Photoshop Actions: Flyaway Hairs

What This Photoshop Action Does and How to Get It

This Photoshop action for removing flyaway hairs is made available for you to download and use alongside the video “Photoshop: Create An Action To Remove Flyaway Hairs”. It is freely available to our subscribers – simply add it to your basket and checkout as normal. It will then appear in your “Downloads” area ready and waiting whenever you need it.

How to Use the Flyaway Hairs Action in Photoshop

Step One: Drawing Your Lasso Selection

Using this flyaway hair removal action is genuinely straightforward once you’ve watched the video and understand what it’s doing under the hood. The first step is to draw a lasso selection around the hair area you want to work on. Include all of the flyaways you’d like to tackle, but try to keep the selection as tight as you reasonably can – the more background you accidentally include, the more likely the filter is to affect areas you really don’t want it to touch. A little care at this stage saves a lot of fiddling later.

Step Two: Running the Action and Fine-Tuning the Result

Once you’re happy with your selection, simply play the Photoshop action and let it do its work. It will process the image automatically, working through the steps you’d otherwise have to perform manually each and every time. Then comes the one moment where your own judgement matters most: the Dust and Scratches Filter dialogue will appear, and this is where you fine-tune exactly how many hairs remain visible. Push the radius too far and the hair starts to look unnaturally smooth and painted. Keep it too low and you haven’t really solved the problem. It’s worth taking a moment here to find that sweet spot – and it will vary from image to image depending on the light, the background, and just how wild the flyaways are. Enjoy!