How To Remove Bags and Blemishes In Photoshop

How to Remove Under-Eye Bags and Blemishes in Photoshop

Under-eye bags, dark patches, and small blemishes don’t need complex retouching to disappear convincingly. This tutorial uses the Patch tool paired with the often-overlooked Fade command to clean up skin quickly, in a way that stays looking natural rather than obviously edited.

Duplicating the Layer Before Retouching

Working on a copy of the background keeps the original image safe while you experiment.

1. Duplicate the Background Layer

   Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate the background layer, and do all of the retouching work on this new layer instead.

Understanding How the Patch Tool Works

Before tackling anything specific, it helps to see the Patch tool’s basic behavior on a small, simple blemish.

2. Select the Patch Tool

   Find the Patch tool grouped with the Spot Healing and Healing Brush tools, and make sure it’s set to Normal mode rather than Content-Aware.

3. Circle the Area to Fix

   Draw a selection around a small blemish or area that needs to change.

4. Drag to a Cleaner Area

   Click inside the selection and drag it to a nearby area with cleaner skin, then release to blend that cleaner texture over the selected spot.

5. Deselect

   Press Cmd/Ctrl+D to deselect once the patch looks right.

Removing Under-Eye Bags With the Patch Tool

The same basic technique scales up to handle a larger area like an under-eye bag.

6. Circle the Under-Eye Area

   Draw a selection loosely around the darker under-eye area that needs to be softened.

7. Drag to a Cleaner Reference Area

   Click and drag the selection to a nearby area of skin that doesn’t have the same darkness or puffiness, then release.

8. Hide the Selection to Check the Result

   Press Cmd/Ctrl+H to hide the selection’s marching ants so you can judge the actual result more clearly.

Softening the Result With the Fade Command

A Patch tool result can look a little too perfect right at its edges, which is where the Fade command comes in.

9. Open the Fade Command

   Immediately after applying a patch, go to Edit > Fade, or press Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+F.

10. Lower the Opacity Slider

    Drag the opacity slider down from 100%, watching how the effect blends back toward the original as you lower it, typically landing somewhere around 50–60%.

11. Confirm the Fade

    Click OK once the transition looks natural rather than obviously patched.

Why the Fade Command Makes the Patch Tool Look More Natural

The Patch tool at full strength often replaces texture too completely, leaving an edge that doesn’t quite match its surroundings. Because Fade can reduce the opacity of literally the last action performed, including a Patch tool edit, it blends the new texture partway back with the original, which is exactly what keeps the result from looking obviously retouched.

Cleaning Up Dark Areas Around the Nose

The same Patch-and-Fade combination works just as well on other common trouble spots, like shadowed areas around the nose.

12. Select the Dark Area

    Draw a selection around a dark patch or shadowed area near the nose.

13. Patch and Fade

    Drag the selection to a cleaner nearby area, then immediately apply Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+F to fade the result to a natural-looking strength.

14. Repeat on Other Areas as Needed

    Continue the same process on any other small imperfection or harsh shadow, such as around the mouth or expression lines.

Sampling From Nearby Skin That Actually Matches

Where you sample from matters more for a convincing result than getting the initial selection perfectly precise.

15. Choose a Reference Area Close By

    Drag the patch to an area of skin that’s genuinely close to the area being fixed, rather than a distant area like the forehead when working near the nose.

Why Sampling Nearby Skin Matters More Than a Precise Selection

Skin texture and tone vary across different parts of a face, so pulling a patch from a mismatched area, like the forehead to fix something near the nose, can introduce a subtle but noticeable texture mismatch. Staying close to the area being fixed keeps the borrowed texture consistent, which matters more to the final result than getting the original selection shape exactly right.

Patching Between Two Different Photos

The Patch tool isn’t limited to working within a single image.

16. Place Two Photos as Layers in One Document

    Bring a second photo, ideally of the same subject with cleaner skin, into the same document as a separate layer.

17. Patch Across the Two Layers

    Use the Patch tool to drag a selection from the layer with the imperfection onto the layer with cleaner skin, borrowing texture directly from the other photo.

Working Non-Destructively Without Fear of Mistakes

Because every edit happens on a duplicated layer, there’s very little risk in experimenting freely.

18. Undo or Restart Freely

    If a patch doesn’t look right, press Cmd/Ctrl+Z to undo, or delete the working layer entirely and duplicate the background again to start over.

Why Working on a Duplicate Layer Removes the Fear of Mistakes

Retouching directly on the background layer means every mistake is permanent unless caught immediately. Working on a duplicate instead means the absolute worst outcome is deleting that one layer and starting fresh, which makes it much easier to experiment freely with the Patch tool rather than being overly cautious with every click.

Why This Approach Works

The Patch tool alone tends to leave an edge that’s a little too clean and obvious, so pairing it with the Fade command right afterward is what turns a slightly heavy-handed fix into something that reads as untouched skin. Staying close to the area you’re fixing when choosing where to sample from matters more than getting the initial selection shape perfect, since texture consistency is what a viewer’s eye actually notices. Working on a duplicated layer throughout removes any real risk from the process, which is exactly why this technique is worth practicing freely rather than treating every click as precious.

Final Thoughts

This Patch-and-Fade combination is about as low-effort as effective retouching gets: circle an area, drag it to cleaner skin, fade the result to taste, and repeat. It works on under-eye bags, blemishes, dark patches around the nose, or nearly any other small skin imperfection, and it’s worth having in your toolkit for any portrait that needs a quick, natural-looking cleanup.

Quick Reference: Keys, Menus and Settings

• Work on a copyCmd/Ctrl + J to duplicate the background
• Patch toolWith the Spot Healing and Healing Brush tools; Normal, Source
• Patch a spotCircle it, drag to clean skin nearby; Cmd/Ctrl + D to deselect
• Hide the selectionCmd/Ctrl + H
• Fade the patchEdit > Fade or Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + F, opacity about 50 to 60%
• Start overCmd/Ctrl + Z, or delete the copy and duplicate again

No AI, no generative credits.