How to Retouch Hair in Adobe Photoshop

This process isn't nearly as difficult as it may appear. However, it does take quite a bit of time and patience to finish the job. In this tutorial I'm going to show you in a few easy steps, how to get salon styled hair, with one major tool in Adobe Photoshop.

You thought you took an absolutely amazing picture--and then you load it into Photoshop only to find out how much editing work you have to do on the hair alone. You ever get a picture that looks like this

...

Look below:

Yea, that picture right there. The hair is all over the place, and in all honesty looks pretty horrible. One basic tool, a layer, and a very long time is all you need to get the job accomplished.

The tool that you will be using is the Clone Stamp Tool. This tool copies not only the texture of the hair but the actual direction of the hair as well. This is a great thing and just happens to be what we need for this specific job.

First thing you're going to want to do is create a new layer. If you have multiple layers (edits) up, you need to create a "stump". A "stump" is a new background layer that carries all the previous edits with it. So you don't have to worry about merging your layers--this does it for you. To do this ensure you have a layer selected and hit CMD+OPT+SHFT+E (Mac) or CTL+SHFT+E (PC). You will now have a layer of your original image with your edits done.

Now you can do this one of two ways, you can edit the hair on a blank layer. Or you can edit the hair on the stump layer. I'm going to edit on the actual layer. I recommend if this is a new concept to you, to edit on a separate blank layer.

Now go to your clone stamp tool and ensure it's selected. Your going to want to zoom in incredibly close to the layer so that you can see the stray hairs. On your brush settings make sure the hardness is set to 20-30%. This allows for better blending.

Now sample close to the area that you are fixing. When sampling, sample from above the stray hairs, and below as well. Ensure your cloning in the direction of the hair. Or it will end up looking weird. This also guarantees no repetition in pattern.

That's it.

Note:

This is going to take a very long time depending on the model's hair. I did a self picture with my hair completely crazy for this how-to. Your history panel will become your best friend. If you mess up you can just click on the stroke prior to your last and BAM! It's undone. If you have hair on your models face or around her head, use the healing brush tool for these areas. You can do it on a separate layer, or leave them on the same.