How to Retexture Sims 3 Hair: 2026 Guide (it's shockingly easy)
here is my guide on how to retexture hair for TS3!
this tutorial assumes you have some mild knowledge of Photoshop. the version i'll be using is Photoshop 2023.
i'm using windows 11 via boot camp on a 2020 intel macbook pro, which obviously isn't exactly ideal for gaming, but it (sort of) works for me lol
this tutorial is therefore made with windows in mind.
what you'll need:
any version of photoshop (like i said, i'm using photoshop 2023)
nvidia dds tools (download here - unfortunately you need to create an account. i strongly recommend creating a "burner" email for situations like this)
your texture (there are multiple options such as pooklet and shockshame. this is the one i use. it's my edit of the shockshame texture. don't mind the weird file name; i made this when i was 15 lol)
a control (this is the one i use - by pastry-box)
actions (here and here)
s3pe (download here)
s3oc (download here)
and, of course, whatever hair you're going to be retexturing. for this tutorial i will be using coolsims 94, which you can download here if you want to follow along)
get your hair file
first, get whatever hair you want to retexture. like i said, i'm using coolsims 94. if it's in sims3pack file format, you must convert it to package format using the sims3pack multi-extracter.
2. create a folder for your hair retexture. name it something easy to remember and relevant.
3. open the hair in s3oc. it will look like this. click on the string of numbers with "CASP" next to it.
now, click "Clone or Fix..."
4. the following screen will appear. check all of the boxes shown.
create a unique name for the file. it should include your URL or online handle, whatever it may be, to indicate that it is your retexture.
now, click "Start" and save the file to your newly created folder.
5. after the new file has finished saving, open it in S3PE.
look at the resources tagged "_IMG" and find an image that shows a grey/silver hair texture.
right click and Export > To File. save it to your newly created folder with whatever name you want, but make sure to include the .dds file extension at the end!
6. open the file in photoshop.
then, open the texture you downloaded.
drag the texture to this image.
hit CTRL + T to activate transform options. transform the texture until it matches the bottom texture well (it doesn't have to be perfect).
7. right click your new layer and create a clipping mask.
repeat these steps until the image looks like this:
8. save the image... File > Save a Copy.
make sure you save all these .DDS files as DXT5!!!
9. return to the image. load the actions. then, play either the Adjust Shine or Specular action from Shockshame.
this boils down to personal preference: use the adjust-shine action if you want more shine on your hair, and the specular action if you want less.
save again as another new file, and you're already done with this step. how easy!
10. now, on to the control. this is the hardest, longest step - except it isn't very hard or long at all!
go to your History tab in Photoshop, and return to Flatten Image.
11. play the hair control action from degg-degg. your image should now be all green, like so:
12. go to Select > Color Range. the green background should now be selected.
13. go to the Layers panel and drag the lock to the trash. then, hit the Delete or backspace key on your keyboard.
the image should now look like this:
12. drag the control you downloaded onto the image, and use CTRL +T to adjust it in the same way you adjusted the texture in the first part.
go to the Layers panel, create a clipping mask, and change the opacity to 70%.
repeat these steps until your image looks like this:
13. save this image, and you're done with the Photoshop steps, and almost done with the retexture!
14. return to your original hair package in S3PE. right click the image with the grey hair texture...
...and replace it with your new texture:
repeat these steps for all the corresponding resources tagged as _IMG. for example, replace the original red/green/blue texture with your new control, and the original specular with your new specular.
15. go to File > Save and you could technically stop here! you can load the retexture now into your game if you want.
but if you plan on uploading the hair retexture online, it's wise to create a new thumbnail.
16. make sure you've added the retexture to your mods folder.
go into your game. hopefully you have Pose Player, some good poses, and a few model Sims created. if not, download and create them.
17. now that you have your screenshot, go into Photoshop and crop it to exactly 256x256
(yes, i suck at preview pics... leave me alone hehe)
save it as a PNG file.
18. go back to your retextured hair in S3PE, and look for any and all resources tagged "THUM":
19. replace all those resources with your 256x256 screenshot. if there are any resources showing a child or toddler with the hair, then replace them with some screenshots of a child or toddler with the retextured hair.
20. save the new package, and... you're done!
see, i told you it would be easy.
create an account if you haven't already with a popular file sharing service (like dropbox, simfileshare, mega, etc) and upload your retextured hair files to share with others.
hopefully this is helpful for anyone who wants to learn how to retexture hair!
