The fastest way to change hair color in Procreate is to isolate the hair on its own layer, then recolor it with Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Gradient Map, or a clipped layer set to the Color blend mode. For photos, use an adjustment applied through Pencil mode with a soft brush, so only the hair changes and its texture stays intact. For flat or painted illustrations, turn on Alpha Lock or add a clipping mask and paint over the existing shading.

Which Procreate method should you use?

The right method depends on what kind of image you're recoloring.

Prepare the image before recoloring

Most failed hair recolors come from sloppy prep, not the recolor itself.

1. Duplicate your source layer. Procreate adjustments are applied directly to pixels, so keep an untouched original underneath.
2. Isolate the hair. Use the Selection tool in Freehand or Automatic mode, or paint a rough mask. Automatic selection is hit-and-miss on wispy hair, so expect to refine the edge with the Feather and Invert options or by erasing.
3. Put the hair on its own layer. With the selection active, swipe three fingers down and choose Cut & Paste (or copy and paste) to place the hair on a new layer. This gives you a clean target for every adjustment.
4. Zoom in on the hairline. Flyaways, semi-transparent strands, and the edge against the background are where a recolor looks fake. Fix them now, not after you've committed.

If you're delivering to a motion pipeline, keep the hair on a separate layer from the start. It makes the file far more useful downstream.

Method 1: Hue, Saturation, Brightness

This is the most direct route and works well for shifting a color family, such as brown to red or blonde to teal.

1. Select the hair layer.
2. Tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand) and choose Hue, Saturation, Brightness.
3. Choose Layer to affect everything on that layer, or Pencil to paint the effect in with a brush.
4. Drag the Hue slider to the color you want. Adjust Saturation and Brightness to taste.

Pencil mode is the more controlled option for photos. Pick a soft, round brush, set a modest size and opacity, and build the effect up in passes. Because you're painting the adjustment where you want it, you can leave the roots darker or taper the color toward the ends, as in an ombré or a grown-out dye job.

Limitation: Hue rotation shifts what's already there. Near-black hair has almost no chroma to rotate, so it will look muddy or barely change. Use Method 3 for those cases.

Method 2: Gradient Map for stylized or vivid colors

A Gradient Map remaps the tonal range of the layer to a gradient you choose, which makes it good for neon, pastel, or fantasy colors where you want the shadows, midtones, and highlights to take on different hues.

1. Select the hair layer, then open Adjustments and choose Gradient Map.
2. Switch to Pencil mode and pick a gradient from the library, or build your own with the plus button.
3. Paint over the hair with a soft brush. The texture underneath stays visible, because the map is replacing color values rather than painting opaque color on top.
4. To try a different gradient, turn Pencil mode off and back on, then select the new gradient and paint again.

The advantage over a flat hue shift is control over contrast. A two-stop gradient from deep violet to pale pink gives you a convincing duotone hair look, and you can design the shadow color separately from the highlight color. The same technique works on other small areas, such as lips or eyes, if you're retouching a portrait.

Method 3: Clipping mask with a blend-mode layer

This is the most flexible approach and the closest to how you'd work with adjustment layers elsewhere. It handles dark hair, painted hair, and revisions best.

1. Create a new layer directly above the hair layer.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask, so anything you paint is confined to the hair's shape.
3. Set the blend mode to Color (or Multiply, Overlay, or Soft Light, depending on the result you want).
4. Paint with your target color using a soft or airbrush-style brush.

Each blend mode behaves differently:

• Color replaces hue and saturation while keeping the luminosity of the layer below. It's the cleanest choice for realistic recolors.
• Multiply darkens and deepens. Use it to take blonde to auburn or brown.
• Overlay or Soft Light adds richness and contrast, which is good for adding vibrance after a Color pass.
• Add or Screen can add glow and highlights on top.

Stack more than one clipped layer if needed: a Color layer for the base hue, a Multiply layer for shadow depth, and an Overlay layer for the highlights. Because every change lives on its own layer, you can change the color later by adjusting opacity, filling the layer with a different color, or running Hue, Saturation, Brightness on just that clipped layer.

Going from dark to light

Black or very dark brown hair won't take a Color layer well, because the luminosity underneath is too low. Raise the tonal values first by applying Curves to lift the shadows, or use Color Balance to add warmth. Then add your Color blend layer on top. Expect to paint a few highlights back in by hand so the result doesn't look flat.

Method 4: Alpha Lock and ColorDrop for illustrations

For cartoon or flat-colored artwork, you don't need adjustments at all.

• Alpha Lock: Swipe two fingers right on the hair layer. Anything you paint stays within the existing pixels. Choose a new color and paint or fill over it.
• ColorDrop: Drag the color from the top-right swatch into the hair shape. Hold briefly before releasing to adjust the Threshold for clean edges. If your line art is on a separate layer, set it as a Reference layer so the fill respects the lines while you work on a different layer.
• Shaded flat colors: If the shading is on separate layers, clip them to the base and recolor the base only. The highlights and shadows follow automatically.

If your line art has a white background, set that layer to Multiply so the colors beneath show through.

Common problems and fixes

• Halo or fringe around the hair: Your selection edge is too hard or too wide. Reselect with a small Feather value, or erase a pixel or two off the edge of the recolor layer.
• Color looks pasted on: Add a Multiply layer for shadows near the scalp and neck, and let some of the environment color bleed into the hair edge with a low-opacity Overlay layer.
• Skin tone shifted too: Your selection included skin. Switch to Pencil mode, or mask the clipped layer with the Eraser.
• Gradient Map didn't change: Toggle Pencil mode off and on, as noted above, before choosing a new gradient.
• Texture looks smeared: You painted with an opaque brush at full opacity. Use a soft brush with lower opacity and build up.

Taking the recolored hair into a video workflow

If this is part of a video job, export deliberately. Keep hair, face, and background on separate layers, and export the passes you need so you can adjust the color later in your video software instead of committing to one version. For a character or still that stays static or moves in 2D, this layered approach is usually the best path.

Procreate is a still-image tool, though. If you need the same recolor to hold across moving footage, with changing light, head turns, and motion blur, a 2D adjustment won't track by itself, and you'll need rotoscoping, a tracked matte, or a different approach.

Quick workflow summary

1. Duplicate the source and isolate the hair on its own layer.
2. For photos, use Hue/Saturation/Brightness or Gradient Map in Pencil mode with a soft brush.
3. For dark hair or painted hair, use a clipped layer in Color, Multiply, or Overlay mode.
4. For flat art, use Alpha Lock or ColorDrop with a Reference layer.
5. Fix edges and add shadow and highlight layers so the color sits in the scene.
6. If needed for video, export the hair as a separate layer or pass for your video software.

Pick the method that preserves the most original information. The more of the hair's texture and lighting you keep, the more convincing the new color looks.

The fastest way to change hair color in Procreate is to isolate the hair on its own layer, then recolor it with Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Gradient Map, or a clipped layer set to the Color blend mode. For photos, use an adjustment applied through Pencil mode with a soft brush, so only the hair changes and its texture stays intact. For flat or painted illustrations, turn on Alpha Lock or add a clipping mask and paint over the existing shading.

Which Procreate method should you use?

The right method depends on what kind of image you're recoloring.

Prepare the image before recoloring

Most failed hair recolors come from sloppy prep, not the recolor itself.

1. Duplicate your source layer. Procreate adjustments are applied directly to pixels, so keep an untouched original underneath.
2. Isolate the hair. Use the Selection tool in Freehand or Automatic mode, or paint a rough mask. Automatic selection is hit-and-miss on wispy hair, so expect to refine the edge with the Feather and Invert options or by erasing.
3. Put the hair on its own layer. With the selection active, swipe three fingers down and choose Cut & Paste (or copy and paste) to place the hair on a new layer. This gives you a clean target for every adjustment.
4. Zoom in on the hairline. Flyaways, semi-transparent strands, and the edge against the background are where a recolor looks fake. Fix them now, not after you've committed.

If you're delivering to a motion pipeline, keep the hair on a separate layer from the start. It makes the file far more useful downstream.

Method 1: Hue, Saturation, Brightness

This is the most direct route and works well for shifting a color family, such as brown to red or blonde to teal.

1. Select the hair layer.
2. Tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand) and choose Hue, Saturation, Brightness.
3. Choose Layer to affect everything on that layer, or Pencil to paint the effect in with a brush.
4. Drag the Hue slider to the color you want. Adjust Saturation and Brightness to taste.

Pencil mode is the more controlled option for photos. Pick a soft, round brush, set a modest size and opacity, and build the effect up in passes. Because you're painting the adjustment where you want it, you can leave the roots darker or taper the color toward the ends, as in an ombré or a grown-out dye job.

Limitation: Hue rotation shifts what's already there. Near-black hair has almost no chroma to rotate, so it will look muddy or barely change. Use Method 3 for those cases.

Method 2: Gradient Map for stylized or vivid colors

A Gradient Map remaps the tonal range of the layer to a gradient you choose, which makes it good for neon, pastel, or fantasy colors where you want the shadows, midtones, and highlights to take on different hues.

1. Select the hair layer, then open Adjustments and choose Gradient Map.
2. Switch to Pencil mode and pick a gradient from the library, or build your own with the plus button.
3. Paint over the hair with a soft brush. The texture underneath stays visible, because the map is replacing color values rather than painting opaque color on top.
4. To try a different gradient, turn Pencil mode off and back on, then select the new gradient and paint again.

The advantage over a flat hue shift is control over contrast. A two-stop gradient from deep violet to pale pink gives you a convincing duotone hair look, and you can design the shadow color separately from the highlight color. The same technique works on other small areas, such as lips or eyes, if you're retouching a portrait.

Method 3: Clipping mask with a blend-mode layer

This is the most flexible approach and the closest to how you'd work with adjustment layers elsewhere. It handles dark hair, painted hair, and revisions best.

1. Create a new layer directly above the hair layer.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask, so anything you paint is confined to the hair's shape.
3. Set the blend mode to Color (or Multiply, Overlay, or Soft Light, depending on the result you want).
4. Paint with your target color using a soft or airbrush-style brush.

Each blend mode behaves differently:

• Color replaces hue and saturation while keeping the luminosity of the layer below. It's the cleanest choice for realistic recolors.
• Multiply darkens and deepens. Use it to take blonde to auburn or brown.
• Overlay or Soft Light adds richness and contrast, which is good for adding vibrance after a Color pass.
• Add or Screen can add glow and highlights on top.

Stack more than one clipped layer if needed: a Color layer for the base hue, a Multiply layer for shadow depth, and an Overlay layer for the highlights. Because every change lives on its own layer, you can change the color later by adjusting opacity, filling the layer with a different color, or running Hue, Saturation, Brightness on just that clipped layer.

Going from dark to light

Black or very dark brown hair won't take a Color layer well, because the luminosity underneath is too low. Raise the tonal values first by applying Curves to lift the shadows, or use Color Balance to add warmth. Then add your Color blend layer on top. Expect to paint a few highlights back in by hand so the result doesn't look flat.

Method 4: Alpha Lock and ColorDrop for illustrations

For cartoon or flat-colored artwork, you don't need adjustments at all.

• Alpha Lock: Swipe two fingers right on the hair layer. Anything you paint stays within the existing pixels. Choose a new color and paint or fill over it.
• ColorDrop: Drag the color from the top-right swatch into the hair shape. Hold briefly before releasing to adjust the Threshold for clean edges. If your line art is on a separate layer, set it as a Reference layer so the fill respects the lines while you work on a different layer.
• Shaded flat colors: If the shading is on separate layers, clip them to the base and recolor the base only. The highlights and shadows follow automatically.

If your line art has a white background, set that layer to Multiply so the colors beneath show through.

Common problems and fixes

• Halo or fringe around the hair: Your selection edge is too hard or too wide. Reselect with a small Feather value, or erase a pixel or two off the edge of the recolor layer.
• Color looks pasted on: Add a Multiply layer for shadows near the scalp and neck, and let some of the environment color bleed into the hair edge with a low-opacity Overlay layer.
• Skin tone shifted too: Your selection included skin. Switch to Pencil mode, or mask the clipped layer with the Eraser.
• Gradient Map didn't change: Toggle Pencil mode off and on, as noted above, before choosing a new gradient.
• Texture looks smeared: You painted with an opaque brush at full opacity. Use a soft brush with lower opacity and build up.

Taking the recolored hair into a video workflow

If this is part of a video job, export deliberately. Keep hair, face, and background on separate layers, and export the passes you need so you can adjust the color later in your video software instead of committing to one version. For a character or still that stays static or moves in 2D, this layered approach is usually the best path.

Procreate is a still-image tool, though. If you need the same recolor to hold across moving footage, with changing light, head turns, and motion blur, a 2D adjustment won't track by itself, and you'll need rotoscoping, a tracked matte, or a different approach.

Quick workflow summary

1. Duplicate the source and isolate the hair on its own layer.
2. For photos, use Hue/Saturation/Brightness or Gradient Map in Pencil mode with a soft brush.
3. For dark hair or painted hair, use a clipped layer in Color, Multiply, or Overlay mode.
4. For flat art, use Alpha Lock or ColorDrop with a Reference layer.
5. Fix edges and add shadow and highlight layers so the color sits in the scene.
6. If needed for video, export the hair as a separate layer or pass for your video software.

Pick the method that preserves the most original information. The more of the hair's texture and lighting you keep, the more convincing the new color looks.