Most people are not fond of double chins, so photographers avoid angles that draw attention to them. However, this is not always possible or convenient. That’s why knowing how to remove a double chin in Photoshop is handy.
Thankfully, removing a double chin is quick and easy. Here’s how to do it in seven simple steps.
Step 1: Draw A Path On The Subject’s Face Around The Chin
To remove a double chin, you must draw a path on the subject’s face above the double chin. This path will define how the subject’s new jawline will look when the double chin is gone.
To do this, zoom in on your image by pressing Control + + (Win) or Command + + (Mac). This will make it easier for you to see the chin area.
After that, select the Pen Tool from the toolbar (P).
Next, go to the Options bar and change the Pen Tool mode to Path.
Then click on the left side of the jawline to create the first control point.
After that, press Shift on your keyboard. Then, still holding Shift, click the center of the chin and hold the mouse down. That will form a curve.
Next, click the right side of the jawline to complete the curved path on the chin.
You can adjust the path by moving the handles connected to its control points in any direction. For example, the curve got more prominent when I dragged down the righthand side handle from the middle control point.
You can add more control points to your path for a more customized look. Click any path segment with the pen tool to create an extra point.
More control points come in handy, for example, if you prefer an oblong jawline over a round one.
It may take you a few attempts before you get a perfect path. It all depends on the jawline shape you aim for and your subject’s positioning.
Step 2: Complete The Path
After drawing your path, you have to close it. To do this, continue the path by clicking one point after another toward the canvas edges. The aim is to create a path around the bottom of the image from the new chin line.
Then, connect the path to its starting point to close it, as shown in the image below.
Step 3: Turn The Path Into A Selection
After creating your path, you have to name it since this will be useful for the next steps.
To do this, go to Window > Paths.
Double-click the path’s name in the Paths panel and rename it. I named it Chin. Click OK to save the path.
Then, right-click (Win) or control + click (Mac) the path and choose Make Selection.
Step 4: Turn The Selection Into A New Layer
Once the chin area is selected, you need to turn it into a layer. That’s because, at the end of the process, you will be left with two layers — one for the double chin area and the other for the rest of the image.
To do this, keep the selection active. Then, select your original image layer.
Next, hit Control + C and then Control + V (Win) or Command + C and then Command + V (Mac).
This will paste your selection above the original image layer.
To see this new layer isolated, click the eyeball icon next to it while holding Alt (Win) or Option (Mac).
Repeat the command to exit the isolated view mode.
Step 5: Create A New Layer With The Top Half Of The Image
Now that you have a layer for the chin, you must create a layer for the rest of the image.
To do this, open the Paths panel again by going up to Window > Paths.
In the Paths panel, right-click the path you created and choose Make Selection.
In the dialog box that pops up, choose a value for Feather Radius.
A higher Feather Radius will make your selection smoother, while a lower feather radius will make your selection sharper. Click OK to confirm your choice. After that, hit Shift + Control + I (Win) or Shift + Command + I (Mac) or go up to Select > Inverse.
This will invert your selection, and now the selection will cover the remaining top section of the photo.
Now, select the original layer again and hit Control + C and then Control + V (Win) or Command + C and then Command + V (Mac).
This will place the inverted selection on top of the original layer.
To see this new layer isolated, click the eyeball icon next to it while holding Alt (Win) or Option (Mac).
Repeat the same command to exit the isolated view mode.
Step 6: Name The Layers In The Layers Panel
To make it easier for you to identify the layers, you need to name them. To do this, double-click the target layer and rename it. I named the chin layer Lower and the rest of the image layer Upper.
You can leave the original layer as it is, rename it or even delete it since you don’t need it anymore. You may need to keep the original layer for comparison purposes.
After that, drag the Lower layer under the Upper layer.
Step 7: Use The Warp Tool To Eliminate The Double Chin
After separating your subject’s chin from the rest of the body, it’s time to remove the double chin. To do this, you will use the Warp Transform function to push the double chin to a non-visible area. You can do this in two ways, but first, you need to activate the warp function.
To remove the double chin, make sure the Lower layer is selected for both methods.
Then, enable the Free Transform Tool by pressing Control + T (Win) or Command + T (Mac). To activate the Warp function, right-click the selection box and choose Warp.
Next, use one of the two methods to warp the layer.
Option 1: Using A Preset Grid
Preset grids are convenient because they are ready to use, and all you have to do is manipulate them to achieve the desired results.
To access a preset grid, go to the Options bar and select a grid from the options available.
The grid size should be inversely proportional to the area you want to distort. So if you need to distort a larger area, a 3×3 grid is ideal. You can also set a Custom grid with as many columns and rows as you wish.
As the double chin area is small compared to my image size, I chose a 5×5 grid.
This generated a grid with five rows and five columns.
To warp the chin, zoom in on it.
Then, push the chin up by dragging the mesh gridlines up.
Keep doing this in different parts of the mesh until the chin disappears from the view entirely or to the extent you find ideal.
The only downside of this method is that when you distort a part of the mesh, you are very likely to distort other parts too. The entire layer is distorted because the grid elements are all connected. Because of this, you need to be very careful while manipulating your preset grid. But after a few tries, you can get excellent results.
Option 2: Using The Split Warp Tool
Added to Photoshop in 2020, the Split Warp Tool makes it easier for you to distort objects with more precision. Here is how to use it to get rid of a double chin.
First, go to the Options bar and choose the Split-warp Crosswise icon.
Then, drag the grid guides towards the center of the chin.
Next, go back to the Options bar and choose Split Warp Vertically.
And place the new guide on the left side of the subject’s neck.
Repeat the step above and place the new guide on the right side of the neck.
Now, click the control point in the middle of the chin and drag it up.
Notice that, as you move the control point up, only the chin is affected by the warp function while its surroundings are untouched. That’s how the split warp works. It isolates areas so that you can warp them without affecting other areas.
Keep warping the chin until you are satisfied with the result. You can place more split warp guides strategically in the chin area for more precise results.
As demonstrated here, removing a double chin in Photoshop is effortless. After removing the double chin, you can cast a shadow under the new chin using a curves adjustment layer or any other method you choose. That will make your results look even more realistic.
Happy Editing!
