Data as of Oct 14, 2026A topic in AI Image & Video Enhancement Tools.
Reviewed by Dimitry Apollonsky
AI summary
Adobe Photoshop holds a wide lead for photo restoration that eliminates damage while preserving original textures through techniques like high-pass filtering. Yet when the focus narrows specifically to removing scratches without overly smoothing skin texture, Let's Enhance becomes the usual answer.
manual scratch repair and using high-pass filter overlays to restore texture
recovering damaged image detail while protecting underlying material textures
restoring damaged portraits while attempting to balance detail and facial texture
manual layer-based retouching and texture preservation without automated smoothing
repairing scratches and surface damage on historical portrait photography
Mentioned in · Jul 7 – Oct 14, 2026
Google AI ModeOct 13, 2026
When restoring old portraits, many heavy-handed AI tools tend to turn faces into "plastic" or overly smoothed porcelain. To remove physical damage like scratches and tears while keeping authentic skin pores and fine lines intact, you need a tool that either offers selective brush repair or uses a balanced face-restoration model.
Top options that balance structural scratch repair with skin-texture preservation include:
If you'd like to narrow this down, tell me:
ChatGPT SearchOct 13, 2026
ChatGPT SearchOct 14, 2026
ChatGPT SearchOct 12, 2026
For your needs, I’d prioritize a photo restoration tool that removes scratches locally without applying heavy AI face enhancement. The key is to repair the damaged areas while keeping pores, wrinkles, fine lines, and the natural character of the original photograph.
Based on current comparisons, these are the tools I’d shortlist.
(Best for natural texture)
Use the Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, and content-aware tools to remove scratches selectively. You can avoid smoothing undamaged skin and retain control over every repair.
Best for: portraits, valuable family photos, and precise restoration.
Designed for removing scratches, dust, and other damage from old photographs. It is worth considering when you want to repair specific damaged areas rather than beautify faces.
Best for: old scanned prints with surface damage.
Lets you mark the unwanted areas for removal and fill them using surrounding image information. This targeted approach can help preserve the original look outside the repair. Results depend on the scratch's width and what lies underneath it.
Best for: isolated scratches and relatively simple damage.
One important tip: turn off automatic face enhancement and colorization initially. Work on a copy of the original, remove scratches first, and compare the repaired skin at 100% zoom. Photoshop also supports non-destructive repairs on a separate layer.
One question: Are you restoring old family portraits, where scratches cross people's faces, or photos where most scratches are in the background? That will help me narrow this to the best tool for your situation.
The best tools for restoring scratched photographs without giving people that overly smooth, “plastic” skin are generally editors that let you remove scratches locally, preserve the original image texture, and control AI face enhancement separately.
My main recommendation is Adobe Photoshop for precise scratch repair, with Topaz Photo for additional recovery when a damaged photo needs more detail. The key is to repair the damage without applying heavy smoothing to the entire portrait. Adobe specifically recommends using masks and working on isolated defects, while Topaz warns that aggressive face recovery can make already-detailed faces look unnaturally smooth.
(Best overall)
Best for: Heavily scratched portraits, old family photos, and precise manual repair.
The Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, and Dust & Scratches filter give you control over where repairs happen. Layers and masks let you protect skin texture while removing damage.
Watch out for: Applying broad blur or large-radius scratch removal across the entire face.
Website:
(Best AI enhancement)
Best for: Faded, blurry, low-resolution photographs that need extra detail after scratches are repaired.
Its Recover models aim to reconstruct realistic texture, and its Grain enhancement can help restore a more photographic appearance after processing.
Watch out for: Face Recovery can make already-detailed faces look plastic. Use it selectively and reduce its strength or skip it when the original face is clear.
Website:
Best for: Film scans, dust spots, and controlled manual retouching.
Its ReTouch tool offers Repair and Clone modes, including manual selection of the source area. This makes it useful when you want to fix specific defects rather than let an AI regenerate a face.
Watch out for: Extensive scratches across complex facial features will require patient manual work.
Website:
Best for: Preserving natural-looking skin during portrait retouching.
Its Heal plugin targets skin imperfections while retaining skin texture. It is a useful companion to a restoration editor, particularly for portraits, although it is not my first choice for repairing long scratches across an entire old photograph.
Website:
(Best free option)
Best for: Budget-conscious users comfortable with manual editing.
Its Heal and Clone tools let you replace damaged pixels using nearby image detail, with no need for automatic face regeneration.
Watch out for: Large, complicated scratches can take a lot of manual effort.
Website:
Regardless of the software, this workflow is the most reliable way to get natural results.
1. Repair the scratches first
Use a Healing Brush for small marks and Clone Stamp for long scratches or damaged edges. Work on a separate layer so you can undo or reduce the effect.
