L'Oréal Says GLP-1 Drugs Are Now Moving Skin Care Sales

L'Oréal grew sales 7.2% to €11.6bn in the three months to 30 September, and its CEO attributes part of the momentum in skin care to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Nicolas Hieronimus told investors on 22 October, following the group's Q3 2026 results, that the medications are reshaping demand for topical products.

"We also see, which is a very important phenomenon for us, the rise of the use of GLP-1 is having an impact on beauty consumption and skin care consumption, in particular," Hieronimus said on the call.

How large is the GLP-1 user base?

The market context explains the executive's attention. According to the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, 11% of US adults currently use GLP-1 medications — the drug class behind Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — for weight loss, while 15% have used them at some point in their lives.

The UK shows a similar trajectory. Research from UCL published in BMC Medicine estimates that 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used GLP-1 medications for weight loss between early 2024 and early 2025. That user base now rivals the population of a mid-sized European city, and it is the cohort L'Oréal is positioning against.

What is L'Oréal actually selling?

Hieronimus named specific brands already aligned with the trend. "So, we have products in SkinCeuticals, but also in Kiehl's, that have been designed to work alongside and complement GLP-1, and its side effects on skin sagging or other things like that," he said.

The framing matters. Rapid weight loss is associated with cutaneous changes — skin sagging among them — and the CEO positioned these products as complements to the medications, not treatments. The company did not release trial data supporting the claims, and no efficacy endpoints were presented on the call.

Which division carried the quarter?

L'Oréal described its Q3 2026 results as "exceptional," with the dermatological beauty division growing 11.6% — well ahead of the group's 7.2% overall pace. The division's three "billionaire" brands, each generating over a billion euros, all posted double-digit growth:

• La Roche-Posay
• CeraVe
• SkinCeuticals

The division's outperformance gives the GLP-1 strategy a commercial anchor. SkinCeuticals, the physician-dispensed medical-grade line, sits at the intersection of dermatological recommendation and premium pricing.

How established is the GLP-1 beauty category?

The trend predates this earnings call. Cosmetics Business reported earlier this year on the rise of beauty innovations claiming to target skin volume loss caused by GLP-1 medications. L'Oréal is therefore entering, or formalizing its presence in, a category competitors have already begun building.

What remains unsaid is notable. Hieronimus cited no sales figures attributable to GLP-1-adjacent products specifically, no clinical evidence for the SkinCeuticals and Kiehl's formulations he referenced, and no guidance on how large he expects the effect to become. The "impact" is, for now, a qualitative observation from an executive with an interest in the narrative.

The distinction between manufacturer claim and demonstrated outcome is one dermatologists will recognize. Until published data connect specific formulations to measurable improvements in GLP-1-associated skin changes, the category rests on plausibility and market positioning rather than evidence.

The commercial signal, however, is concrete: an 11.6% divisional growth rate in a single quarter, driven by brands dermatologists already recommend, suggests the demand side of the equation is real regardless of how the product claims are ultimately substantiated.