How do I use AI Blemish Removal?
What is AI Blemish Removal?
AI Blemish Removal automatically detects and removes temporary skin blemishes — pimples, acne, redness, and spots — across faces in a photo. It preserves natural skin texture and tone, and keeps permanent features such as freckles and moles intact. Hair, beard, eyes, and teeth are masked out of the correction.
Is this the same as the blemish removal in Retouch?
No. AI Blemish Removal is now its own standalone tool, separate from the Retouch step. You can use it independently of any Retouch preset. If your preset already includes Retouch blemish removal, enabling this tool as well will apply blemish correction twice at extra cost — use one or the other.
Where do I find it in Perfectly Clear Cloud?
AI Blemish Removal appears as a toggle in the Photo Tools panel when creating or editing a job — below Colour Correction and above Glasses Glare Removal. It is off by default. Selecting it applies the correction to every eligible photo in the job.
Are there any sliders or controls to adjust the strength?
No. AI Blemish Removal uses a fixed correction model with no strength slider or region selection. It is a single on/off toggle, just like Glasses Glare Removal.
What are the technical limits?
| Area | Limit |
|---|---|
| Minimum image size | 150 px — smaller images are rejected and the correction is not attempted |
| Maximum image size | 10,000 px |
| Minimum face size | ~150 × 150 px — smaller faces are skipped (see below) |
| Formats | JPEG or PNG (RGB/RGBA) |
| Controls | None — fixed correction, no strength or region adjustment |
What does "skipped" mean? Is that the same as failed?
No — they are different outcomes:
- Success — blemishes detected and corrected; one billable unit.
- Skip — no face found in the photo, or all faces in the photo are at or below the ~150 × 150 px size threshold. The photo is returned with all other corrections applied. Not billed.
- Fail — a worker error occurred. The image receives an error state and is never returned as a success without the requested correction. Not billed.
Why would a photo be skipped?
A photo is skipped when no face is detected, or when every detected face is roughly 150 × 150 px or smaller. This is common in:
- Group, class, and team photos where individual faces appear small
- Wide attraction or event shots
- Full-body or landscape-style portraits
Will it remove freckles or moles?
No. Freckles and moles are detected separately and preserved. Only temporary blemishes such as pimples, acne, redness, and spots are targeted.
Are there cases where the correction might not be perfect?
Yes. Large or severe blemishes are the hardest cases — detection can miss them and some residual redness may remain. Over-softening is a known area of ongoing improvement. If you see examples that don't look right, please send them to our team.
What is the processing order when combined with other tools?
v2/pfc correction order: Upscaling / Downscaling → Colour Correction → Retouch → LOOKs → AI Blemish Removal → Glasses Glare Removal → AI Art → Background Replacement.
Can I use AI Blemish Removal with Glasses Glare Removal?
Yes. The two tools are compatible. Blemish Removal runs first, Glasses Glare Removal second, with no known interaction between them.
Can I use AI Blemish Removal with AI Art?
We do not recommend combining them. Blemish Removal runs earlier in the processing chain, so its corrections may be invisible in the final AI Art output — but both tools are billed. Use one or the other for a given job.
How do I enable it via the Web API?
Pass an optional boolean parameter (name documented at https://perfectlyclear.io/docs/). Set it to true to apply the correction; omit it or set it to false to leave behaviour unchanged. The response and webhook pattern are unchanged — there is no new response shape.
Still have questions?
Contact our team ↗