The most common complaint about AI portraits is “plastic / waxwork skin”. The fix is specific texture vocabulary, not stacking “realistic”.
8 texture keywords
- natural skin texture
- visible pores
- subtle skin imperfections
- slight freckles / faint moles
- fine peach fuzz
- candid expression
- unretouched look
- slight under-eye shadows
Per-age band
| Age | Keywords |
|---|---|
| 20–30 | fresh skin, faint freckles, natural sheen |
| 30–40 | natural skin texture, slight under-eye shadows, light expression lines |
| 40–50 | mature skin, visible expression lines, weathered texture |
| 60+ | deeply textured skin, age spots, wisdom lines |
Words to avoid
perfect / flawless / smooth
These trigger the over-retouched mode. Use "natural skin texture, visible pores".
glowing / radiant
Often produces plastic-shine highlights.
LoRA recommendations
- Detail Tweaker XL — general detail enhancer
- Skin Texture Style LoRA — skin-specific
- Add Skin Detail — popular for SDXL