How to Get Rid of a Hickey Fast? Nearly everyone gets a hickey once in his lifetime. Hickey is a bruise caused by suction when the negative pressure from power causes your veins to rupture. As a result, blood leaks out and the hickey is visible under the skin in the form of a bruise.
A hickey is just a bruise and after several days it’ll evaporate like all other bruises. The act of getting a hickey feels awesome, but struggling to get rid of a giant bruise afterward sucks. If you’re too embarrassed to move around with an extremely notable one, then there are several ways and means of getting rid of hickeys.
To some, they are something to be proud of and a sign of love while to others they are often not desired and need to be hidden or removed. While it’s impossible to get rid of a bruise immediately, there are a few tricks to improving circulation and healing the skin itself.
This article is intended to improve your knowledge about hickeys such as how to get rid of a hickey fast, and how to hide them effectively. Here’s a complete guide to healing a hickey ASAP so you can stop getting looks in the break room.
What is a Hickey?
For those who don’t know a hickey, also known as a love bite, bug bite, or a kiss mark, is a bruise caused by biting, sucking, or aggressively kissing. These generally appear on the soft skin usually around the neck or on the arm.
Hickeys are small red marks that appear when blood vessels in the skin break under pressure. They usually fade within 24 hours, but there are several things you can try to speed up the healing process.
When somebody aggressively kisses your soft skin, capillaries(small, superficial blood vessels) are broken, letting the blood seep out into the surrounding tissue. Hickeys are originally red in color but they generally turn dark purple or brown as they heal.
How long do Hickeys Last?
For those who have encountered a hickey for the first time, it’s a common question to ask “How long does a hickey last?”. Don’t worry as a hickey is not a permanent mark and does not leave any scar behind. However, it needs some time to fade away completely. If you left it untreated, then it may last about 6 to 12 days. However, there are some exceptions when hickeys may last longer.
- Certain hickeys are more severe than others and take a longer time to heal. However it’s simple math, the amount of damage done to the blood vessels in the skin will influence the time it takes for the hickey to go away.
- In some other cases, your personal health also affects how long you will have to live with a hickey. The healthier you are, the quicker the hickey will go away.
How to Get Rid of a Hickey Fast?
Maximum people consider hickeys an embarrassment and improper, particularly in professional, social, or family environments. There are a few ways for how to get rid of a hickey.
Before we go to the methods on how to get rid of hickeys, we must note that hickeys can appear anywhere, on your chest, lips, and inner arm. But they mostly appear on the neck, because the skin on the neck is more sensitive than other parts of the body.
1. Toothbrush
For this method, you need to use a new toothbrush or a comb. Try to brush the affected area to promote circulation and stimulate blood flow. Make sure you are not pushing too hard, or else you will end up worsening the hickey and might hurt yourself. After 15 minutes of completion of this method apply a cold compress to the area.
2. Cold Compress
Among the most straightforward approaches to deal with and cure a hickey is by employing a cold compress on the affected skin. Any type of compress is going to do, as the cold will soon break apart the blood clots and allow for better blood flow.
It’s possible to place ice cubes in a paper towel and then apply the cloth against your skin for 10 to 20 minutes. Or you can set a spoon in the fridge, allow it to cool for 10 minutes, and then wrap it with a cloth and rub the affected area.
3. Warm Compress
Both heat and cold are beneficial to get a hickey, and it’s up to you to select which compress you utilize. A warm compress will make way for fresh blood to circulate, essentially providing the same relief as a cold compress.
For a warm compress, you want to dip a washcloth in hot water, and then press lightly against the hickey for five minutes. Repeat three times every day for optimum results. You can even employ heat on the affected region using a hair drier.
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4. Peppermint
Peppermint has a stimulant effect that helps to enhance blood circulation. It also supports the healing of capillary vessels. Apply a little peppermint oil smoothly on the affected area. You may feel a tingling sensation after utilization, but it will fade after some time.
5. Lipstick
For this method, you can also use any small cylindrical object. The purpose is to break up the blood clot in your hickey and encourage healthy blood circulation.
Place the cap of your lipstick onto the hickey, and press hard on the skin. Find a balance when pushing, since you don’t want to press too hard. Twist the cap while pressing, and your skin will twist around the lipstick. Hold for 10 seconds after twisting, and then release. Repeat various times for five to ten minutes.
6. Coin Method
Generally, it is the most painful method, which can be risky, but also one of the most effective ways how to get rid of a hickey.
Stretch your skin on the affected area with your fingers, and then take a large coin and rub the hickey area. Use the edge of the coin for massaging and blood stimulation. It might be uncomfortable, but you will see results after just 10 to 20 minutes.
7. Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol on the affected area works only if it has only been around for a few hours. Don’t try this method if significant time passed.
Take a cotton ball and dip it into the alcohol, and then rub gently with your fingers. After you are done with the alcohol, apply moisturizing lotion or cream on the affected area because alcohol may dry your skin.
8. Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a natural moisturizer commonly known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It reduces skin sensitivity in the affected area and speeds up the healing of the broken capillaries.
Simply extract fresh aloe vera gel from the aloe vera plant and massage the affected area. Massage it two to three times a day for fast results. You can use any aloe vera based cream if you do not have an aloe vera plant.
9. Banana Peel
Want to know how to remove a hickey easily at your home? Well, bananas and banana peels are first on the list. Banana peels have soothing and cooling properties that will help reduce your hickey fast. Cut the peel of a ripe banana, and then put the inside on the hickey. Let it stay for 15 to 20 minutes, and then remove it. Repeat the treatment two to three times per day for quicker results.
10. Finger Massage
Finger massage can be used with nearly half of the remedies on the list, but you can use it on its own as well. The fact is, finger massage can be used only when the hickey is a bit older. Gently massage the affected area, starting from the center and then moving toward the outer edges of the hickey. Repeat two to three times per day for five minutes.
11. Honey
How to get rid of a Hickey by hiding it?
Certainly, one of the best ways to get rid of a hickey is to hide the hickey. Here are three ways how you can do it.
1. Makeup
The first one is by applying makeup, and it is what comes to mind first to many people who want to get rid of a hickey overnight. Some, if any of the remedies work instantly as makeup. Apply a yellow corrector to the inside, and a green corrector for the outside of the hickey. Lastly, apply the foundation to the affected area.
2. Clothing
It is another effective way to hide a hickey. Hide it by wearing a scarf, a turtleneck, or a collared shirt/blouse. The solution here is to use subtle clothing for hiding a hickey.
3. Band-aid
Applying a band-aid is the simplest way to hide the hickey, but one of the main demerits of the band-aid is that it is visible. But you can always come up with situations like burning yourself at the spot.
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Apart from the above three ways, you can use your hair to hide it. Women with long hair are blessed as they can use their hair to cover the hickey.