Weight-loss drugs reshape Brazil’s beauty market

Brazil’s expanding market for weight-loss drugs is opening a new source of demand for beauty companies. Cosmetics groups, pharmacy retailers and providers of aesthetic treatments are adjusting their products and services for people who lose weight and then seek help with changes to their skin, hair and body.

The trend is being watched by companies ranging from Brazilian group Boticário to France’s L’Oréal and Naos. They say it is too soon to measure the full effect on household spending, but signs of stronger interest are already appearing in self-care, dermocosmetics and treatments aimed at firmness and hair density.

Boticário has been following the shift for at least two years. The company is putting 10% of its research and development budget into projects connected with people using weight-loss pens, according to Renata Gomide, its chief marketing officer. She described the change as a new pattern of behaviour in which users become more attentive to their appearance and personal care.

Research and new products

Boticário has begun a clinical partnership with Albert Einstein Hospital to examine how weight-loss drugs affect women’s skin and hair. Its Center for Women’s Studies will involve 70 women aged between 18 and 60 in the research.

The project follows an earlier survey conducted by the group, which found concerns about thinning hair and loss of skin firmness among consumers. Those findings informed two launches this year. Eudora introduced a product intended to increase the thickness of hair fibres, while Boticário launched a facial range focused on support and firmness. The company said the facial product produced the strongest revenue performance in its history, although it did not provide a figure.

L’Oréal has taken a different route by using existing products. In August, its Vichy brand introduced a skin and hair treatment programme for people undergoing rapid weight loss. Marcelo Zimet, head of L’Oréal’s Brazilian operation, said the opportunity lies in established areas such as dermocosmetics, advanced hair care and medical aesthetics rather than an entirely separate product category.

The company expects sales in 2026 to rise by 34% for the skin product in the Vichy programme and by 41% for its hair product.

Naos is resisting a more explicit repositioning. Juliana Valeriano, marketing chief for the group’s Brazilian subsidiary, said the company does not want simply to relabel existing products for people who have used weight-loss pens. Instead, it plans to explain how products already developed—such as a collagen-stimulating treatment—may address the needs of these consumers.

Spending moves towards treatment

The commercial opportunity is linked to the growing availability of weight-loss medicines. The end of semaglutide’s patent, covering the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, is expected to bring more competitors and lower prices in Brazil. That could broaden access and increase the number of people looking for follow-on care.

An April NielsenIQ survey cited by GrowinCo found that 5% of Brazilian households were already using weight-loss pens, while 26% expressed interest. Among existing users, 75% had cut back on or stopped buying chocolate, confectionery and savoury snacks. Data from the United States, where use is more established, showed that households with someone taking these medicines spend about 30% more on beauty products than other households, according to Circana.

GrowinCo’s analysis of Mintel data also points to a change in product development. In Brazil, cosmetics launches carrying claims about firming reached 3.54% of launches through August 2026, almost four times the level recorded in 2015. Hair-care launches featuring claims against hair loss have grown 3.8 times since 2018.

The company expects interest in firmness to spread from facial products into body care, sun protection and makeup over the coming year. Anti-hair-loss shampoos and conditioners are also expected to gain ground. Consumers are paying more for these promises: facial creams marketed around firming cost an average of 65% more than comparable products, according to GrowinCo.

Pharmacies and clinics respond

Pharmacy data suggest that demand is moving towards more specialised care. Over the past year, sales of dermocosmetics increased 8.2% in value and 5.8% in volume, while prices remained broadly stable, Scanntech reported. Its market intelligence chief, Felipe Passarelli, said basic personal-care products were under greater pressure as treatment-oriented products gained attention. He cautioned that the direct link to weight-loss medicines still needs to be tested.

Panvel has reported stronger demand for collagen products, shampoos aimed at hair loss and treatments designed to add thickness. Carolina Nalerio Monteiro, the retailer’s commercial executive manager, said sales were significant but did not attribute them specifically to GLP-1 medicines.

Drugmakers are also building complementary offers around weight-loss treatments. Hypera Pharma introduced semaglutide under its Mantecorp brand in September and created a discount programme covering more than 50 products for customers in treatment. It is also launching Semavy Nutri, a range of protein and fibre supplements intended to address nutritional needs that may arise during weight loss.

Aesthetic-device companies are seeing similar interest. Brazil’s Classys subsidiary, which belongs to a South Korean manufacturer, reported greater demand for equipment used to treat sagging skin. Clinics, according to the company’s Brazilian clinical director Stephanie Teixeira, often approach it after patients have lost substantial weight and begin seeking procedures to address the result.

Galderma, the Swiss injectable-aesthetics group, also views rapid weight loss as a new factor in its market. Together, these developments show how medicines designed to reduce weight are creating commercial effects well beyond pharmacies, reaching the shelves of beauty retailers and the treatment rooms of aesthetic clinics.