Yes, a hickey can fade significantly in 3 days, especially if it's not too intense, but it often needs more time to disappear completely, usually taking a few days to a couple of weeks as it goes through the natural bruise healing process, changing from red to blue/purple, then green/yellow before fading. Applying a cold pack immediately and then a warm compress after a couple of days, along with avoiding irritation, are common ways to help speed up the fading.
Like other bruises, hickeys can take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to go away. Hickeys are superficial bruises, which means they are on the surface of your skin. These types of bruises usually don't take as long to heal as deeper bruises like black eyes.
Hickeys start out red because of the intact red blood cells in the bruise loaded with hemoglobin underneath the skin. After a few days, the red blood cells begin to break down, and shades of blue and purple appear. You may even see some shades of brown as your body breaks down the red blood cells (Jeney, 2013).
A fresh hickey has red or purple tones, which you can color correct with a green or yellow color correcting cream. Then, go in with a concealer that matches or is one shade lighter than your skin tone. Set the makeup with powder.
1. Cold compress. Cold temperatures cause blood vessels to constrict, or get smaller in size. This can reduce the amount of blood that leaks out of damaged blood vessels and result in a smaller bruise.
Beyond pulse dye laser, Zeichner says that topical creams like Arnica or Vitamin K are your best bet for a speedy recovery. Plus, Zeichner says if the skin barrier is disrupted and the hickey becomes dry or itchy, you can also apply Vaseline petroleum jelly to protect the skin from infection and keep the wound clean.
While the healing process may take up to 2 weeks, here are a few tips that will help any bruise to the skin, including hickies: Put an ice or cold pack on it right away to reduce pain and swelling. Repeat the cold treatment several times a day for 10 to 20 minutes each session.
Best Excuses to Use to Explain Away a Hickey
The neck may be the most popular spot, but you can technically give a hickey to any area of sensitive skin. For a less visible and more intimate mark, try giving her a hickey on the top of her breast or the inside of her upper thigh.
However, if you observe the following problems, consult a doctor:
8 Simple Ways To Get Rid of a Hickey Fast
There's surprisingly little research done on hickeys, but the general consensus is that they rarely last longer than two weeks, with many hickeys clearing up within just a few days.
Like other forms of bruising, hickeys need time to heal. So, you likely won't be able to get rid of your hickey overnight let alone in a few hours. But there's good news. Most bruises last anywhere from three days to two weeks.
Lip balm cap
Using the cap from a tube of lip balm to massage the skin is yet another suggestion that pops up all over Google. As with the massage techniques listed above, this won't “break apart” the hickey either.
Here's what you should try:
Find any coin (it is advised that you disinfect this as it will be touching your skin) Using two fingers, pull the skin on either side of your hickey to stretch it out. Now, making use of the edge of the coin, you will need to scrape the surface of the hickey, moving from the centre of the hickey outwards.
Makeup can be a useful tool for covering hickeys and tattoos, providing a temporary solution for concealing marks on the skin.