To cover a hickey, use clothing like high-neck shirts or scarves for simple concealment, or use makeup by applying a color corrector (green for red, peach/yellow for purple/blue) then a matching concealer, blending well and setting with powder for a more thorough, but less obvious, fix. Applying an ice pack or cold spoon to a fresh hickey can also reduce its size and redness quickly, making it easier to cover.
There's no proven method to make a hickey disappear, but cool compresses, arnica cream, and creams with vitamin K may help it fade faster. A hickey will fade over time, but it can take up to 2 weeks for it to completely disappear.
Neutralize the Discoloration
Use a green color corrector for red undertones or a peach corrector for purple tones. Lightly dab it on the hickey and blend out the edges to balance the skin tone before applying foundation.
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.
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.
Hickeys happen when the pressure from another person's mouth sucking on your skin breaks blood vessels, which creates a bruise.
“Any abrasive treatment of the skin like scrubbing with toothpaste or trying to scratch off the discoloration would be too superficial to impact the hickey. And it could even make the problem more apparent with scratches, bleeding, additional discoloration and scar formation.”
Tell them it's a mark leftover from touching something hot.
These are especially good excuses for when you have a hickey on your neck. “I was straightening my hair and burned my neck with the flat iron.” “I was waxing and made the wax way too hot.” “I left a heating pad on for too long and it actually left a mark.”
Other Ways to Treat a Hickey
Cold brings down swelling, but heat helps the body break down the damaged cells in the bruise and remove them. Should you massage a hickey? Some people recommend massaging your hickey with a chapstick or lipstick cap, or even a toothbrush to stimulate blood flow.
The side or the back of the neck is a good bet if your partner has long hair, or you could go to the collarbones, closer to the shoulder, so the skin can be covered by a regular crew-neck T-shirt.
Conceal your hickey with makeup
Try green if your hickey is red, or a peach-y yellow (for light to medium skin) or bright orange (for tan to deep skin) for purple hickeys. Then, blend your go-to concealer formula on clean, dry skin with a brush and lock it all in with a quick dust of setting powder.
For the first 48 hours after getting the hickies, avoid activities that may increase swelling, such as hot showers, hot tubs, hot packs, or alcoholic beverages. Protect the area from further “trauma.” Gently massage the hickey to increase blood flow and relieve pain. Be careful not to rub the area if it hurts too much.
A hickey is sometimes used to mark someone as being the target of a partner's romantic affection or as belonging to them.
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.
Since hickeys often have a reddish or purple hue, applying a green color corrector can help counteract the color and make it easier to conceal.
Hide the hickey with the right shirt.
Before going out, try on different shirts to make sure your top covers your hickey entirely. Shirts with high necklines, like turtlenecks, usually work best. If you don't have a turtleneck, try wearing a jacket or sweater with a collar that covers your neck.