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How to Use the Smoothing Brush for Flawless Skin in PSE

4 min read

Why the Smoothing Brush Belongs in Your Portrait Toolkit

We all have photos where someone looks wonderful — except for that one close-up that shows every pore, blemish, or tired line. Maybe it is a birthday portrait of your mum, a school photo of your grandchild, or a holiday snap where the harsh flash was not kind to anyone's complexion.

The Smoothing Brush in Photoshop Elements lets you gently soften skin without turning faces into plastic. Unlike heavy-handed filters that erase every detail, this brush gives you control. You paint only where you want, you choose how strong the effect is, and you keep the natural character that makes each face recognisable.

Let us walk through how to use this handy PSE tool to give your family portraits a gentle polish.

Where to Find the Smoothing Brush

The Smoothing Brush lives in the Enhance menu and is designed specifically for portrait retouching. You will find it in both Quick mode and Advanced mode, though Advanced mode gives you more control.

  1. 1Open your portrait in Photoshop Elements.
  2. 2If you are in Quick mode, look for the Touch-Ups panel on the right side. The Smooth Skin option uses the same underlying technology.
  3. 3For more precise work, switch to Advanced mode by clicking the tab at the top of the workspace.
  4. 4Go to Enhance → Smooth Skin.

A dialog box appears with a Smoothing slider and a brush you can paint with directly on the image.

Understanding the Smoothing Controls

Before you start painting, take a moment to understand what each control does:

  • Smoothness — This slider determines how much texture is softened. Start around 30–40% for a natural look.
  • Brush Size — Use a brush slightly smaller than the area you want to smooth. This helps you avoid smoothing areas that should stay sharp, like eyes and hair.
  • Before/After Toggle — Click the eye icon to compare your original with the smoothed version as you work.

The key to natural results is restraint. You want to reduce distracting texture, not eliminate it entirely.

Step-by-Step: Smoothing Skin Naturally

Here is a simple workflow for any family portrait:

  1. 1Open your photo and go to Enhance → Smooth Skin in Advanced mode.
  2. 2Set the Smoothness slider to around 35% as a starting point.
  3. 3Adjust your Brush Size using the slider or the bracket keys ( [ and ] ) on your keyboard.
  4. 4Paint over the forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin — the areas where skin is most visible.
  5. 5Avoid painting over eyes, eyebrows, lips, nostrils, and the edges of the face where skin meets hair.
  6. 6If you accidentally smooth an area you should not have, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and paint to erase the smoothing from that spot.
  7. 7Toggle the Before/After preview to check your work.
  8. 8When satisfied, click OK to apply the changes.

Tips for Different Skin Types and Ages

Not every face needs the same treatment. Here are some guidelines:

  • Children and young adults — Use very light smoothing (20–30%) since young skin already has fine texture. Over-smoothing looks unnatural.
  • Middle-aged subjects — Moderate smoothing (30–50%) can reduce the appearance of enlarged pores or minor sun damage without removing character lines.
  • Older family members — Be especially gentle. Wrinkles and lines tell a story. Smooth only the areas that look distractingly rough, such as cheeks or foreheads, and leave smile lines and expression wrinkles intact.

Combining Smoothing with Other Touch-Ups

The Smoothing Brush works beautifully alongside other portrait tools in Photoshop Elements:

  • Use the Spot Healing Brush first to remove individual blemishes, then apply the Smoothing Brush for overall texture refinement.
  • If someone has dark circles, try Enhance → Adjust Lighting → Shadows/Highlights before smoothing to brighten the under-eye area.
  • For a complete portrait polish, combine smoothing with subtle brightening of the eyes using the Dodge Tool set to Midtones.

This layered approach gives you professional-looking results while keeping each person looking like themselves.

Working Non-Destructively

Whenever you edit a treasured family photo, protect your original:

  1. 1Before applying any changes, go to Layer → Duplicate Layer.
  2. 2Apply the Smooth Skin adjustment to the duplicate layer.
  3. 3If you later decide the effect is too strong, you can reduce the layer's Opacity in the Layers panel to blend it with the untouched original underneath.

This approach lets you fine-tune the effect even after applying it — a lifesaver when you are learning how much smoothing looks right.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Smoothing too much — If skin looks waxy or plastic, reduce the Smoothness percentage.
  • Smoothing the whole face — Keep eyes, lips, and hair sharp. These details anchor the portrait.
  • Forgetting the neck and hands — If these are visible, they need the same treatment as the face, or the mismatch will look odd.
  • Using the same settings for everyone — Adjust for each person's skin type and the photo's lighting conditions.

When to Use This Tool

The Smoothing Brush is perfect for:

  • School portraits where flash highlighted every imperfection
  • Holiday photos taken in harsh midday sun
  • Close-up shots at family gatherings
  • Any photo you plan to print large or frame

With a light touch and a few minutes of work, Photoshop Elements helps you create portraits everyone feels good about.

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