Get Rid of That Hickey: 14 Clever Solutions for Disguising Those Love Bites

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Do you want to know how to remove a hickey? If you want to know how to get rid of those ugly love bites, keep reading.

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Having a hickey for up to two weeks can be a constant reminder of something you did that you later came to regret. Hickeys are ugly, embarrassing, and unprofessional even if you don't feel bad about the incident that led to them.  

It's true that there are ways to lessen the appearance of a hickey, but unfortunately, there is no magic bullet that will make it vanish overnight. It requires persistence, calmness, and perhaps a turtleneck or two.

So, What Exactly Is a Hickey, and How Long Do They Last?  

In order to get started, it's important to define what a hickey is and why they tend to last for so long.

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Hickeys are bruises of a deep red or purple color caused by pressure to the skin. The neck is the most common location for hickeys because they are the result of sexual encounters between partners.

Hickeys aren't limited to the genital region. The hickey will be more noticeable, darker, and likely to last longer because of the softer and more sensitive skin on your neck. Hickeys develop when a partner suctions on your skin, causing tiny blood vessels to burst and bleed. The hickey's color and size will improve with increased suction time.

Since the pain of a hickey can range from mild to excruciating, it's best to ask your partner's permission before giving them one on purpose.

With the root causes of hickeys identified, we can move on to the 14 solutions that will help you get rid of yours for good.

Step One: Chill It With a Compress

If you have a fresh bruise, ice can help alleviate the pain and swelling. A cold compress is most effective when applied to a fresh hickey because it reduces the rate at which blood flows to the area.  

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Several cold compress options exist, including ice cubes, an ice pack, a cold cloth, and even a spoon.  

Chill a spoon in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. To get the best results, keep the chilled spoon's surface on the skin for 10 minutes and do this multiple times a day.

2. Place a warm compress on the area.

It is recommended to use a warm compress after applying a cold compress for two days. Warmth promotes blood flow to the area, which in turn dilates blood vessels and hastens the hickey's fading.  

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Apply heat to the area using a warm washcloth, heat pack, or hot water bottle for 10 minutes several times a day until the hickey disappears.

Lastly, Rub the Area

Because massages increase blood flow, massaging the affected area for a few minutes each day could hasten the fading process.

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Hickeys, like other bruises, can be painful, so take care when massaging them to avoid making the situation worse.

Using a toothbrush with soft bristles is the preferred method of cleaning teeth by some. The hickey's visibility is lessened thanks to the bristles' ability to spread out clotted red blood cells as they rub over the skin in various directions.  

Although it may not be the most pleasurable experience, remember that "no pain, no gain."

The Whisk Technique, Number Four

This whisking technique is very much like the toothbrush one I described earlier.

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In 2021, it swept through TikTok, and soon, everyone wanted to get rid of their hickeys with the help of a whisk.  

Whisking the hickey helps blood cells under the skin break up and be absorbed more quickly. Try it out if you don't have a toothbrush on hand.

Make use of some arnica gel

Arnica's anti-inflammatory properties have made it a popular remedy for thousands of years.  

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The yellow flowering herb is widely available as an over-the-counter topical and internal remedy. Use a topical arnica cream on your hickey once daily until the swelling goes down to get rid of a hickey.

5. Use vitamin K topically or internally.

As a major player in the body's blood-clotting process, vitamin K aids in the speedy recovery from bruises.

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The vitamin aids in clot absorption, and we can get it in a few different ways.

Applying vitamin K cream topically to the bruise is the first method. Vitamin K can be obtained through diet or supplementation. Even if you already have a hickey, you can reduce the severity of future bruises by eating vitamin K-rich foods like broccoli, brown rice, and leafy greens.

6. Use vitamin C topically or internally.

It's also important to watch how much vitamin C you take in. Vitamin C strengthens the connective tissues around our blood vessels and promotes collagen production, both of which improve the skin's appearance and texture.

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You might even have a vitamin C cream lying around in your makeup bag right now and not know it. To lessen the visibility of your hickey, rub some vitamin C cream into the area.  

Increasing your intake of vitamin C-rich foods will also help your skin produce more collagen and heal faster. Foods like oranges, broccoli, and potatoes are rich in vitamin C.

7. Location of Cocoa Butter Production

Cocoa butter, extracted from cocoa beans, is a common cosmetic ingredient.  

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By minimizing the appearance of scars, stretch marks, and wrinkles, the butter plays a key role in maintaining the health of our skin. It's rich in fatty acids, which not only nourish the skin but also reduce the effects of aging and increase collagen production.  

Using a thin layer, apply cocoa butter twice a day to the hickey and the affected area.

Step 8: Use Aloe Vera

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It's not just a sunburn remedy, aloe vera gel has many other uses. Aloe vera's anti-inflammatory properties make it useful for treating hickey pain and swelling.

Although aloe vera won't magically get rid of your hickey, applying it twice a day will hasten the healing process and help minimize its appearance.

Rub Some Peppermint Oil Into Your Skin

If this should be included as a method to eliminate a hickey is debatable. It's possible that using essential oils will result in a rash. However, if you don't have sensitive skin, a dab of peppermint essential oil on the hickey can help increase blood flow, diminish the hickey's appearance, and speed its healing.  

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Always dilute essential oils; for example, use 12 drops of coconut or olive oil for every drop of peppermint oil. You should also check for irritation on your forearm to see if your skin reacts negatively to the product.  

If the hickey does not become irritated, apply peppermint oil and massage it in at regular intervals.

10- Pineapple for Dinner

Common pineapples have an enzyme called bromelain. Eating or drinking fresh pineapple is a great way to get the enzyme bromelain into your system and reap the skin-healing benefits.  

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In addition to being delicious, pineapple is a great way to get your daily dose of vitamin C. To reduce localized swelling and inflammation, you can also find bromelain in a topical form, which you can apply topically.

Eleven. Apply a Banana Peel to the Affected Area

To use an extreme example, a banana peel is one possible answer. You might look and feel silly rubbing a banana peel on your neck, but the potential benefits may outweigh the embarrassment.

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Banana peels contain many beneficial nutrients and vitamins for skin. If you take the peel and rub it on the bruise twice a day until it turns brown, the bruise will fade more quickly, but you'll end up smelling like a banana.  

13 - Pulsed Dye Laser

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Pulsed dye lasers are a type of laser therapy used to reduce blood cell formation and increase blood flow. Typically, dermatologists use these methods to treat bruises after botox or filler injections, but there's no reason they couldn't be used to remove a hickey as well.  

However, the exorbitant cost of these procedures means you might be better off just buying a new turtleneck.

Try a little concealer if all else fails

There is no quick fix for getting rid of a hickey; even after trying all of these methods, you will still have a faint mark until the bruise completely heals. Your best bet may be to use concealer to hide the problem. When it's warm outside and you don't want to be seen in a turtleneck  

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To get the best results, first cover the bruise with a layer of green concealer to hide the redness. After that, you can apply your regular concealer or foundation and finish with a translucent powder.

Conclusions Regarding How to Dispose of Hickey

Although a hickey won't disappear completely overnight, there are ways to lessen the pain, swelling, and purple mark it leaves on your neck.

It is my sincere hope that you have found some relief from your situation and that you can now venture out into public without feeling like the entire world is staring at you.

As we draw to a close on the topic of removing a hickey, we'd love to hear if you have any additional tried-and-true methods. How do you usually remove a hickey? Please share your thoughts in the space provided below.