time as ever to start.

“I want to take care of myself and make sure I can slow down the aging process as much as possible,” Bartel said. Soon, he was moisturizing his face and even wearing sunscreen.

Seeing results, he stepped it up with Clear and Brilliant, a fractional laser treatment that creates tiny micro-injuries that stimulate collagen and cell turnover for a smoother, clearer complexion.

“It’s really gotten rid of a lot of the sun damage that I had on my face from years of no sunscreen,” he said. He now gets the treatment once every month or two.

But as he paid closer attention to his skin, he began noticing fine lines forming around his eyes from years of squinting.

“That’s when I started using neuromodulators like Botox and Xeomin,” Bartel said. “That was the one I thought I would never do.”

Bartel had only known women who got the injections, which work by temporarily blocking nerve signals to muscles, allowing them to relax and smoothing the appearance of wrinkles.

“This isn’t very manly,” Bartel remembered thinking. “Like, I can’t go into the gym and see the guys I kickbox with and be like ‘Oh, I just got Botox.’”

But now, after a combination of injections and Clear and Brilliant treatments, he says “all the fine lines are gone.”

“I look better now than I did six or seven years ago,” Bartel said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about and nothing to be ashamed of.”

Bartel has also undergone CoolSculpting on his chin and abdomen, targeting stubborn fat that often don’t respond fully to GLP-1 use, diet or exercise.

He now regularly gets HydraFacials and has even recently tried a salmon sperm treatment, aimed at speeding skin healing, boosting collagen and reducing inflammation.

“I look at all the guys in my family, and they’re covered in wrinkles by 40 or 50 years old,” Bartel said. “I don’t want that. I want to look good. I want to look young.”