Hasta La Motion!

every so often im given a job where i have to do fine detail on a smooth curved model

as you realize parts that have a hard edge i need to bump up the detail with edges and push them closer together.

the problem is (especially on rounded out areas) all that extra geometry often gives me a rippled or chunky look

you can see in the image i attached. keep in mind what i started with was a sphere, once i added more geometry it distorted it

i want to know what can i do to avoid that
any type of help will be considered, weather it’s exporting to another program, using a 3d scanner, using one of those programs that make 2d pictures into 3d geometry
im open to anything
thanks