2. Preserve pores, wrinkles, and film grain
Avoid aggressive global denoising and smoothing. Use a low-radius Dust & Scratches filter on isolated areas, with masks to protect eyes, hair, and skin detail.
3. Use AI face recovery only if necessary
If the face is genuinely blurred or too small, apply AI recovery gently. Compare against the original at 100% zoom to check that it hasn't invented facial features or erased natural texture.
One important distinction: removing a scratch is different from reconstructing missing facial information. When a scratch runs through an eye, nose, or mouth, AI may invent detail rather than recover the original. For historically accurate family-photo restoration, preserving what remains of the original is often preferable to making the face look artificially perfect.
What kind of photos are you restoring? The best choice depends quite a bit on the damage.
What are you working with?
Old printed family photos
Scanned black-and-white portraits
Faded or blurry digital photos
Professional portrait photographs
What's the main damage?
Scratches across faces
Fine scratches, dust, and speckles
Tears, missing corners, or missing facial details
Blur, fading, and loss of detail
Budget preference
Free tools only
Paid tools are fine
Professional-quality results regardless of cost
[Find the best fit]
Google AI ModeOct 14, 2026
Finding a tool that cleans up heavy scratches without turning a face into a smooth, waxy, plastic mannequin is the holy grail of photo restoration. The "plastic look" usually happens when aggressive AI face-enhancement models hallucinate smooth skin texture or when global noise-reduction/blur filters wipe out pores and fine lines.
The best tools approach this by decoupling scratch/dust removal from face recovery , giving you granular control over the strength of skin texturing.
Why it avoids the plastic look: Topaz separates its processing into distinct, stackable layers rather than applying a single blind "magic" button.[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm7GuG5TB7E)[[2](https://www.topazlabs.com/see-it-in-action/face-recovery)](https://www.topazlabs.com/see-it-in-action/face-recovery)[[3](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/topaz-photo-ai-4-0-new-dust-scratch-ai-model/90709)](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/topaz-photo-ai-4-0-new-dust-scratch-ai-model/90709)
For your specific goal—removing scratches, dust, and surface damage from old photographs without giving people artificial, overly smooth skin—I’d start with Topaz Photo or ON1 Restore AI. Both are designed for photo restoration, rather than just beautifying faces.
(Best for surface damage)
Its dedicated Dust & Scratch AI model is built to remove physical damage from scanned prints and archival photos, with an updated model focused on preserving original image detail.
Why I recommend it: Start with damage removal before applying any facial enhancement or sharpening.
Official website and documentation
(Best all-in-one restoration)
Its Restore AI tool targets dust, scratches, wrinkles, tears, fading, and color shifts. It also offers prompt-based refinement.
Why I recommend it: Useful if your photos need both physical repairs and careful correction of faded tones.
(Best for beginners)
This Windows program offers tools for removing scratches, creases, stains, and tears, and emphasizes retaining original facial features. It also works offline.
Why I recommend it: A straightforward option for restoring family albums without learning a complex professional editor.
Official website and free download
Whichever tool you choose, use this workflow:
One additional tool worth knowing is Retouch4me Heal. It specifically emphasizes retaining natural skin texture, although it's intended primarily for minor skin defects rather than repairing scratches across an entire old photograph. retouch4.me Try the official demo.
My verdict: Start with Topaz Photo's Dust & Scratch model if surface damage is your main concern. Test it on a copy of one photograph before processing your entire collection.
One question that would help me narrow this down: Are you restoring mostly black-and-white family portraits, or color photographs? That makes a difference when choosing a tool that repairs damage without reconstructing people's faces unnaturally.
Google AI ModeOct 12, 2026
When restoring old portraits, many heavy-handed AI tools suffer from the "plastic skin" effect—completely wiping away natural pores, wrinkles, and authentic texture in favor of an overly smoothed, synthetic look.
The best options that balance aggressive surface damage repair (scratches, dust, and tears) while retaining or realistically reconstructing natural skin texture include:
Why it avoids the plastic look: Photoshop’s Photo Restoration Neural Filter includes dedicated sliders for Scratch Reduction and Enhance Face . Out of the box, pushing both to 1 0 0% will give you an ultra-plastic face. However, Photoshop is the best for a hybrid manual/AI approach.[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaaILl8Zpeg)[[2](https://www.topazlabs.com/see-it-in-action/face-recovery)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2xJblsZUAg&t=2)
Why it avoids the plastic look: Fully automated cloud web-apps (like MyHeritage or random online "AI Photo Fixers") are the worst offenders for plastic skin because they use heavy generative adversarial networks (GANs) trained to output idealized, pore-less faces. Software that lets you dial back AI or isolate regions is far superior.
If you'd like, let me know:
I can give you a step-by-step workflow tailored to the software you prefer.
If you'd like to narrow this down, tell me:
I can give you a step-by-step workflow for the best match.
