how to get rid of hickeys

Hickeys, usually known as love bites, are bruises from intense suction or hard biting on the skin. Trying to hide a passionate moment that resulted in a hickey may require some effort from your end.

Well, it feels great then, but these marks make you feel embarrassed. To escape such embarrassment, we will discuss some natural cures to get rid of hickeys fast in this article. Read on to know the effortless healing ways. 

What is a Hickey? 

Hickeys are temporary passionate marks that arise due to being hard-bitten or sucked anywhere on the body. When small blood vessels explode and leak below the skin surface in the nearby tissues, it causes a hickey. 

The affected area usually looks pale and may be sensitive to touch. It may be red, pink, or purplish spots of the hickey. When it starts to heal, it turns into a dark shade of blue. 

How Fast Hickeys Go Away?

A hickey usually goes in within a week to 12 days. But every individual has a different healing time. Sometimes, it may start disappearing the next day or even change its color or get darker in the healing process.

But if you apply some of the ways we will describe below, you can quickly get rid of your hickey. 

How To Get Rid Of Hickeys Fast?

To immediately cover hickeys, you can always wear scarves around your neck or weak colors and turtleneck outfits. You can also apply concealers on your marks.

There are many ways to get rid of hickeys fast and these are described below:

  • Apply a cold spoon

First, freeze a clean spoon in your freezer for nearly 10 minutes. If your hickey is new, firmly press the cold spoon to reduce the blood seeping from the veins into the skin. Repeat this step a few times a day to make the swelling go down. 

  • Use arnica cream

A flowering herb, Arnica, containing helenalin, an anti-inflammatory component, has the healing power that calms your natural swelling response. Apply daily topical arnica cream till the swelling and marks reduce. 

  • Try a warm compress once the mark is visible

If your hickey is red, cold therapy would not work. Now, you need to apply heat to circulate blood to heal faster. Wet a cloth under warm water, then firmly press it on your affected area for about five minutes. Do this process two to three times daily. 

  • Treat with Visine

Visine, a classic eye drop, works as a hickey removal. Patting the liquid on your scrape daily will help tighten your blood veins and reduce your hickey. Ensure you don't use it on open injuries or cuts to avoid irritation.

  • Conceal with makeup

One of the quickest ways to remove hickeys in minutes is with your concealer or foundation. But first, apply some color corrector to hide red or purple marks.

If the hickey is red, try green. For light to medium skin, try peachy yellow or orange. Then, apply your concealer with a brush and lock it with a setting powder.

  • Skip the essential oils

For people having sensitive skin, essential oils are not the best option for your hickey. It can cause dermatitis and may boost blood flow when treating a hickey. So, avoid using essential oil on your hickey.

  • Eat fresh pineapple

The next method is to get some fresh pineapple. Pineapple holds an enzyme called bromelain that aids with bruising. Eating fresh pineapple or drinking its juice will help you get your enzyme fixed effectively. 

  • Eat plenty of vitamin K–rich foods

Foods like kale, broccoli, spinach, and brown rice contain vitamin K, which absorbs clots of pooled blood to cure hickeys. Eat a salad or add some kale to your smoothie to recover your hickey fast.

Moreover, one of the best options on how to heal hickeys is to apply serums and creams containing vitamin K to heal your hickey.

  • Moisturize with aloe vera

Aloe vera works wonders on sunburns. It contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Aloe vera cream or gel can keep your hickey away from swelling.

Applying aloe vera to your hickey won't make it magically disappear, but it'll help quicken the recovery time.

  • Try a vitamin C cream

Vitamin C is already a good routine for your skincare. Its ultra-effective properties boost your skin's collagen production, which also helps heal a hickey. Applying a vitamin C cream during the hickey's healing process is good.

How To Hide A Hickey?

Getting rid of hickeys may take longer. So, there are several ways to hide a hickey. You can wear a high neck or collar top to cover your hickey.

Wearing these styles of outfits will cover the marks on the visible areas of your body, including your chest. Carry some accessories with your clothing, like a shawl or scarf. Long hair can also help to cover the hickey.

Another thing to hide hickeys is to use your makeup like concealer or foundation. Apply purple/green corrector, concealer, and foundation matching your skin tone to cover up your hickey. 

Things To Avoid

There are certain things you should avoid. Though these are common to use, these are not effective – and may rather make your situation worse.

  • Massaging with a coin: Rubbing a coin may involve intense pressure and may replicate a massage, making the hickey poor. 
  • Massaging with a lip balm cap: Another known approach is to rub the hickey with a lip balm cap. However, there is no effective result.
  • Massaging with toothpaste: Another tried method is rubbing your affected area with toothpaste, which can help reduce hickeys. However, there is no truth.

Conclusion

No matter how hard you try, hickeys don't go away overnight. But applying some of the ten methods once or twice daily will speed up your hickey recovery process.

However, some may work better for you, and others may not. So, for a quick thing, cover up your hickey with makeup, outfits, and scarves until the hickey heals. 

Hickey takes only a few seconds to appear on screen, but it takes several days to disappear. To help speed recovery within a day or two, you can use self-treatment methods to ease irritation and inflammation.

However, the human body needs time to repair the broken veins and reabsorb the blood.

FAQs

1. How to make a hickey disappear ASAP?

Ans: Unfortunately, there is no magical way for hickeys to disappear. But you can follow some self-treatment remedies and give it time to vanish away.

2. How to cover up a hickey?

Ans: There are several ways to cover up hickeys, like wearing makeup, high-collared tops, dresses, t-shirts, or wrapping a scarf around your neck.

3. Are hickeys painful?

Ans: Hickeys may feel irritated for a day and have some swelling. But they are not painful and heal within a week or two.

4. Can hickeys cause health problems?

Ans: No, hickeys normally do not create any health problems. But, for some people, they create a slight risk of causing blood clots and strokes. 

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Oliver Nelson

Oliver Nelson is a New York based Health Specialist Writer who completed his graduation from Syracuse University back in 2015. His writings were published in the top Healthcare brands in the United States.

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