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West End Facial Plastic Surgery Blog View all posts

How do you fix eyelid bags?
The eyes are often one of the first areas of the face to show aging. Some of these changes are related to your lifestyle- if you are, perhaps, on call all the time and/or have young children who wake up ...
Dec 16th, 2019

When is it time for an eyelid lift?
Eyelid lifts are my most popular cosmetic surgery. But how do you know when it’s the right time? In general, people want to manage their aging process gracefully, meaning that they want to look better ...
Mar 6th, 2019

Five questions to ask your facelift surgeon
I love it when the azaleas start to bloom! Here on the blog, we’ve been talking a lot about non-invasive types of treatments that we can use to help you look as good as you feel. These include Pelleve, IPL, and chemical peels.
Apr 16th, 2018

All about Hispanic Rhinoplasty
Just as no two people are created the same, no two noses are created the same. The size and shape of the cartilage is different. The nasal bones are different. The skin is different.
Apr 3rd, 2016

Beauty maintenance for 30-somethings
People frequently come to me for skin care advice and ask, “What can I do?” Over the next several months, I will present a series addressing common beauty concerns by the decade. Today, we’re starting with people in their thirties.
Feb 14th, 2016

All about earlobes!
Earlobes are under-appreciated parts of our faces. We tend to take them for granted until they start to bother us.
Jan 31st, 2016

How do you take care of stitches?
In previous posts we have discussed various ways that plastic surgeons disguise scars. We hide scars in natural boundaries between facial features.
Jan 3rd, 2016

An uncomfortable subject… PART TWO
Many patients share with me their concerns about anesthesia. In a previous blog post, we discussed simple ways that we make our procedures comfortable.
Nov 15th, 2015

Facial Plastic Surgeons as Artists?
One of the best parts of my job is that facial plastic surgery merges art with the science of medicine. During high school and college, I was very involved with music and theater.
Nov 1st, 2015

An uncomfortable subject… PART ONE
Today we’re going to discuss an uncomfortable truth. Many patients who are considering facial plastic surgery procedures choose to delay their treatments because they are worried about pain and anesthesia.
Oct 19th, 2015

What is the proper way to take care of a scar?
Every day, people ask me about scars and the best way to minimize them. While scars can never be totally avoided, we plastic surgeons know many tricks and techniques that help to hide scars (check out my blog post from June).
Sep 20th, 2015

What’s on that football player’s nose?
It’s football season once again! As you sit back and enjoy your favorite team (Go Blue Devils! Go Eagles!), you may notice that a number of players have something that looks like tape on their noses.
Sep 6th, 2015

Beauty shots: Is this really a thing?
On the way to work recently, I heard a story about a line of Japanese drinks that contain collagen. They are promoted as beauty products for skin care.
Aug 17th, 2015

Can a nose job improve your breathing?
Early 20th century modernist architecture was shaped by Louis Sullivan’s “form follows function” principle. The idea was that a building’s shape should be based upon its intended function or purpose.
Aug 3rd, 2015

Use sunscreen, friends!
Facial plastic surgeons are big fans of sunscreen. While YOU may think you look healthier with a tan, the TRUTH is that UV light damages your skin.
Jul 20th, 2015

How to minimize bruises from facial procedures
The band Train was wrong: bruises can make for awkward conversation! Any invasive facial procedure risks bruising; in general, the risk increases along with the invasiveness of the procedure.
Jun 1st, 2015

What to do if you have a broken nose
The nose is the most commonly injured part of the body. What should you do if you think your nose is broken? First, stop the bleeding!
Apr 17th, 2015
This patient is one week after having a rhinoplasty

Four Myths about Rhinoplasty
Many patients worry about recovering from nasal surgery. They worry about pain, inability to breathe, and the healing process. Here I address four common myths about rhinoplasty.
Jul 13th, 2023

My experience with the COVID-19 Vaccine
While we were all sitting at home for most of 2020, I kept reminding myself that scientists were rapidly working on a COVID-19 Vaccine. Once community spread of COVID-19 became wide spread, there really wasn’t going to be another way out of the pandemic.
Jan 15th, 2021

