How to Remove Acne in Photoshop

▶ Download the practice files for this tutorial (free with a PHLEARN account): phlearn.com/tutorial/remove-acne-in-photoshop/

Remove acne and blemishes in Photoshop without leaving skin looking flat or fake. The trick is splitting the job into two separate problems: get rid of the redness first, then remove the blemishes themselves — and add a touch of realistic red back in at the end.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Why acne removal is really a two-step problem
01:37 Removing redness with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
04:29 Removing blemishes with the Spot Healing Brush
07:25 Adding realistic red back into the skin
08:19 Before and after

THE STEPS
1. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and target the reds specifically to pull the redness out of the skin.
2. Grab the Spot Healing Brush, and in the options bar turn on Content-Aware and Sample All Layers so you can work non-destructively on a new layer.
3. Paint over the smaller blemishes first, then zoom out and paint over larger areas to even out uneven skin tone.
4. Once the acne and redness are gone, sample a soft red from the lips on a new layer and paint it back over the face.
5. Set that layer's blend mode to Soft Light and lower the opacity to roughly 20–50% until the skin reads as natural instead of flat.

Read the full step-by-step tutorial:
phlearn.com/tutorial/remove-acne-in-photoshop/

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