Removing Red from B&W Restoration

[pdxrjt]

I am trying to restore an old photo from the 1940s? Someone took a sharpie to it and added some red coloring. The photo I have attached (I hope) shows some lips with a red squiggle drawn beneath them. Any ideas about how to remove the red and "restore" the original exposure etc. underneath it? TIA for any help.

ps if the face looks flesh colored it is a trick of the yellowing of the photo.... I am 99% sure it was black and white..... if not, it is the most faded photo I have ever seen.

Lips

Lips.JPG (9.86 KiB) Viewed 1752 times

[photodrawken]

It's easy -- the "Change to Target" brush does most of the work for you, just pick a light area as your target colour:

lips 01.png (37.07 KiB) Viewed 1740 times

Then use the "Dodge" brush to bring the darkest areas into balance:

lips 02.png (37.88 KiB) Viewed 1740 times

Use the "Smudge" brush to blend the values, and finish up with the "Soften" brush to get rid of any hard edges left from the retouching:

lips 03.png (37.74 KiB) Viewed 1740 times

[pdxrjt]

Great suggestions. I'll give it a try on Thursday. Thanks much!!! I had thought some about the dodge and soften brush....but the "change to target brush" eluded me!