Botox Lip Flip: Is this really a thing?
Recently, a young lady asked me to do a Botox lip flip for her. The Botox lip flip is something that I was vaguely aware of, but hadn’t really studied because I didn’t think it would work.
Oct 19th, 2020

How WEFPS has adapted to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us. The normal rhythms of our daily lives have been disrupted. We can’t participate in society in ways we’re all used to: you can’t go to the grocery store without a mask; you can’t go into the library ...
Jul 20th, 2020

Beauty Maintenance Resolutions for 2020
Every new year is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Here at WEFPS, we want everybody to look and feel their best, so I thought I’d sit down and share some resolutions you might consider if you want 2020 to be your skin’s best year yet.
Jan 2nd, 2020

Everything you need to know about microneedling!
Avid readers of the blog will recall that when I examined facial rollersand asked if they are really a thing, I referenced something called “microneedling” and said it definitely was a thing, but I didn’t really explain more about it.
Mar 14th, 2019

PrecisionTx®: Is this really a thing?
Regular readers of the blog will note that I have a recurring feature where I take current trends in beauty or health and wellness and examine them from a scientific perspective.
Feb 18th, 2019

Four things to know about nose jobs
A “nose job” can refer to any surgical procedure that involves work on the architecture of your nose. This can include a “septoplasty-” work done on the inside to improve your breathing.
Jan 1st, 2019

Facial Rollers: Are these really a thing?
Long time readers of the blog know that I have a regular feature called “Is this really a thing?” In these posts, I take a hot beauty trend and go to the medical literature to see if the trend’s claims have any validity.
Nov 2nd, 2018

Edible sun protection: Is this really a thing?
I get weekly e-mails from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons that link to recent news items of interest to the members. This week’s included a story about “sunscreen pill” supplements.
Jun 3rd, 2018

Four truths about sunscreen
Spring is finally coming to Richmond! As the weather gets nicer and the flowers start to come out, we’re all going to be spending a lot more time outside.
Apr 2nd, 2018

Beauty Maintenance tips for the Oregon Trail Generation
I’ve found myself lately giving out a lot of skin care tips to my friends and work colleagues. Of course, I’ve been doing this for years, but the recent change is that a lot of these people are about my age instead of being older (and in some cases...
Mar 19th, 2018

What is Pellevé and what can it do for you?
As a facial plastic surgeon, I enjoy doing surgery. I fell in love with the field when I realized you could do these big complicated procedures to help people feel better or look better, but look like nothing happened!
Mar 5th, 2018

Solutions for puffy eyelids
The eyes are one of the first places that people start to complain about looking old. Why is that? The skin and support structures are very thin- in fact, eyelid skin is the thinnest skin of your entire body!
Feb 19th, 2018

All about peels!
Here at the blog, we’ve been exploring the wide variety of treatments offered by our team of master aestheticians. So far, we’ve discussed IPL treatments and laser resurfacing.
Dec 4th, 2017

What is laser resurfacing?
Today on the blog, we’re talking about lasers. While we at WEFPS love doing surgery, we also love less invasive ways of helping our patients look better.
Nov 20th, 2017

What is IPL and what it can do for you?
Here at West End FPS, we have a lot of ways to help you look your best regardless of your age. We like to emphasize sunscreen for prevention and our retinol-containing skin products to help keep your skin looking its best.
Nov 5th, 2017

Acupuncture face lift: Is this really a thing?
I was recently out for a run and came across this store front. Now, I’m certainly not an expert on Eastern medicine, but I am an expert on face lifts and I was quite skeptical that you could get one through acupuncture. But here on the blog we keep ...
Oct 15th, 2017

Everything you need to know about rhinoplasty for men
Guys, let’s talk. In our society, most facial plastic surgery clients are women. But it’s okay to want to look better. In my practice, the most common reason men come to see to me is to talk about their noses.
Oct 2nd, 2017

Just say “No!” to duck lips
Lots of women come to me asking about lip augmentation. I’d say that the #1 fear that they have is looking “over done”, like they have duck lips.
Jun 19th, 2017

