Clear and beautify gray photos

This tutorial mainly explains how to make gray pictures clearer. The basic operation is to modify the layer blending mode, and then adjust the curve and saturation. This is often used in processing such pictures.
Original picture
final effect
1. Open the original image, press Ctrl + J to copy a layer and change the layer blending mode to Soft Light, then press Ctrl + E to merge the layers.
Click the small circle in the middle under the cotton board of the layer, as shown on the left side of the picture below, select Color Balance, and set the parameters on the right side of the picture below.

3. As in the second step, click the small circle in the middle of the layer panel to select the curve parameter settings as shown on the left. After confirmation, select the curve parameters again and set the curve parameters as shown on the right.

4. Then click the small circle in the middle of the layer panel to select hue/saturation, and set the parameters as shown below.

Create a new layer, press Shift + Ctrl + Alt + ~, load the highlights, then fill it with white, change the opacity to: 50%, then add a mask, keep only the face, and erase the rest.

6. Merge all layers, and then smooth the skin to complete the final effect.