How to Remove Dark Circles Under the Eyes

The fix for dark circles is refreshingly crude: lasso the area, feather the edge so it transitions, copy a patch of smooth skin from nearby and lay it on top, then drop the opacity. Do it once per eye. Beginners can get it right in a single pass.

1. Open your photo with the dark circles

   Open Online PS and click File > Open in the top-left corner (or simply drag the image into the page), then choose the photo you want to work on.

2. Zoom in and select the dark circles with the Polygonal Lasso tool

   Use the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) on the left of the toolbox to trace a closed selection along the eye line. Zooming in (scroll wheel, or the magnifier at the bottom of the toolbar) makes the selection more accurate.

3. Feather the selection

   Choose Select > Feather (Shift+F6) from the menu bar, set the Feather Radius to 5 pixels in the dialog and click OK.

4. Copy a patch of smooth skin

   Switch to the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) and drag a marquee over a smooth part of the face with no dark circles.

   Press Ctrl + C to copy the selection, then Ctrl + V to paste it as a new layer.

5. Move the copied skin over the dark circles

   Use the Move tool (V) to drag the new layer onto the dark circles and cover them completely.

   If the position is slightly off, nudge it with the arrow keys.

6. Lower the opacity of the copied layer

   In the Layers panel on the right, select the layer you just pasted and set Opacity to 40 % (adjust to taste) so the patch blends into the original skin.

7. Repeat the same process for the other eye

   Follow steps 2–6 again for the dark circle under the other eye.

8. Refine the result with the Dodge tool

   Choose the Dodge tool (O) from the toolbox, set the brush hardness to 0 % (soft), the Size to 20 pixels and Exposure to 10 %.

   Brush lightly over the dark circle area to fade the shadow further and make it look more natural.

References

• Online PS
• Adobe official documentation