A BIG Announcement!
My family and I moved to the Brazos Valley in 2011 after I finished my fellowship in facial plastic surgery. I was hired as an otolaryngologist by St. Joseph and also performed cosmetic surgery through the Face Place.
Jun 5th, 2017

Four things you should know about Botox®!
Pretty much everybody has heard of Botox®. When I was finishing my training, my wife’s 90 year-old grandmother was heard to say that she was looking forward to having me around because I “could use that Botox® to fix my neck!”
May 17th, 2017

Everything you wanted to know about facial plastic surgery: Part 2
Today we’re continuing our series where I answer questions that I hear all the time in conversations with patients, family, and friends. As always, if you have something you want to know, shoot me an e-mail, visit us on Facebook, or fill out the contact...
May 1st, 2017

What is the difference between closed and open rhinoplasty?
Long time readers of my blog know that I LOVE to think about, write about, and perform rhinoplasties. Previously, I discussed the recovery process after a rhinoplasty and noted that it largely depends on the kind of surgery you need.
Mar 20th, 2017

Why smoking is bad for your skin
Frequent readers will know that I routinely recommend that my patients quit smoking to look and feel their best. All of my handouts about the different surgeries that I do emphasize how important it is to stop smoking.
Mar 15th, 2017

Collagen Replacement: Is this really a thing?
The Today Show recently did a segment on the current trend of collagen replacement as a way to improve your skin. As many of you know, collagen is a protein that is one of our body’s important building blocks.
Mar 6th, 2017

The ABCs of Melanoma
If you’ve spent any time looking at my blog, you’ll notice that I harp on sunscreen. While I freely admit that I don’t do a good job of it when I am living my day to day life, I do a lot better when I’m on vacation in sunny spots.
Feb 20th, 2017

Dr. Schmidt’s skin care advice for men
Most skin care products and services are marketed towards women. I’m as guilty of this as anybody. Well, it’s time to give male faces the attention they deserve!
Feb 6th, 2017

What I’m thankful for in 2016
This is going to be our last new blog post of 2016! Let’s take a break from technical discussions of important subjects like rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, and RBF.
Dec 19th, 2016

Resting Bitch Face: Is this really a thing?
Welcome to another edition of our series, “Is this really a thing?” Previously we’ve examined Vampire Face Lifts (yes, it’s a thing, but of questionable efficacy), Microcurrent Facelifts (don’t waste your time, it’s not a thing),...
Dec 5th, 2016

Let’s talk recovery time
People come and talk to me all the time about things that bother them about their appearance. We discuss their skin texture, their wrinkles, their bulging, sagging tissues, and their noses.
Nov 21st, 2016

What is Dermabrasion and what can it do for you?
Many people have heard of microdermabrasion. It’s a cosmetic treatment where we use tiny crystals to exfoliate the top layer of your skin. It’s kind of like using a tiny, gentle sandblaster to remove dead skin cells and expose younger, smoother skin.
Oct 3rd, 2016

Just what is possible with a rhinoplasty?
I talk to a LOT of people about their noses. Many want to breathe better. Some have old injuries that they want fixed. Many want their noses to simply look better.
Sep 19th, 2016

Beauty maintenance tips for college students
Everybody wants to look their best regardless of where they are in life. Previously I’ve written about beauty maintenance for people in their thirties, forties, and fifties.
Sep 5th, 2016

The Many Uses of Medical Botox®, Part 2
Botox® is an amazing drug! In a previous post, I reviewed how I use Botox® not only for softening facial wrinkles but also for the treatment of facial nerve problems and headaches.
Aug 15th, 2016

How I repair earlobe gauges
People have many ways of expressing their individuality. Our haircut and clothes are highly visible ways that distinguish us from others.
Jul 18th, 2016

What to expect after you have a rhinoplasty
When patients are considering cosmetic surgery, they often ask me what the recovery is like. This is particularly true for rhinoplasties. People are worried that they’ll be horribly bruised and swollen.
Jun 6th, 2016

The Time Dr. Schmidt Got BOTOX®
It’s been several years but, yes, I have had BOTOX®. It was during the final year of my residency, when I was acting as chief resident. I knew I was going into facial plastic surgery, and I felt I needed to know what BOTOX® was all about.
Feb 2nd, 2015