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How to Use the Refine Edge Brush for Perfect Hair and Fur Selections

4 min read

Why Hair and Fur Make Selections So Difficult

You have taken a lovely portrait of your grandchild, and you want to place them against a pretty autumn backdrop. You make a selection, swap the background, and suddenly their hair looks like it was cut out with kitchen scissors. Those flyaway strands and soft edges disappear into a harsh, unnatural outline.

This is one of the most common frustrations in photo editing. Fortunately, Photoshop Elements includes a powerful tool specifically designed for this challenge: the Refine Edge Brush. Once you learn how to use it, you can create professional-looking cutouts of people, pets, and anything else with soft, complex edges.

What the Refine Edge Brush Actually Does

The Refine Edge Brush is part of the selection refinement tools in PSE. While the standard selection tools create hard edges, this brush analyses the area you paint over and intelligently separates foreground details like hair strands from the background behind them.

Think of it as teaching Photoshop Elements which wisps belong to your subject and which belong to the background. The software examines colour and contrast differences to make smart decisions about those tricky in-between pixels.

Step-by-Step: Selecting a Subject with Flyaway Hair

Let us work through a typical family scenario: cutting out a grandchild with windswept hair to place them on a different background.

Make Your Initial Selection

  1. 1Open your photo in Advanced mode in Photoshop Elements.
  1. 1Go to Select → Subject to let PSE automatically detect and select your person. This gives you a solid starting point.
  1. 1Look at the selection. The marching ants will likely follow the general outline well but miss those wispy hair strands around the edges.

Open the Select and Mask Workspace

  1. 1With your selection active, go to Select → Select and Mask. This opens a dedicated workspace for refining edges.
  1. 1In the right panel, set the View dropdown to On Black or On White — whichever makes it easiest to see the edges of your subject.
  1. 1You will immediately notice where the selection fails. Hair looks blocky, fur appears chopped, and fine details are missing.

Use the Refine Edge Brush

  1. 1In the left toolbar of the Select and Mask workspace, click the Refine Edge Brush tool. It looks like a brush with dotted edges.
  1. 1Adjust the brush size using the Size slider or the bracket keys on your keyboard. Start with a brush slightly larger than the area of wispy hair you need to fix.
  1. 1Carefully paint along the edges where hair meets background. Focus on areas where you can see strands that should be included but are currently cut off.
  1. 1As you paint, watch Photoshop Elements work its magic. The tool analyses the pixels and pulls those hair strands into your selection while pushing the background out.
  1. 1Work your way around the entire head, painting over every area with flyaway strands, curls, or soft edges.

Fine-Tune Your Results

  1. 1If the tool includes too much background, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) while painting to subtract from the refined area.
  1. 1Use the Edge Detection sliders in the right panel. Increase the Radius value to help PSE detect more edge detail automatically.
  1. 1Check the Smart Radius box to let Photoshop Elements vary the detection width based on edge hardness — helpful when hair sits next to shoulders with crisp clothing edges.
  1. 1Under Output Settings, choose Selection or New Layer with Layer Mask depending on your next steps.
  1. 1Click OK to apply your refined selection.

Selecting Pet Fur with the Same Technique

This approach works beautifully for your furry family members too. That fluffy cat or shaggy dog with soft fur around the edges becomes much easier to isolate. The process is identical — make an initial selection, open Select and Mask, and paint with the Refine Edge Brush along the fuzzy outline.

For very fluffy pets, increase the Radius value more aggressively. Pet fur often extends further from the body than human hair, so PSE needs more room to work.

Tips for Better Results

  • Contrast helps: The Refine Edge Brush works best when there is good contrast between your subject and the background. Light hair against a dark background, or dark fur against a light wall, gives cleaner results.
  • Zoom in: Work at 100% zoom or closer when painting along edges. You will catch more detail and avoid missing spots.
  • Take your time: Rushing through the refinement leads to blocky edges. Slow, deliberate brush strokes produce much better selections.
  • Check multiple views: Toggle between On Black, On White, and Overlay views to spot problems you might miss in just one view.

Continue Learning

Now that you can make clean selections through hair and fur, explore these related tutorials: