Revisiting a blemish retouch layer

[BH888]

Newbie Question:

Duplicated the background layer, and then created a new layer above the duplicate layer.  Using the healing brush and the spot healing brush, I removed blemishes, - working on the new blank layer.

Saved the work (Cntrl + S), and then created a stamped visible layer (Shift + Cntrl + Alt + E). If I now go back to the blank layer on which I originally retouched the blemishes, no additional retouching can be done on that blank layer, as before.  The healing brush and spot healing brush do not function.

What am I overlooking? When I revisit the blank layer, the healing & spot healing brushes should work on that layer, as they did before. Right?

[Daniel E Lane · Accepted solution]

did you turn of the visibility of the stamped layer when you went back to the layer you were doing the retouching on? If not, you wouldnt be able to see anything you were doing as there was the stamped layer above it, concealing the layer you are trying to work on. I just tried what you said, step by step. As long as you turn off or remove that stamped layer, the healing brush works just fine on the working "blank" layer

[BH888]

Thank you, Daniel. Turning off the visibility of the stamped layer resolved the problem!!

In an effort to really understand what is going on in PS beneath the layers, may I ask one more question:

While removing the visibility of stamped layer above allowed me to retouch (& see the retouch) of the layer underneath, - why, when I restored the visibility of the stamped layer, did it not obscure the new, recent retouching?

[Daniel E Lane]

Because it was a new layer that totally obscured what you had going on behind it. When you do a stamp, it combines every layer below into a new layer on top. That new stamped layer contained everything you had previously done. When you added more to the retouch layer, it was not part of that stamp. So you pretty much needed to just delete the stamped layer and do it again after you finished your blemish removal and what-not.