Hair Retouching

Why Hair Retouching Breaks Most Retouchers (And the Workflow That Finally Fixed It for Me)
Hair Retouching

Why Hair Retouching Breaks Most Retouchers (And the Workflow That Finally Fixed It for Me)

The first time a client told me my retouching looked “plastic,” I was mortified. I had spent three hours on a beauty shot, smoothing skin, evening out tone, cleaning up the background. The image looked pristine. It also looked completely fake. What I hadn’t touched was the hair, and in hindsight, that’s exactly why everything else fell apart. Hair that hasn’t been thoughtfully edited reads as an afterthought next to an over-processed face.

Why Hair Retouching Falls Apart at the Edges (And How to Fix It Without Losing Texture)
Hair Retouching

Why Hair Retouching Falls Apart at the Edges (And How to Fix It Without Losing Texture)

The first time a client told me my retouching looked “plastic,” I was staring at a beauty shot I’d spent four hours on. The skin was technically clean. The hair was technically smooth. And it looked like a department store mannequin wearing a wig. I had over-smoothed the hair shaft, cloned out every wisp and strand that gave the style any personality, and delivered something that looked like a helmet. That job cost me a referral and earned me a painful lesson I’ve been grateful for ever since: hair is not supposed to be perfect.