Retouching skin

There's a facinating discussion about the right and wrong way to retouch skin going on over on the Tutorial Blog. If you've ever grappled with this in Photoshop you might pick up a tip or two from reading the tutorial and the comments.As ever, it enforces the fact that there are several ways to approach almost every photo restoration and retouching task in Photoshop. It's no wonder confusion develops!
"The broader questions are: when retouching skin, should you eliminate blemishes with the clone stamp tool, and should you blur out all detail in the pores. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT on both counts. It’s bad advice; following it will limit your Photoshop proficiency rather than developing it.For skin and many other surfaces, the clone stamp tool has been almost completely superseded by the Patch tool and the Healing Brush tool. These tools are easier to use, faster, and give better results. Yes, you can simulate their effects with careful, laborious use fo the clone stamp, but you are better off just using the right tool.As others have noted, skin has pores. You can’t just turn them into mush and expect to get a believable image back. The target appearance is not a featureless, blurry surface but the appearance of fine, shallow, barely-noticeable pores. "