Reduce the restoration tool’s strength setting and reapply it at a lower level, or blend the heavily restored version with the original photo so the face keeps its real texture.
What you need
- The restored photo, plus the original unrestored copy for comparison
- The restoration tool you used (Photoshop Elements, Topaz Photo AI, Luminar Neo, or similar), if you still have the project open
- Layers support if your tool has it, for blending — Photoshop Elements does
- 15 to 25 minutes
Why heavy settings go wrong
AI restoration tools are trained to smooth out damage, but they often cannot tell the difference between a scratch on the print and a wrinkle on a face — so heavy settings can wipe out real facial detail along with real damage, leaving a plastic, doll-like look.
How to soften the result
- Open the project again in your restoration tool, if it is still available, rather than editing the already-flattened result.
- Find the strength, intensity or amount slider for whichever feature smoothed the face — this is often called Face Recovery, Denoise, or similar.
- Lower that setting by roughly half from what you used originally, and reprocess the photo.
- Compare the new, lighter version against both the original and the too-heavy version, side by side if your tool allows it.
- If your tool has layers (Photoshop Elements does), place the heavily restored version above the original, then lower that top layer’s opacity to around 40 to 60 percent so some real texture shows back through.
- Flatten and save the blended result under a new file name, keeping both the original and the too-heavy version untouched.
Check the skin still looks real
Look closely at skin texture near the eyes, forehead and mouth — you are aiming for it to look like a real face in a real photo, not an illustration. If the restored version still looks unnaturally smooth compared with a normal photo of a person the same age, reduce the strength further.
If there’s no strength slider
If your tool does not offer a strength slider, look for an option to only apply the effect to certain areas (a mask or brush), and paint the effect over damage only, avoiding the face. If layers feel confusing, start with just re-running the tool at a lower setting — that alone often fixes it.
Next step
Compare two AI restoration results before choosing one is a useful follow-up once you have more than one version to weigh up.
Sources and date checked
Documentation from Topaz Photo AI, Luminar Neo and Photoshop Elements on their respective face recovery and denoise features. Checked 22 September 2026. Researched from published guidance, not a hands-on comparison run for this article.