But experts warn that\u2019s not the case. <\/p>\n
There are currently no GLP-1 medications that can be absorbed through the skin, says C. Michael White, head of the department of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut. The drugs have large molecules that make that very difficult, if not impossible, he notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dietary supplement industry is the Wild West, but people have kicked it up another notch by borrowing the name GLP-1,\u201d White tells TODAY.com. \u201cBecause that term is in a lot of people’s consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
GLP-1 drugs mimic a hormone the body produces after eating<\/a>, which can decrease appetite. They\u2019re injected, but a pill form<\/a> may be available next year.<\/p>\n When consumers hear about the medications being effective for weight loss, they\u2019re desperate to get them, adds Dr. Melanie Jay, director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity Research.<\/p>\n \u201cIt creates a lot of demand, and it creates openings for people to exploit that demand,\u201d Jay tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n GLP-1 drugs are available only with a prescription and cost hundreds of dollars a month, while anyone can buy the patches and they may cost less than $1 per unit.<\/p>\n But the patches don\u2019t contain actual GLP-1 medications \u2014 \u201cthey have herbs and other random things depending on the patch,\u201d Jay says.<\/p>\n The main ingredient is usually berberine<\/a>, White notes, a substance found in plants that’s also been added to products marketed as “GLP-1 supplements.”<\/a><\/p>\n Can You Get GLP-1 in a Patch?<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no FDA-approved GLP-1 patches,\u201d the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tells TODAY.com in a statement.<\/p>\n There are also no FDA-approved drug products containing berberine, the agency adds.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can buy it without a prescription, it\u2019s not an actual GLP-1 drug,\u201d Jamie Alan, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, told NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kind Patches, a popular brand on TikTok, has renamed its \u201cGLP-1 patches\u201d as \u201cberberine patches,\u201d though the formula remains the same, according to its website. <\/p>\n The company describes the patches as \u201ccrafted to support healthy weight management and appetite control.\u201d<\/p>\n The new name \u201cis better appreciated by our customers, as it more clearly states the main ingredient,\u201d Kind Patches said in a statement to TODAY.com.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not a pharmaceutical company and we do not make any medical claims.\u201d<\/p>\n Do GLP-1 Patches Work for Weight Loss?<\/p>\n The experts doubt it.<\/p>\n When people swallow berberine supplements, they may lose a very modest amount of weight \u2014 2 to 4 pounds, White notes. But there\u2019s no research showing what happens when berberine is applied in patch form, he adds.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same issue with the other ingredients commonly listed in \u201cGLP-1 patches,\u201d including green tea extract (also called EGCG), garcinia cambogia<\/a>, pomegranate extract, mango seed extract, ginger root extract, cinnamon, L-glutamine (an amino acid), and various vitamins and minerals, White says.<\/p>\n When taken orally, some of these ingredients might lead to a 1-to-3-pound weight loss, but they haven’t been studied for going through the skin at all, he adds.<\/p>\n There could be a placebo effect<\/a>, Jay says.<\/p>\n Do Patches Boost GLP-1 levels?<\/p>\n Some patches are marketed as \u201cboosting\u201d GLP-1 levels. Some of the ingredients might increase the body\u2019s natural GLP-1 hormone, but so does food in general when people eat, Jay says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur natural GLP-1 lasts seconds to minutes in our bodies, whereas the (prescription GLP-1) medications last over a week,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it’s a whole different concentration and duration and activity than our natural GLP-1.\u201d<\/p>\n Are \u2018GLP-1 Patches\u2019 Safe?<\/p>\n White and Jay are concerned about what\u2019s actually in the products.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have ingredient lists, but there’s no standardization or seals of approval,\u201d Jay says. \u201cI think there is a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n When White and his students looked at online reviews of \u201cGLP-1 patches,\u201d they found some consumers reporting skin rashes, burns and blisters.<\/p>\n \u201cI can’t tell you that it’s due to undisclosed latex, or whether these other things that are never meant to be put on the skin cause irritation to people who might have allergy to the extract of a mango, or might have an allergic reaction to something that’s in ginger root, or the cinnamon or the berberine itself,\u201d White says.<\/p>\n![\"Kind](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GLP-1-patches-zz-250918-03-7c6c32.jpg\")
Kind Patches has renamed its GLP-1 patches as berberine patches.Kind Patches<\/p>\n