Nikon Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review: Smooth Skin Technique

If you use Photoshop this is what you would do...

Open the image and after you've done what corrections you think necessary

1-duplicate the layer
2-apply guassian blur to that top layer, oh... around 4 should do.
3-click on the 'create a layer mask' icon (bottom of layers palette)
4- hit d on your keyboard to set colors on the toolbar to black and white.
5- choose the fill tool (bucket) and make sure black is your foreground color and click in the image. Note the layer mask changed to black.
6-make sure your foreground color is white, pick a soft paintbrush and set it's opacity low, maybe around 15 to 20.
7-paint over skin, staying away from the eyes and teeth , hair, eyebrows etc. With the brush set at a low opacity the effect builds up slowly just as it should, so enlarge the image and keep brushing.
8-if you go to far, simply make black your foreground color and go back over the area to correct
9-if when your done you think it's a little too much, reduce the opacity of the blurred layer on the layers palette to your liking."